In 2010, 99 Calls launched with a simple mission – help contractors grow through effective lead generation. Fifteen years and over 1.4 million leads later, we’ve seen the home services marketing landscape transform dramatically. Through recessions, a pandemic, and constant digital upheaval, we’ve adapted and learned invaluable lessons about what truly works. In this post, we reflect on our journey and share key insights for contractors evaluating lead generation partners; real talk from a team that’s been in the trenches of local marketing since flip phones and Yellow Pages were still a thing.
A 15-Year Journey in Lead Generation
When we opened our doors in 2010, the economy was recovering from a recession, and many contractors were cautious about marketing spend. Back then, getting leads online often meant focusing on organic SEO and simple websites. 99 Calls began as a lean lead-gen service centered around boosting clients’ search rankings and inbound calls. Fast-forward to today – as we celebrate our 15th year – and we’ve evolved into a “value leader” in contractor marketing, continuously refining strategies to stay ahead of a changing market. Over the past decade, we expanded beyond SEO, embracing new channels like Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Local Services Ads (LSA) as they emerged. In early 2017, we recognized the search market was getting crowded and pivoted from an SEO-only approach to incorporate Google Ads and LSA for faster, more scalable lead generation. That flexibility set the stage for the next era of growth. We also learned that generating leads is only half the battle – converting them is equally crucial. By 2023, we started helping contractors convert more leads through follow-up tools like email nurturing campaigns, database reactivation, and even missed-call text-back services, long before “automation” became a buzzword. This journey – from a small startup to a company that has delivered 1+ million leads – taught us the importance of staying nimble and never getting complacent.
Adapting Through Economic Highs and Lows
No business thrives for 15 years without weathering a few storms. For us and our clients, two big economic shake-ups come to mind: the post-2008 recession and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. In each case, home service contractors had to adjust quickly, and so did we. During downturns, marketing budgets tighten and every dollar spent on lead generation faces extra scrutiny. Our response has been to double down on efficiency and support. For example, when COVID hit and some jobs slowed, we worked closely with contractors to refocus marketing efforts on services still in demand (like emergency repairs) and leverage low-cost outreach like email and SMS to past customers. Experience taught us that in tough times, flexibility and communication are key, whether that meant pausing campaigns without penalties, shifting ad geographies, or simply being a supportive partner on the other end of the phone. We also learned the value of having a diversified lead funnel. Contractors who combined a mix of SEO, Google Ads, and referral business could adjust more easily than those relying on a single source. By being proactive and agile, 99 Calls stayed afloat through economic turbulence and helped many clients continue to grow when others pulled back. One client told us our responsiveness during the pandemic cemented their trust in us. Customer service isn’t just a slogan; it’s a lifeline in challenging times and something we prioritize in any economic climate. These trials underscored a lesson for any contractor: choose a marketing partner who will stand by you and adapt when the going gets tough.
The Changing Digital Marketing Landscape
Perhaps the biggest shifts we’ve seen in 15 years have been within the digital marketing industry itself. In 2010, getting on Google’s first page was largely an organic game. A well-optimized website and some local directory listings could work wonders. Fast forward to 2025, and Google’s page one has become a “pay-to-play” arena. The organic section of search results keeps shrinking as Google gives more real estate to paid elements. Today, when a homeowner searches for a service, the first things they often see are Google’s “Big 4” for local businesses: Local Services Ads at the very top, traditional Google Ads (PPC) just below, the Google Maps 3-Pack (fed by your Google Business Profile), and then the organic results. That means free SEO alone is no longer enough to dominate the first page. We learned this the hard way. As mentioned, by 2017, we began shifting focus from purely SEO to include PPC and LSA because we saw Google’s direction. Google introduced Local Services Ads (Google Guaranteed) in more industries, pushing the organic listings further down. Competition online also exploded: where there might have been 5 contractors vying for page one in 2010, now there are 50, plus lead aggregators and franchises. The lesson for us and our clients was clear: to stay visible, you need a multi-pronged strategy.
So what does mastering Google’s Big 4 look like? It means optimizing your Google Business Profile (for that map pack and local reviews), investing in SEO for long-term organic traffic, running Google Ads smartly for immediate visibility, and leveraging Google LSA for pay-per-lead opportunities. Each channel has pros and cons. For instance, GBP and SEO are cost-effective but require time and expertise, while Ads and LSA can get you leads quickly but require budget and oversight. A big part of our evolution has been helping contractors navigate these options. We educate clients that being at the top of Google now often means paying to be there (at least initially), but we also work on balancing that with improving free visibility. The bottom line: the rules of online lead generation changed, and 99 Calls changed with them. Contractors evaluating lead gen partners today should ask: Are they keeping up with Google’s latest moves? Do they offer a holistic approach or just one trick? Our experience shows that an integrated strategy is no longer optional. It’s essential for maximum lead flow.
Staying Ahead of Marketing Trends
Digital marketing moves at lightning speed. What worked even two or three years ago might not work today. That’s why one of our core principles has been to stay ahead of the curve on emerging trends, and more importantly, discern which ones matter most for local contractors. In recent years, we saw trends like AI-generated content, voice search, and video marketing take center stage. For example, AI tools now help create content faster, but we learned that human oversight is still needed to ensure quality and local relevance. Voice search (through Siri, Alexa, etc.) has grown in popularity, so we advise clients to keep their online listings updated for those query types. Social media and even new platforms (who had heard of TikTok or Instagram Threads in 2010?) have opened additional avenues for branding. While not every trend is worth chasing, we make it a point to experiment and adopt innovations that can boost lead generation for our clients.
One trend that has unquestionably impacted lead generation is rising online advertising costs due to inflation and increased competition. Over the past couple of years, the cost-per-click for Google Ads has soared in many industries. We’ve monitored scenarios where, for instance, plumbing leads in North Carolina that once cost around $80 shot up to $150, and painting leads in Arizona climbed from about $70 to $110 in a year. Even a long-time window cleaning client of ours saw their average lead cost jump from roughly $36 in early 2023 to about $70 in 2024. This is a reality across the board. Your marketing dollars simply don’t stretch as far as they used to. Our takeaway? When lead costs rise, you must squeeze more value out of every click and every call. For 99 Calls, that meant focusing heavily on conversion rate optimization and exploring alternative lead sources to maintain ROI for our customers. We pride ourselves on achieving a Google Ads conversion rate of around 20%, whereas the national average hovers around 7%. In practical terms, that’s almost 3 times more leads from the same ad spend – a critical edge when budgets are under pressure. We accomplish this through rigorous campaign management, A/B testing ad creatives and landing pages, and honing in on the keywords that drive actual calls. It’s a lesson any contractor can appreciate: when marketing gets more expensive, efficiency is everything. Whether through better ad management, improved websites, or faster lead follow-up, you want a partner who is obsessed with increasing your return on investment. High conversion rates and smart optimizations aren’t just vanity metrics for us; they’re how we survived and thrived through the inflationary surge of 2022–2023. And it’s not only about paid ads – we also doubled down on organic SEO content and local optimization during this period, so clients could continue to capture free traffic even as paid traffic got costlier. By staying on top of trends and proactively adjusting strategies (rather than reacting late), we’ve kept lead pipelines flowing for our clients.
Rising Costs Inspire New Solutions
Seeing how digital marketing costs were trending, we realized that innovation wasn’t just a nice-to-have. It was a necessity. One of the most impactful solutions we embraced was broadening the sources of leads to include a business’s existing contacts, not just new prospects searching on Google. Enter database reactivation campaigns and other re-engagement tactics. The concept is simple: your past inquiries and customers are a gold mine. Maybe they contacted you once and didn’t book, or they used you before but haven’t needed you lately – reaching back out to them can generate leads at a fraction of the cost of finding brand-new customers. We proved this in practice. In our own lead-generation efforts for clients, we found that database reactivation (sending targeted texts or emails to old contacts) often produces leads far more cheaply than SEO or PPC. For example, across various services like painting and roofing, we saw reactivation leads averaging around $22–$25 each, whereas organic leads cost closer to $30–$50, and Google PPC leads were $100+ in those same industries.
We’ve helped many clients run these reactivation campaigns. One notable success story was a window cleaning franchise that sent out over 40,000 text messages to lapsed and prospective customers from their database. The results were outstanding – they received 147 positive responses (people interested in new service) at roughly $3.40 per lead when all was said and done. To put that in perspective, generating 147 brand-new leads via typical marketing channels could cost anywhere from $3,600 to $7,200 – so this campaign was an absolute bargain. Not every business has a huge contact list, but if you’ve been around for a few years, even a few hundred past contacts can turn into a handful of new jobs with minimal expense. The lesson here is that by getting creative and leveraging what you already have, you can mitigate the pain of rising ad costs. We certainly haven’t abandoned traditional lead gen (far from it), but adding these kinds of strategies gives our clients an extra cushion and a more predictable flow of opportunities. It’s something we believe any good lead generation partner should offer in 2025: innovative ways to lower your cost per lead that go beyond just tweaking Google Ads. Sometimes, the best “new” lead is one you already had in your pipeline.
Innovating with Automation and Follow-Up
Another huge area of evolution for us has been in lead response and nurturing. Generating a lead is step one; turning that lead into an actual customer is step two. Over the years, we saw far too many good leads slip away simply due to slow or missed follow-ups – not just for our clients, but across the board. Studies show that over 60% of calls to small businesses go unanswered, and only about 20% of those callers leave a voicemail. We don’t want our clients to lose 60% of their hard-earned leads because they were on a ladder or with another customer when the phone rang! So, we asked: how can technology help bridge this gap? Our answer was to roll out automation tools that ensure every lead is engaged promptly, even if the business owner is tied up.
One such tool is the “missed call text-back” feature. If a prospect calls a contractor and no one picks up, our system automatically sends a polite text message to the caller, acknowledging the call and asking how we can help. It’s simple but incredibly effective. That quick response often keeps the prospect from calling the next competitor on the list, buying you precious time to follow up. It essentially says, “Hey, we saw you called – we care about your inquiry and we’re on it.” In an era when instant gratification is expected, this has been a game changer. In fact, research (including an MIT study) shows that businesses who follow up with leads within an hour are 7 times more likely to qualify that lead, and responding within 5 minutes can boost conversion rates by up to 80%. That aligns with what we’ve observed: speed kills (in a good way) when it comes to lead conversion. Our missed-call text feature is one way we help contractors achieve near-instant response times without needing a 24/7 call center.
We’ve also integrated short-term and long-term email nurturing campaigns for leads. For instance, if a prospect fills out a form on a client’s website, they can get an immediate thank-you email and a series of follow-up emails over the next few days highlighting the company’s credentials and a prompt to schedule an appointment. If weeks or months go by and they haven’t converted, we might send a friendly reminder or a seasonal promotion down the line. The idea is to politely persist so you’re top-of-mind when the customer is ready. This addresses a common scenario: homeowners who inquire but aren’t ready to pull the trigger immediately. Most contractors, understandably, get busy and don’t continue to follow up after the first call or two. But by implementing automated yet personalized “drip” communications, we’ve seen more of those slower-burn leads turn into jobs. It’s no surprise given that email marketing still delivers a huge ROI – about $36 for every $1 spent, on average. And anecdotally, we’ve heard from our clients that customers appreciate the periodic check-ins or informative newsletters, which keep them engaged without any hard sell.
Beyond texts and emails, we’re continually exploring other automation to help our clients work smarter, not harder. One recent addition is a scheduling tool that can send a link to leads allowing them to book an appointment on the contractor’s calendar directly – a convenience that many prospects love. We also advise on integrating CRM systems or using our built-in CRM to keep track of leads, notes, and follow-ups in one place. The overarching lesson from all these efforts is the importance of response and persistence. In today’s competitive market, you can’t afford to let a single lead go cold. By investing in these tools, 99 Calls has helped clients increase their contact and close rates significantly, squeezing more revenue out of the lead volume they already have. For the contractors evaluating lead generators: ask them not just how they’ll get you leads, but how they help you convert those leads after the fact. The best partners will see it through from the first click to the booked job.
Customer-Centric Culture and Team Loyalty
Through all the industry changes and fancy new marketing tactics, one thing that has remained constant is the importance of people and relationships, both with our clients and within our own team. A big part of 99 Calls’ success, we believe, comes from an unwavering focus on being customer-centric and building a loyal, dedicated team to serve those customers. What does that mean in practice? For one, it means being responsive and accountable. We strive to treat every client, whether they’re a one-truck landscaping outfit or a multi-location franchise, with the same level of respect and attentiveness. If a contractor calls or emails us with a question or concern, our goal is to respond as quickly as possible (usually on the same day). It sounds simple, but in an industry where some lead gen companies infamously sign you up and then disappear, our hands-on approach has been a differentiator. We have clients who have been with us for 5, 10, or even the full 15 years – and they often cite our responsiveness and genuine care as reasons why. We view our relationship as a partnership, not a vendor transaction, and that mindset informs everything from how we communicate to how we set expectations.
Speaking of expectations, we learned early that honesty and clarity go a long way. If a new contractor comes to us expecting 100 leads in the first week, we don’t just say “sure thing” to close the sale. We walk them through what’s realistic, how lead volume can ramp up over time, and what factors (like budget or service area) will influence results. It’s better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa. This kind of expectation management has helped us build trust. Contractors know we’ll shoot straight. If something isn’t working, we’ll tell them and pivot. If something is working great, we’ll explain why and how to double down. In an industry not always known for transparency, we aim to be the honest advisor you need.
Internally, we’ve built a team that believes in these same principles. The average employee tenure at 99 Calls is over five years, which is pretty remarkable in the digital marketing world. Our team members stick around because we foster an environment of continuous learning, collaboration, and respect. That continuity means our clients often work with the same account manager or specialist for years, forming a strong working relationship. It also means our team has deep experience. They’ve “seen it all” in the lead gen game and can apply lessons from hundreds of campaigns to benefit each new client. We invest in our people with training (for example, staying up-to-date with Google’s ever-changing ad platforms and SEO best practices) and nurturing a culture where everyone is focused on helping our contractors succeed. When you partner with 99 Calls, you’re not just getting a service. You’re getting a stable team of experts who genuinely care about your business. We celebrate client wins and take to heart any setbacks. Being customer-centric also means treating customers fairly. One tangible example: we’ve always had a “no long-term contract” policy – our clients stay because they want to, not because they’re locked in.
At the end of the day, the biggest lesson we’ve learned from generating over a million leads isn’t about algorithms or analytics – it’s that people matter most. The trust between us and our clients, and the strength of the team behind the scenes, are the foundation that makes all the marketing magic happen. A lead generation partner can have the flashiest tech and the cleverest ads, but if they don’t care about your success and stick with you for the long haul, you won’t get the results you’re looking for. We’re proud that many of our earliest clients are still with us today, and that our own employees grow and thrive along with the company. It’s a virtuous cycle: a happy team leads to happy customers, which leads to long-term success for everyone.
Key Lessons Learned (and Why They Matter to You)
After 15 years in the lead generation business for local service contractors, we can boil down our experience into a few core lessons. Whether you’re considering working with 99 Calls or any marketing partner, keep these in mind:
- Innovate Constantly or Get Left Behind: The marketing tactics that worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. We learned to never rest on our laurels. From new Google features to emerging social platforms, we stay curious and adaptable. For contractors: Look for a partner who is driven toward continually improving and adopting proven innovations – it means you’ll always be a step ahead of the competition.
- Stay Flexible and Be Ready for Change: Economic downturns, pandemics, algorithm updates – change is inevitable. Our success came from being agile and pivoting strategies when needed, rather than clinging to one approach. For contractors: Choose a lead gen service that’s flexible in their contracts and tactics. They should tailor solutions as your business grows or market conditions shift, not a one-size-fits-all package.
- Focus on Value and Efficiency: When ad costs rose, we honed in on conversion rates and alternative lead sources to keep ROI strong. It reinforced that it’s not about how many clicks you get, but how many customers you win. For contractors: Demand transparency about results and ROI. The right partner will focus on getting you the most business for the least spend, not just vanity metrics. High conversion and smart spending of your budget are crucial.
- Build a Loyal, Expert Team: We’ve invested in our team and kept turnover low, which translates to better service for our clients. Experienced people simply do a better job and can be trusted advisors. For contractors: Ask who will be managing your account. A stable team that knows your industry will deliver better outcomes than a churn-and-burn operation where your rep changes every month.
- Prioritize Customer Service and Trust: Perhaps our biggest strengths are treating clients like partners and being obsessed with helping them succeed. That means being responsive, honest, and going the extra mile. For contractors: In evaluating lead gen companies, talk to their clients if you can or read testimonials. Do they rave about the service and support? A company that values customer service will likely value your customers too, and work to get you quality leads and help you convert them.
- Manage Expectations and Educate: We found that educated clients get more value from our services. So we spend time explaining the “why” behind strategies and setting realistic goals. For contractors: The best marketing partner is a teacher at heart. They’ll help you understand the process and set expectations so you’re never in the dark. This transparency builds trust and better long-term results.
Celebrating 15 years and 1.4 million+ leads is not just a milestone for 99 Calls – it’s a testament to the power of continual learning and putting customers first. The home services marketing space will continue to evolve, with new challenges and opportunities each year. As we look ahead, we’re excited to keep innovating, whether through leveraging the latest AI tools to boost SEO or finding creative ways to turn a single inquiry into a lifelong customer. But no matter how much changes, we’ll hold onto the core principles that got us here: be innovative, be flexible, build a great team, set clear expectations, and provide outstanding customer service. These lessons have served our clients and us well for a decade and a half. We hope our insights can help you make informed decisions as you consider how to grow your own business. Here’s to the next million leads – and more importantly, to the successes of every contractor and small business owner on the other end of those leads. Thank you for being part of our journey, and we look forward to possibly being part of yours.