Thumbtack Partnership

CASE STUDY: NEXTDOOR + THUMBTACK PARTNERSHIP

How transforming the experience of connecting neighbors with local trusted service providers led to $1.4M in annual revenue

Driving more conversions and revenue through strategic design leadership

Through a collaboration with Thumbtack, we redesigned Nextdoor’s search experience to seamlessly integrate Thumbtack ads, driving an increase in click-through rates (CTR) and generating more qualified leads for service providers. This resulted in significant engagement gains and growth for both platforms.

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My Role

I led the Monetization design team, driving the vision for search experience, customer partnerships, and ad management, creation, formats, and placements.

Collaboration & Partnerships

 I facilitated cross-functional collaboration, ensuring alignment with stakeholders and driving strategic partnerships to keep teams on track.

Team Support & Resource Management 

I managed team resourcing and timelines, providing guidance and ensuring my team had the tools to succeed and meet deadlines.

Planning & Scope Definition

I partnered with PMs to define the strategic direction, aligning with Nextdoor’s product roadmap and Thumbtack’s business goals. I prioritized features and negotiated solutions for launch and future iterations.

Customer Insights & Ideation

 I worked with PMs, Thumbtack designer and my senior designer to uncover customer insights and ideate on concepts that address user behaviors and needs, refining features through internal feedback and data.

At Nextdoor, we believe in the power of local communities—neighbors helping neighbors.

The Users

User 1: Neighbors

Neighbors use Nextdoor to find trusted recommendations for local service providers such as handymen, cleaners, landscapers, plumbers, pet sitters, or house cleaners.

User 2: Thumbtack service providers

Business owners and Thumbtack service providers use Nextdoor to gain visibility within their local communities, connect with potential customers, and build their reputation.

The Challenge

Neighbors often turn to Nextdoor to find local service providers — from handymen to event planners — but the process of discovering and hiring professionals can be time-consuming and inefficient. Simultaneously, Thumbtack professionals struggle to gain visibility in local communities and generate high-quality leads. The goal was to create a seamless experience for users while providing Thumbtack professionals with more opportunities to connect with potential clients.

User needs:

Nextdoor neighbors need a quicker, more efficient way to discover and hire local service providers.
Thumbtack professionals need more high-quality  lead generation.

How might we create a seamless experience that not only connects neighbors with reliable service providers but also gives Thumbtack professionals better visibility in these neighborhoods?

Key Insights

User Engagement & Conversion:

Data showed that Nextdoor users were highly engaged with local content but struggled to convert to booking service providers.  

Trust Issues:

Through user research, we discovered that trust was a major barrier for users when booking service providers.

Provider Visibility

Difficulty for Thumbtack providers to stand out and highly competitive.

Challenge 1: Posting to the Feed or groups

Slow response time:

Recommendations might take hours or days, which can be frustrating for urgent needs.

Limited reach:

The post might not reach the right audience, limiting the number of useful responses.

Unverified suggestions:

Recommendations are often based on personal experiences, so users face uncertainty regarding the service provider’s reliability.

Success rate:

Moderately successful but inconsistent.

Challenge 2: Using the Search Field

Overwhelming results:

Users may have to sift through outdated posts or irrelevant business listings, making it time-consuming. 

Lack of clear ratings or trust signals:

Many listings lack helpful ratings leading to hesitancy in booking.

Unclear next steps:

Users might find businesses but are unsure how to engage them directly.

Success rate:

Mixed. Some users find success, but the process is tedious.

Challenge 3: Clicking a Thumbtack Ad

Timing:

Ads don’t always appear when users are actively seeking services. 

Trust gap:

Even if users click an ad, trust issues may arise if the Thumbtack provider is unfamiliar or has insufficient reviews. 

Missed opportunities:

Users often scroll past the ad if they aren’t currently looking for that service. 

Success rate:

Lower than other methods, as it depends heavily on timing and user trust.

Strategic Prioritization

Design led brainstorm
Collaboration across design, product, and engineering teams.
Focus on practical solutions to enhance user experience and business outcomes. 
Wireframe concepts
Service Spotlight: High-impact ad calling out providers directly on the search screen.
Hire a Pro: A front-door option to directly access trusted pros, removing the need for search.
View All Pros: A quick action to go directly to a list of Thumbtack providers, bypassing business listings.
Post to Search: Connecting users to pros immediately after posting their service needs.
Pre-Fetched Questions: Gathering more precise user information to match with the right pro faster.
One-Tap Book: Enabling users to book directly on Nextdoor rather than redirecting them to Thumbtack.

The Solutions

THE RESULTS

25% increase in CTR for Thumbtack ads on Nextdoor
40% growth in leads for Thumbtack professionals
15% increase in Nextdoor’s ad revenue from service-related searches

SOLUTION 1:  Hire a Pro

Simplifying access to Thumbtack trusted service providers

A front-door solution for high-intent users.
Direct access to Thumbtack pros from Nextdoor.
Easy to use with a seamless booking experience.

SOLUTION 2:  View all pros

Easy Access to Thumbtack's Full Network

A direct path to discover vetted Thumbtack pros.
Enhanced visibility for Thumbtack pros to drive engagement for Thumbtack's trusted professionals.
Streamlines the search process to find specialized providers more efficiently.

SOLUTION 3:  Post-to-Search

Connecting high-intent users with trusted providers right away

A seamless connection for high-intent users.
Reduces friction in the user journey right after posting, bypassing delays and uncertainty.
Boosts conversion through timely, relevant results.

Challenges & Key Learnings

Legacy Tech Infrastructure:

 Old, rigid tech stack made updates time-consuming.
Required intensive UX QA to ensure functionality and maintain consistency across platforms.

High-Traffic Product Space:

Navigational elements and feed placement are  highly valuable spaces.
Collaboration with Core & Growth Teams: To avoid interference with ongoing experiments, we ran the test at 50% scale for 2 months, allowing us to gather data while coordinating with other team launches.