If you've paid for leads from a lead site, you know the feeling. You pay, you call within minutes, and the homeowner says they've already had three calls. This guide explains why that happens and what to build instead.
How shared leads work
Lead sites collect a homeowner's request and sell it to several contractors at once. Contractor reviews compiled by Hook Agency describe leads typically shared with multiple pros, priced roughly $15 to $100 each depending on the trade and market. [Hook Agency]
You pay whether or not you win the job. The homeowner gets several quotes, and the easiest way to win is usually the lowest price. That's the race to the bottom.
What owning your leads looks like
- Your Google listing, set up properly. The map results at the top of Google are driven mostly by your Google Business Profile. The single biggest setting is your primary category. What gets fixed on your listing.
- Your own website, with your towns on it. People search "roofer Wenatchee", not "roofer". A page for each town you actually serve, written as real text, is what Google reads. How the SEO is built into your site.
- Reviews on your own Google profile. Reviews on a lead site belong to the lead site. Reviews on your Google profile follow you forever. The review engine.
- Answering every call. The lead you already have is cheaper than any lead you can buy. What a missed call costs.
Is it ever worth paying for leads?
Sometimes, when you're brand new and have zero reviews, or you're filling a slow week. Treat it as a short-term top-up, not the plan. Every month you spend building your own listing and site is a month that keeps paying.
No honest person can promise you a ranking or a number of leads, and I won't. What I can promise is the work: the site, the listing, the text-back and the review system, done properly and kept up.