If you've ever paid for leads from a site like Angi, HomeAdvisor or Thumbtack, you know this one. You call someone back five minutes after the lead came in and hear "yeah, a couple of guys already called me." You paid for that lead anyway.
So are Angi leads worth it? For most owners, less than they look. That's because of how these sites work. The homeowner fills out one form and the site sends it to several companies at once. So the lead you paid for, a few other guys paid for too. Then it turns into a race to call first, and whoever wins usually gets the job because they picked up the phone fastest.
What are you really paying for?
What you're paying for is a spot in the race for that customer, and the site gets paid whether you win the race or not.
Some owners do fine with these sites, especially when they're new and the phone isn't ringing yet. The problem shows up later, because the month you stop paying is the month the leads stop, and the reviews you earned on those jobs live on their site instead of yours.
The other way people find you
The homeowner who filled out that form could've just as easily typed "plumber near me" into Google. When they do that, they see the Maps results and the websites under them, and nobody's sending that request to three other companies. If you show up there, the person calling you already picked you.
That side takes longer to build. A new website and Google profile usually take a few weeks to get noticed, and a couple of months to really bring calls. But it's yours, and it doesn't disappear the month you stop paying someone.
One thing to try this week
Find out what your paid leads actually cost you.
- Pull up what you paid the lead site over the last three months.
- Count how many of those leads turned into jobs you actually did.
- Divide what you paid by the jobs you got. That's what each job really cost you, and it's usually a lot more than the price per lead made it look.
Then think about how many of those customers would've found you on Google instead.
How many of the leads you paid for last month went to somebody else too?
Common questions
- Are Angi leads shared with other contractors?
- Often, yes. One request can go to several companies, so you may be competing with other pros for the same job.
- Do you pay for a lead even if you don't get the job?
- In most cases you pay for the lead itself, whether or not it turns into a job.
- What's the alternative to buying leads?
- Getting found on your own through Google with your Google profile, your website and your reviews. It takes longer to build, but the calls come straight to you.