Comparison hub

Compare contractor lead sources by cost per booked job

A lead source is not good because the lead is cheap. It is good when the job type, answer speed, close rate, and gross margin survive after the fee.

Simple formula

Cost per booked job = lead cost ÷ appointment rate ÷ close rate

If a $75 lead becomes an appointment 50% of the time and closes 40% of the time, the booked job cost is $375 before labor, materials, callbacks, and admin time.

Pick the source that matches the current bottleneck

Use these cards to avoid the expensive mistake: buying more leads when the real leak is response speed, close rate, website trust, reviews, or margin.

Run the lead-cost calculator

Google Business Profile + local SEO

Best for: Operators who can wait 3-9 months and want compounding calls from people searching in their service area.
Avoid if: Your reviews, photos, service pages, or response speed are too weak to convert the demand you already have.
Cost-per-booked-job frame: Usually lower cost per booked job over time, but slow at the beginning because content, reviews, and map trust need time.
Track this: Tracked calls, GBP direction requests, organic form fills, booked jobs by city/service page.

Fix GBP and local SEO first →

Google Local Services Ads

Best for: Licensed trades that can answer calls fast, pass screening, and want high-intent phone demand now.
Avoid if: You miss calls, cannot dispute bad leads, or have no process for turning calls into scheduled estimates.
Cost-per-booked-job frame: Judge it by cost per booked job, not cost per lead. Shared or poor-fit calls can make a cheap lead expensive.
Track this: Lead cost, answer rate, booked estimate rate, close rate, refund/dispute rate.

Compare LSA economics →

Paid lead marketplaces

Best for: Crews with open schedule capacity, strong phone follow-up, and margins that can absorb shared-lead competition.
Avoid if: You are already overloaded, have weak close rates, or cannot tolerate refund friction and price shoppers.
Cost-per-booked-job frame: A $60 lead at 20% close rate is $300 per booked job before labor, materials, and callbacks.
Track this: Cost per lead, contact rate, appointment rate, close rate, gross margin after lead fee.

Run the lead-cost math →

Referrals and repeat customers

Best for: Established operators with happy customers, recurring work, and crews who can ask at the right moment.
Avoid if: You need volume immediately or have not fixed the customer experience that earns referrals.
Cost-per-booked-job frame: Often the cheapest booked job, but only if requests, review prompts, and follow-up are systematic.
Track this: Referral requests sent, review requests sent, repeat-job rate, booked jobs from past customers.

Build the referral loop →

Website conversion and follow-up automation

Best for: Businesses already getting visits or calls but losing jobs because the site, forms, missed calls, or estimates leak demand.
Avoid if: You have no meaningful demand yet; fix visibility before obsessing over automation.
Cost-per-booked-job frame: The win is recovered revenue: more existing visitors/calls turn into scheduled estimates without buying more traffic.
Track this: Form conversion, missed-call recovery, estimate follow-up completion, booked-job recovery rate.

Audit the lead leak →

Website Lead Readiness Score

Use this when traffic exists but calls/forms are not turning into booked estimates.

Lead Response Calculator

Estimate how much revenue slow callback speed is costing before buying more leads.

Pricing Profit Leak Checklist

Check whether a lead source still works after labor, materials, overhead, and callbacks.

Common questions

How should contractors compare lead sources?

Use cost per booked job: lead cost divided by appointment rate, then divided by close rate. A cheap lead source can be expensive if the calls are low intent or your follow-up is slow.

What is the best lead source for contractors?

For most home-service businesses, referrals and Google demand are the strongest long-term sources. Paid lead sellers and LSAs can work, but only when answer speed, close rate, and margins are already under control.

When should a contractor invest in the website instead of buying more leads?

When you already get visits, calls, or ad clicks but homeowners do not understand your services, trust proof, service areas, or next step. That is a conversion problem, not a traffic problem.

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Local SEO, review requests, referral prompts, website fixes, and follow-up moves that turn attention into booked jobs.

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