Category: painting leads

Lead Generation for Contractors, painting leads, Uncategorized

Painting Contractor Success Story: How Yaskara Painting Thrives

Keely Cameron

Customer Spotlight: Artemio Morga of Yaskara Painting LLC

At 99 Calls, we love shining a light on the amazing businesses we partner with. This month, we’re thrilled to feature Yaskara Painting LLC, a family-operated company led by Artemio Morga. With a deep commitment to quality, professionalism, and customer satisfaction, Yaskara Painting LLC has grown from humble beginnings into a trusted name for homeowners across the Vancouver, WA region.

Business History

Yaskara Painting LLC has been a valued 99 Calls customer since 2011 and has seen incredible success over the years. Owner Artemio Morga entered the painting industry in 2000, inspired by his uncle, who helped him secure his very first job. By 2008, Artemio took the leap and launched his own painting business.

Like many small businesses, the early years were challenging. Artemio recalls one of his first projects, a $200 bedroom paint job that netted only $20 after expenses. Starting with what he calls “empty hands,” getting to a positive cash flow was his toughest hurdle. In those early days, Yaskara Painting LLC relied on newspaper ads. Not long after getting started, they partnered with 99 Calls for SEO and lead generation services. 

The early years yielded tremendous lead volume. They often achieved 50-80 leads in a month from an optimized Google Business Profile and their SEO optimized website. 

Beginning in 2021, the number of free search results on Google’s first page diminished sharply. Yaskara, and many other service contractors across the country, saw their organic lead volume plummet. Luckily, 99 Calls and Artemio worked together and embraced best practices for digital marketing early on. This included maintaining a strong online presence with regular updates, adding photos and running promotions, as well as initiating a Google Ads campaign, and later, a Google LSA campaign. Yaskara continues to benefit from strong lead generation through SEO, Google Ads, and Google LSA.

To date, Yaskara Painting’s partnership with 99 Calls lead generation has yielded:

  • 1,500+ leads through Google Ads
  • 5,236+ leads organically
  • 650+ leads through Google Local Service Ads (LSA)

These results speak to the tremendous power of consistency with marketing and the effectiveness of a strong digital presence.

Core Services and Certifications

Yaskara Painting LLC holds a contractor’s license and is EPA certified, ensuring safe handling of lead-based paint. Their core services include:

  • Interior & exterior painting
  • Cabinet painting (a cost-effective alternative to replacement)
  • Deck and fence staining (typically as part of larger exterior projects)
  • Drywall and texturing services

In addition, they provide dry rot repair and complimentary color consultations with an interior designer for clients booking full interior or exterior painting jobs, value-added services that truly set them apart from the local competition.

Company Differentiators and Mission

What makes Yaskara Painting LLC unique is its “do it right the first time” philosophy. Artemio and his team pride themselves on avoiding shortcuts, honoring warranties, and delivering on every promise made. Their dedication is backed by a two-year workmanship warranty—often extended well beyond that period to maintain strong client relationships.

Family plays a central role in the business, with cousins, uncles, Artemio’s wife Maria, and their son Victor all contributing to operations. Victor is pursuing a degree in marketing and manages their social media platforms. This family-run dynamic brings a personal touch to every project, reinforcing their mission to ensure customer satisfaction from start to finish.

Marketing and Growth Strategy

Yaskara Painting LLC continues to thrive through diverse marketing channels. While SEO and Google Ads remain their strongest and primary lead sources, they’ve also tested Facebook and Instagram campaigns. Through their partnership with 99 Calls, Yaskara Painting has consistently generated a steady flow of exclusive leads, ensuring higher-quality opportunities and sustainable growth.

Looking ahead, Yaskara Painting LLC has set an ambitious five-year goal of expanding its team from 12 to 21 employees. This growth strategy reflects their steady increase in demand and their commitment to meeting the needs of local homeowners.

Final Thoughts

From humble beginnings to a thriving family-operated business, Yaskara Painting LLC’s journey is a true testament to resilience, quality craftsmanship, and a customer-first approach. Whether it’s transforming interiors, refreshing exteriors, or offering thoughtful extras like color consultations, Artemio and his team are dedicated to ensuring every project exceeds expectations.

We’re proud to spotlight Yaskara Painting LLC, a trusted partner since 2011, whose growth and success demonstrate the power of hard work, family values, and effective marketing.

At 99 Calls, we don’t just generate leads, we build partnerships. Watching Artemio grow from a new business owner to a successful entrepreneur with a thriving service company has been incredibly rewarding.

His journey and our mission to help businesses are aligned and built on:

  • Hard work
  • Dedication to family
  • Smart, consistent marketing
  • A client-first business philosophy

We’re proud to play a small part in Artemio’s big journey. Want to be the next success story?

Let’s talk about how 99 Calls can help your business grow

Google Ads, online marketing costs, painting leads, PPC, Uncategorized

Which Painting Services Generate the Most Leads for the Least Cost?

Jordan Evans

Learn where painters should invest their marketing dollars.

Cast Your Painting Leads Net Wide

When it comes to painting leads, not all jobs have the same ROI. Many painters see this and zero in on jobs that bring the money! But it’s actually more cost-effective to cast a wide net with general “painter” ads. This is especially true if painters are looking to boost lead volume.

Trying Painter Niches for Leads

That said, not every business wants just volume. Some painters are looking to dominate in certain niches, whether it’s cabinets, exteriors, or even commercial painting. If that’s you, this breakdown will show you where the best opportunities are. Below you’ll see the averages from 30+ painting PPC accounts combined, and three individual companies that specialize in niche painting jobs. 

Painter One provides a wide variety of painting services. Painter Two only advertises in cabinet painting and refinishing services, and Painter Three prefers to target cabinet painting services and house painting services, but does not promote interior painting or drywall services.

The data shows leads from Google Search Ads alone (Jan 1 – Aug 21, 2025).

General Painter Leads: The Best Bang for Your Buck

  • 579 leads at $176 per lead

Casting the widest net paid off here. General “painter” keywords delivered the most volume and some of the cheapest costs per lead. If you’re looking for efficiency and steady growth, this is where to start.

House & Exterior Painting: Competitive but High ROI

  • House Painting: 95 leads at $212 per lead
  • Exterior Painting: 89 leads at $186 per lead

These jobs are in high demand, but so is competition. If you want to win here, you’ll need strong ad copy, a professional landing page, and a quick follow-up process.

Interior Painting: Smaller Volume, Solid ROI

  • 33 leads at $172 per lead

Not as many searches, but interior painting leads tend to be highly motivated homeowners ready to book. These jobs also often lead to add-on services like bedrooms, hallways, or even cabinets.

Cabinet Painting: The Standout Niche

  • Cabinet Painting: 319 leads at $185 per lead
  • Kitchen Painting: 10 leads at $66 per lead

Cabinet painting produced strong numbers at mid-range costs, while kitchen-specific painting leads came in at one of the lowest costs overall. If you’re set up for detail work, this is a profitable niche to target.

Commercial, Industrial & Specialty Work: Low Volume, High Efficiency

  • Commercial Painting: 14 leads at $145 per lead
  • Industrial Painting: 7 leads at $80 per lead
  • Ceiling Painting: 1 lead at $59 per lead

These categories don’t drive big numbers, but the leads they do bring in are relatively inexpensive and often overlooked by competitors. If your business can handle commercial or industrial projects, there’s an opportunity here to grab low-cost jobs others ignore.

The Big Picture: LSA, SEO & Google Ads Compared

The leads generated through Google Ads may seem expensive compared to other types of lead services. We recommend that contractors use PPC ads as one channel for lead generation. They often also generate leads from Local Service Ads and SEO, which are less expensive per lead. Local Service ads and SEO typically have lead costs of $50 or less. 

So why do people do Google ads? 

The volume. 

Using Local Service Ads and SEO alone can only get you so far. Some painting companies prefer budget over volume. Others make their budget work for them and use Google PPC ads to boost lead volume. Here’s a more comprehensive breakdown of these 3 lead generation methods for painters:

Local Service Ads (LSA): A great long-term play, but volume stays low until you’ve built up a strong base of 5-star reviews. Without them, it’s tough to compete. Local service ads for painters look like this:

SEO: Reliable and cost-effective, but it takes a few months of consistent work before you start seeing leads roll in. Learn more about SEO here.

PPC (Google Ads): The fastest way to scale. All you need is a budget and an ads specialist who knows how to structure campaigns. With the right setup, you can start generating painting leads within a week or two.

The Proof is in the Pudding – And with Robert

Robert has been doing SEO with 99 Calls since 2013.

Strategic Takeaway: Know When to Go Wide vs. Narrow

  • If you want the lowest cost leads, start with Organic and Local Service Ads. Know these will take time to generate leads.
  • If you want to generate leads quickly or target a specific niche, consider Google Ads.  Target large net “painter near me” keywords and niches like kitchen or cabinet painting, where costs are efficient.
  • PPC costs vary region to region and season to season, so it’s important to stay on top of lead costs. Some areas are a gold mine. Some….not so much. Call our specialists to check your cost per click at 800-717-4669.

At the end of the day, the best painting businesses blend all three strategies and lean on Google Ads for immediate results, SEO for sustainable growth, and LSA for credibility once the reviews start rolling in.

Need help setting up painting ads that actually produce results? Contact a Google Ads pro today and start scaling fast.

Schedule A Call

See Our Reviews

Appliance Repair Leads, Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, Commercial Cleaning Leads, Google Ads, Google Guaranteed, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, LSA, painting leads, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, Roofing Leads, SEM, SEO

Don’t Get Left Behind: Why Local Home Service Businesses Need LSAs and Google Ads Campaigns In Conjunction with SEO to Grow

Dipa Gandhi

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, there’s been a seismic shift in the last five years.

Remember SEO, the old king of getting free website traffic from search engines? It’s still around, but for local home service businesses (roofers, painters, plumbers, cleaners and more), Local Search Ads (LSAs) and Google Ads are the new game changers.

Why the big switch? Let’s break it down.

SEO: The Slow and Steady Strategy

SEO is all about optimizing your website to attract free, organic traffic from search engines. It’s great for long-term growth, improving user experience, and boosting your search ranking. But here’s the catch: it’s a slow game. It takes consistent effort and time to see real results. It’s an ongoing process that requires adaptation to the evolving search engine algorithms. By optimizing your site and staying up-to-date with algorithms, you can steadily climb the search rankings and build credibility.

LSAs & Google Ads: Get Noticed Now

These are paid advertising options that put your business right in front of potential customers when they’re actively searching for what you offer. Imagine a homeowner desperate for a plumber – your ad pops up at the perfect moment! 

Here’s why paid advertising works:

Immediate Visibility: The results at the top from any search query, especially pertaining to home services, are the LSAs and Google Ads, increasing the chances of users clicking on them.

Targeted Reach: LSAs and Google Ads allow businesses to target specific geographic locations and keywords relevant to their services. This targeting ensures that their ads are shown to users who are most likely to be interested in their services, increasing the chances of conversions.

Increased Credibility: LSAs, in particular, come with a stringent verification process, including a background check, which adds credibility to the business. Customers are more likely to trust businesses that are verified by Google, leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.

Diversified Marketing Strategy: By using LSAs, Google Ads, and SEO together, businesses create a diversified marketing strategy that reaches potential customers through multiple channels.

Data-Driven Optimization: Both LSAs and Google Ads provide detailed analytics that allow businesses to track the performance of their ads in real-time.

Flexible Budget: LSAs and Google Ads allow businesses to set flexible budgets based on their advertising goals and financial capabilities.

Competitive Advantage: In competitive markets, utilizing LSAs, Google Ads, and SEO together can give businesses a competitive advantage by increasing their visibility and chances of one of their marketing channels getting found and clicked on.

SEO is still valuable, but for immediate impact and laser-focused marketing, LSAs and/or Google Ads are a must-have. They’re dynamic, adaptable, and put you directly in front of potential customers who are ready to buy. You may choose to run both LSA and Google Ads, or just one or the other, but it’s important to run at least one of them in conjunction with SEO, and to understand the differences between the two Google paid channels.

The key takeaway? 

Don’t get stuck in the past. Embrace the new marketing landscape and incorporate a wide range of channels in your marketing strategy for highest ROI. The most successful strategy uses a powerful combination of SEO, LSAs, and Google Ads. It’s not about choosing one – it’s about finding the perfect balance to achieve your business goals and keep your phone ringing.

Business Website, Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, Commercial Cleaning Leads, digital marketing, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Lead Management, Nurturing, online marketing, online marketing costs, painting leads, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, Roofing Leads, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads

“Which Lead Generation Platform is Best for My Business?”

Jordan Evans

Take this Quiz!

Are you a business owner looking to solve your need for more (and more consistent) inbound leads? You’ve probably heard about different options, from Home Advisor/Angie’s to Google Ads to SEO. Which of these, is the best for your business? Do some deliver a better ROI than others?

The team at 99 Calls is often asked to help small businesses devise a strategy to deliver a lasting lead flow. Over the years, they have been trusted to create and run smart, digital marketing campaigns.

Which option or combination of approaches is right for you? Take this 5-10 minute quiz to find the right lead generation option for your business.

Pssstt…don’t forget to hit submit!

Depending on your business goals, one or a combination of the following options will be recommended to best generate leads for your business:

Google Ads PPC allows you to pay your way onto the first page of Google! PPC ads are our fastest but priciest lead generation option. We recommend this option for all customers who want fast, quality leads, and to those who wish to supplement their long-term SEO strategy.

Local Service Ads (Google Guaranteed) is a pay-per-lead advertising platform that connects local businesses with people who search on Google for the services they offer. These ads appear at the very top of relevant search results above other text ads and display a green check mark. We recommend these to businesses that have lots of great reviews on their Google Business Profile.

Organic SEO is the long-term and most cost-effective approach to lead generation. 99 Calls’ SEO services utilize a lead generation website. Included in the low monthly fee are assistance with online reputation management and an integrated dashboard with a mobile app.

Database Reactivation is best for contractors who provide routine service to their clients or contractors who have been in business for many years. If you have a list of old contacts or clients that could be happy customers again, this is your option!

Email Marketing and Lead Nurturing is an excellent strategy to deploy with your lead sources. Although this doesn’t create leads, it will help you convert the leads you receive and help you build valued relationships.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Appliance Repair Leads, Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, Contractor Leads for Winter, digital marketing, Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Off season marketing, online marketing, online marketing costs, painting leads, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, Roofing Advertising, Roofing Leads, service contractor leads

Don’t Freeze Your Leads This Winter:

Diane Lovine

5 Marketing Tips To Implement for Winter 2024

(and 3 Mistakes to Avoid during the Slower Season)

5 Marketing Strategies to Implement Now

As colder weather rolls in, many contractors put the brakes on their marketing efforts. However, winter is a great time to capitalize on opportunities and retarget your campaigns to give you the biggest bang for a lean winter budget. While the demand for many services slows between November and February, refining your marketing strategy will help you reap rewards and set the stage for plenty of growth in the spring.

1. Beef up your SEO

Adding fresh content to your website will help it rank higher when warmer weather returns, making it easier for potential customers to find you. Here are a few worthwhile enhancements you can make:

  • Add photos of your recent work. Before and after pictures or photos of your team in action help build consumer confidence in your services.
  • Now is the time to create or optimize your YouTube channel Start recording short videos while you perform your jobs. Add links to the videos to your site and your listings. People are far more likely to consume video content than written content.
  • Think about your service offerings. Are they all listed and described? Take the time to add relevant content that helps to explain why you are the best option for consumers.
  • Do you provide special touches or advanced processes that you can explain? This will help improve page ranking and increase conversions by presenting you as an expert in your field.
  • Add social proof to all pages. Add boxes with great testimonials you’ve received from your happy customers.
  • Do your pages describe what you do and where you do it? These are key ranking factors. Take the time to read through your pages and improve their clarity.

2. Get Your GBP in Order

  • Is your Google Business Profile optimized? Check your service offerings, add photos, and run a fall promotion to capture more attention.
  • Get more reviews! Send a link to your GBP to happy customers and keep the 5-star reviews coming in all winter long.

3. Run Targeted Google Ads for Winter or Indoor Services & Plan for 2025

  • Running a Google Ads campaign for your most profitable winter services is a great way to generate additional leads during your “off” season.
  • This is also a great time to develop a game plan for your Google ads campaign for the upcoming year.
  • Think about your marketing budget, what services you want to target, and what areas you want to focus your marketing on.

4. Add a Local Services Ads Campaign

  • If you are not yet utilizing Google’s Local Services Ads (LSA), using your downtime to build your profile and complete the verification process is a great use of your time. LSA is a pay-per-lead program that tends to be less expensive than Google’s pay-per-click ads but requires a more extensive verification process.
  • If you begin now, your campaign will be fully optimized and ready to scale during your busier months!

5. Convert Old Leads with a database reactivation campaign

  • If you have a database of “old” leads that you aren’t engaging with, you’re missing out on potential revenue! Reactivation campaigns are a great, low-cost way to book more jobs at a fraction of the price of a new lead.
  • DBR campaigns can be used to reengage stale leads that never converted, as well as to energize current and former clients to utilize your services for their next project. It’s important to find the right balance between staying “top of mind” and not becoming a nuisance. We recommend running these campaigns no more than quarterly.

Get ahead of your competitors and utilize your winter months wisely by focusing on your marketing efforts while you have the time. Using multiple methods of lead generation may seem daunting. Luckily, companies like 99 Calls can help you manage your marketing efforts and get a return on your investment!

3 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid this Fall

Fall marks the beginning of the slower season for many contractors. Between mid-November and mid-January, fewer consumers planning to remodel, move, upgrade, or expand. People are gearing up for the holidays and the new year ahead. Add to that the uncertainty of an election cycle, and you may be looking at a lean winter. 

There are several common mistakes that contractors make when tighter times approach. It may seem smart to cut back, lay off, and lay low to avoid unnecessary expenses, but savvy contractors utilize these quieter months to build. This keeps revenue channels open and puts businesses in a prime position to enjoy exponential growth when the hot season begins.

Top Three Slow-Season Mistakes: 

  1. Scale way back on marketing – It might seem prudent to cut your marketing budget as the season comes to a close. However, when the number of booked jobs on the schedule begins to decrease, this is an excellent time to review your marketing strategy and trim out the efforts that aren’t yielding results. 
  • Now is the time to crunch the numbers and find your highest-value channels. If your Google Ads leads are becoming too expensive (demand often drops, causing click prices to climb in the fall), look into your other channels and consider running an LSA campaign, LinkedIn or Facebook Ads, or a database reactivation campaign.
  • If you are paying more for leads than you are generating in revenue, it may be time to find a new lead company.  There is a wide range of competence among marketing companies. What is your current conversion rate? The national average is right around 7%. The team at 99 Calls achieves a 20% average conversion rate on Google Ads campaigns. Why does this matter? The higher the conversion rate, the fewer clicks it will take to get leads, and the less you’ll spend per lead.
  • Although the lead costs are higher during the fall and winter months, Google Ads may still be a viable option for increasing lead volume into the winter. Google Ads marketing allows contractors to target specific services in selected areas. Research the keywords that match your service offerings that have lower levels of competition so that you can get more leads with a smaller budget. 

Although they are more challenging to find, there are plenty of opportunities to generate leads, win new jobs, and keep your team on the payroll. 

  1. Cut back on labor – Because there is a general shortage of qualified, motivated laborers in the workforce nationwide today, if you are lucky enough to have them on your team, now is not the time to furlough or lay them off. 
  • Do what you can to keep those smaller jobs coming in, even at lower profit margins to keep your valued workers gainfully employed.  
  • We all prefer the big jobs and/or recurring business, but those smaller gigs often lead to larger, more valuable jobs in the future.
  • Not only are you contributing to your employees’ livelihood, but you are building trust and loyalty. See #1 above for ideas on getting those smaller, one-off jobs to keep your calendar full and your people working.
  1. Take it easy and chill for the winter – It may be tempting to take a long winter’s nap, but here are a few actions to take before you decide to take that much-needed vacation or rest after a busy summer. 
  • Take a look at your SEO efforts. Are you promoting the services that you offer in the winter months now? It takes time for new content to get indexed and start ranking on Google. Now is the time to promote the services you want to offer in February and March. 
  • Contact current customers and offer a discount when they book winter services. 
  • Plan your 2025 budget. What are your goals for the new year? How much growth in revenue or customers do you want?
  • Plan your advertising budget by researching marketing and lead generation prices necessary to achieve your financial goals.
  • Research marketing and lead generation firms and compare the cost of outsourcing to hiring a marketing person.
  • Take time in the slower weeks ahead to review what’s working, what isn’t and see where you can trim the fat. 
  • Take some of your summer profits and invest them in some solid targeted online marketing. Remember, smart online marketing is an investment, not an expense!
  • Once you’ve got these things in place, take a quick break – you’ll be recharged and ready to reap the rewards of your efforts!

If the thought of laser-focusing your marketing dollars and finding low-cost, high-value leads seems out of reach, consider trying the Growth Package with 99 Calls. For a $399 price tag, you’ll get set up on SEO marketing, Google Ads, and Google’s Local Services Ads for one low price, plus get access to the latest and greatest conversion tools.

Get Started Here

Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, digital marketing, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, online marketing costs, painting leads, Roofing Advertising, Roofing Leads, service contractor leads

Are You Just Spending, or Investing in Your Business?

Diane Lovine

Effective Lead Generation is an Investment – Not an Expense

Are you treating lead generation costs or prices per lead as monthly expenses? If so, you haven’t found the right company to partner with!

Does thinking about setting a “marketing budget” make you cringe? Do you immediately imagine your bank account balance going down, down, down? If you see your lead generation budget as a regular monthly expense, you may be wasting a lot of money! Expenses are car payments, electric bills, and internet costs. Good lead generation is an investment. Something that GENERATES revenue for your business, not an expense.

Most lead generation companies charge a flat rate per month and don’t promise anything in return. Yes, that’s probably an expense. But there are a few pay-for-performance companies out there that can prove their value to you month after month. In addition, many companies no longer require contracts, so you are free to take your investment elsewhere if you aren’t seeing the returns you were lead to expect.

If you want my team to just take care of your online marketing click here for a consultation.

Most Lead Generation May Cost You

The budget you set aside each month for online marketing is probably being considered an expense if you are lumping it in with your other costs. When times are tight, you might think your marketing “costs” should be the first to go. Then you trim other costs to save money. If you could generate reliable leads each month that turn into profitable jobs, your lead generation budget would become a necessary investment (and a sound one, at that!) If you are constantly trying to keep your monthly costs low by cutting into your lead generation budget, you are missing out on the potential to turn your service business into a cash cow. When leads become expenses are when they don’t produce measurable results.

Example: Say you have allotted $500 each month for online marketing of your remodeling business. If you hire a lead generation company that charges a flat rate of $500 each month and tells you they will promote your business online, get you onto the first page of Google and get calls coming in, but then doesn’t produce, this would be an expense.

If you hire a different company and they tell you that you’ll only pay for qualified leads that come in and you get to determine what a qualified lead means to you, you won’t be paying an expense, you’ll be investing in those customers who call you for a quote. And the higher your close rate, the more money your business will make from that marketing investment!

Return on Investment is the way businesses measure the net increase or decrease that comes from investing money. Return on investment, or ROI is the amount of revenue you bring in, minus the amount of money you invest to make it. So if you invest $500 in lead generation, and that turns into 6 qualified leads, and you win 4 new jobs, and each job is worth $1000 in profits, Your return on investment is $4000 (profits) – $500 (investment), or $3500. Imagine if you could invest $500 every month and watch it turn into $3500. Now that’s a solid investment!

Online Marketing and Lead Generation as an Investment

Customers use online searches more than any other means to find service businesses they want to hire. If you’re not there, front and center, with a great reason for them to call you for the quote, you probably won’t get called.

Good marketing entices customers to call you for a quote, which results in jobs, which means revenue for your business. When online marketing in the form of lead generation works in this way, it is considered an investment in your business. Even when times are tight, you don’t want to stop investing in good marketing, because it’s probably your best chance to build your revenue stream back up. Instead, start slow and build as you land more jobs. And don’t spend your excess profits. Keep investing in your business and watch it grow.

How to Increase Your Lead Generation ROI

So how can you spend less money per contractor lead? What is the best way to lower online marketing costs? Get seen and called more often and win more sales from your monthly lead budget!

  1. Improve Your Visibility and Get More Calls

The more phone calls and emails you get from your monthly marketing budget, the higher the return on your marketing investment will be.

When you sign on for services for online marketing and lead generation, be sure to find a company with a complete package: Highly optimized lead generation sites that will rank well on Google, Bing, and other search engines and the ability to customize the lead generation site and listings with your unique branding.

As important as getting found is for getting calls, making your business attractive to potential customers is also critical. Entice your customers to pick up and call you by displaying high-quality photos of your work and pictures of yourself or your team on the home page. Offer a special promotion to motivate them to call you rather than your competitors.

For other tips on improving visibility and making waves with an online presence, see this article: https://blog.99calls.com/2021/03/16/maximize-digital-marketing-returns-on-a-small-budget/

  1. Improve Your Close Rate

The higher your close rate, the lower your costs per lead and the more leads you can get for the same monthly investment.

Here are the top 5 things you can do to increase your close rate, and thereby increase your returns:

Always Answer Your Phone: It seems so simple, but we see it all the time. Customers are impatient. They identify a need, search online and call the first contractor they see who looks legit. If that’s you and your phone rings, you are LOSING MONEY every time a call goes to voicemail.

Quick Quote: If you’re able to give a ballpark figure over the phone, go for it. Otherwise, schedule a visit within the next 48 hours to see the job and give a quote. Get in there before your competition.

Professionalism Pays: No, you don’t need to show up in your Sunday best, and actually, arriving in some work clothes lets potential customers know you’re a busy person who other customers already trust. Just change into a clean shirt to change and be prepared with pen and paper to take notes. Listen to what they are asking you to do, and repeat it back so they know you heard it right.

Offer Options: When you offer 2 or even three options for getting the work done, you’ll asking your potential customer not to choose between you and someone else, but between two or three price points from YOU. Offer a budget option, which less expensive materials and less expensive detail, and then one with the best quality. This also lets them know you are versatile and can work with different budgets.

Follow Up: Don’t drop an estimate and run. People appreciate a friendly reminder that you are available to schedule their job. Maybe even give them a discount if they can fill an opening you have in a given month. Persistence pays!

For more information on improving return on investment, learn why combining SEO with pay per click gives contractors the best bang for their buck: https://blog.99calls.com/2020/07/20/benefits-of-combining-seo-lead-generation-with-ppc-advertising/

Summary

If you’re ready to really start growing your service business, start viewing your marketing budget as a smart investment, rather than a monthly expense, then find a quality lead generation team to make your monthly lead generation investment work for you. For more information on getting the most from your online marketing investment, give the team at 99Calls.com a call at 800-717-4669.

Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, digital marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, online marketing costs, painting leads, Roofing Advertising, Roofing Leads, service contractor leads

What is PPC Conversion Rate and Why Does it Matter?

Diane Lovine

Are PPC Leads Worth the Expense?

Turns out the cost per lead varies widely depending on the effectiveness of the marketing company you hire to run your campaigns.

Utilizing Google Ads PPC campaigns is the fastest, most versatile method of achieving a high volume of leads for service contractors. However, buyer beware; not all PPC marketing firms produce equal results. In fact, differences in performance are alarming and could mean the difference between enjoying a robust return on investment and blowing your advertising budget with little to show for it. 

There is an enormous gap between average and superior Ads performance. According to a recent article by Wordstream, a trusted authority in measuring PPC conversion results, a full 25% of PPC users report conversion rates under 1%.

Unlike SEO, or organic lead generation, which takes many months to ramp up and achieve first-page placement on Google searches (and let’s be honest, if you aren’t being found on the first page, you most likely will not be found), using Google Ads PPC to generate exclusive leads yields much faster results.

Google PPC is an auction-style platform for showcasing businesses on the first page of searches. Rather than showing in the maps (GMB) section, or the highly regarded organic results section, Google PPC ads are displayed at the very top and the very bottom of the search page.

PPC Explained

Ads are about scarcity. There is only room for 3-6 PPC ads on a page, about half posted at the very top and half at the bottom, under organic results. In order to achieve first-page placement on Google, you’ve got to be one of the top bidders. A high conversion rate is achieved when a large percentage of people who click on an Ad call for a quote (a lead). The more leads you receive for your monthly budget, the better your return on investment. 

With Google Ads, contractors are bidding per click, meaning, they are telling Google what they are willing to pay each time a potential buyer clicks on their Ad. The goal is to pay the lowest Cost Per Click, or CPC that you can but high enough to make it into a top 3 position, at least for a decent percentage of the time. Google doesn’t place 3 companies there and then walk away. The top 3 are rotated throughout the day. What gets companies up there? First and foremost is being a top bidder. 

Achieving visibility on a search is just one piece to the puzzle though. Equally as important are your click-through rates (CTR) and your conversion rates. Click-through rates are the percentage of times someone clicks on the link in your Ad to visit the landing page compared to the number of times your Ad is shown (aka impressions). If the Ad is compelling and relevant to what the person is looking for, the click-through rate will be higher. If your CTR is low, you will likely also have a low conversion rate. 

And finally, let’s talk about conversion rates. A conversion for some industries may be the collection of information (email or phone number) from a potential buyer that can be added to a telemarketing or email nurturing list. In service contractor industries, a conversion is a lead. Better, with 99 Calls, it is an exclusive lead that is delivered either through a live phone call or email. The better your conversion rate, the more leads you will receive for your monthly budget or advertising investment.

Average Conversion Rate and Why it Matters

The average conversion rate for service contractors using Google Search PPC advertising is 2.35%. This means that out of every 100 customers who click on your Ads, only two to three will actually call you for a quote. 

The worst-performing (bottom 25%) campaigns receive a 1% or lower conversion rate. One in four campaigns falls into this bottom category. In fact, nearly half of all people who use Google Ads have a conversion rate lower than 2.5%. Included in these numbers are the do-it-yourselfers who don’t think it’s worth paying the service fee to have a marketing team manage their accounts.

Imagine that your monthly Ads budget is $1000. If the average click for your industry costs $5.00, at a 2.35% conversion rate, you’d get 4-5 leads with your budget if you hire an average marketing company. 

The best performing marketing businesses, those in the top 10% of all companies, are averaging an 11.45% conversion rate. If you were using one of them to manage your Ads campaign and had the same $1000 budget and click cost at $5.00 each, you’d achieve 23 leads. That’s over 5x the lead volume for your marketing dollars! That’s why conversion rate matters.

How to Maximize Your Conversion Rate

There is a bright side to Google Ads marketing. People and businesses in the know are able to achieve excellent results with PPC advertising. The best performing marketing businesses, those in the top 10% of all companies, achieve an 11.45% conversion rate. This is far better than the average performer with 5x the lead volume for the same budget.

A small study looked at 124 customers using Google Ads campaigns managed through 99 Calls with a monthly budget of more than $300. The Google Ads specialists at 99 Calls were able to use their in-house PPC advertising system to achieve an average conversion rate across all service contractor (restoration contractors, carpet cleaners, painters, landscapers, appliance repair technicians, electricians, plumbers, HVAC, etc.) industries of 20.43%. Using the same scenario above, these contractors would have achieved 40 leads per $1000 budget, 10x the average PPC customer.

Conclusion

With the increases in online competition, SEO alone often isn’t enough anymore for a growing service business. Many service contractors have turned to PPC advertising to increase their customer base and their revenue. However, with the huge discrepancy between top-performing PPC management firms and low performers, it’s no wonder that many companies have become frustrated with PPC. They have lost trust in Google Ads. They complain that they have burned through their budgets too quickly without results. When every dollar counts, it is crucial that contractors find a top 10% company to handle their Ads campaign. Using a trusted, experienced Google Partner to manage an Ads campaign can literally make the difference between getting one lead for every 100 clicks on your Ads or 20 or more! 

Want to learn how our strategies for maximizing Google Ads PPC conversion rate can help your business? Schedule a free consultation

painting leads

Top 10 Painting Leads Providers for 2022

Diane Lovine

2025 Update

Updated October 2021 by Devon Osborne

When re-evaluating lead generation services for the painting industry for 2022, we found that there are several components that have remained the same with the lead generation vendors over the years while others have changed. 

We’ve identified a few factors that have remained constant during the past three years. The first, is that painting contractors continue to express an overall goal of having a steady flow of quality painting leads and the companies reviewed below offer painting lead services. We also know that pay-per-lead services continue to be an excellent means of lead generation for painters, and are being used more frequently in conjunction with SEO or other lead services. The third factor is that painters can still count on many of the same lead generation companies that we evaluated back in 2018 with just a few exceptions. For example, the team at 99 Calls reports the same pricing for exclusive painting leads and the addition of Google Ads PPC to provide more leads faster. A couple of the companies we reported on in 2018 appear to be out of business, but almost all are providing similar services and with similar pricing. 

The whole world was shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Everything we once knew was suddenly completely different. Homeowners suddenly had to take additional precautions when it came to who was in their house, some even opting to take the DIY route. Thankfully, many businesses were able to make it through the hardships and consumers are once again calling contractors for house painting.

As we continue moving towards a post-pandemic world, the revenue of the painting industry is expected to grow 3.2% over the next year. (“Painters Industry in the US – Market Research Report”) In order to make the most out of the market growth. You will need to determine what lead generation company is right for you.

There are several different pay-per-lead providers for painting contractors, but the ways in which they operate differ.  In order to ensure that you get the highest return on investment (ROI), you’ll need to do your research to find which lead generation company works best for your business model. We took a look at several reputable pay-per-lead providers to help you get started.

 

Exclusive Leads

Lead Verification

Lead Source(s)

HomeAdvisor

No

Yes

Homeowners submit their information to HomeAdvisor (now called Angi)


PainterChoice

No

Yes

Homeowners submit leads to PainterChoice

CraftJack

No

Yes

Homeowners submit leads to CraftJack

Networx

No

N/A

Third-party data sources

Thumbtack

Yes

Yes

Homeowners submit leads to Thumbtack

TruBids.com

?

?

Do not appear to be operating at this time

eWebify

Yes

Yes

Drive prospects to contractor’s website

Connexion Solutions

Yes

Prospects contact contractor directly

Drive prospects to contractor’s website

Porch

No

N/A

Referrals from Porch, Lowe’s and Wayfair

99 Calls

Yes

Prospects contact contractor directly

Drive prospects to contractor’s website

Figure 1: How each pay-per-lead website handles lead generation, verification, and distribution

 

What To Consider When Selecting a Pay-Per-Lead Vendor

To select the best pay-per-lead vendor for your painting business, you should consider the following:

  • How does the vendor generate painting leads?

  • Does the vendor verify each lead before selling it to a contractor?

  • How many contractors are sharing each lead?

  • What is the price per painting lead?

There’s a lot to consider. Here’s what you should know about these specific terms:

Lead Source

If you have heard of contractors complaining about getting bad leads, then you’d understand the importance of lead source.

  • Some pay-per-lead vendors deliver higher quality leads that are more likely to turn into clients so you’d want to focus on getting prospects from those sources.
  • There are many lead sources – some from third-party data sources or come directly from homeowners while others are referrals.
  • Keep in mind that vendors who offer leads from third-party data sources are essentially buying and re-selling leads, which could mean an increase in cost.
  • You may need to experiment to see what works best for your business. Keep track of where the leads come from so you can focus on sources that send you the highest quality leads.

Lead Verification System

No smart business owner wants to waste his marketing dollars on bad leads. That’s why having the ability to verify leads before you pay for them is a smart way to make sure you’re spending your money on prospects that are most likely to turn into clients.

  • Look for vendors that have a lead verification system in place, or provide an easy and fair way to dispute bad leads, so you can be sure that you’re spending your marketing dollars most efficiently.
  • In the case where a lead vendor has prospects call you directly, find out how to dispute a lead. Often direct leads are recorded and reported. This allows you and the lead vendor to post-qualify leads. You should not have to pay for unqualified leads.

Exclusive Leads vs. Shared Leads

When you share leads with other contractors, the likelihood of winning a client will decrease. You may also get into a bidding war, which can negatively impact your profit margin.

  • The ROI of shared leads is often not as high compared to exclusive leads, which may cost more but give you a better chance of closing a sale at a higher profit.
  • Shared leads can work well if you’re looking for an immediate influx of new businesses and have the time and resources to compete (e.g., when business is slow).
  • Exclusive leads are particularly effective for established painters who have a solid reputation. Many consumers now use the internet to research painting contractors online and pick a winner based on quality reviews rather than price.
  • It’s not one or the other. Painting contractors can get painting leads from multiple vendors. For instance, an established painting business is likely to use 99Calls.com to generate exclusive painting leads throughout the year and use HomeAdvisor to provide shared leads during slow periods or for select high-value jobs.

Price-Per-Lead

Ultimately, you want to make sure that the money you invest in lead generation is paying off. Price-per-lead is an important piece of your customer acquisition cost, and you need to take it into consideration to properly optimize your ROI.

Here is the price per painting lead from our top 8 vendors:

 

Price per painting lead

Note

HomeAdvisor

$45-$75 / shared lead

Plus $350/year

PainterChoice

$35 / shared lead

Small leads are free

CraftJack

$12-$75 / shared lead

 

Networx

$30-$70 / shared lead

  

Thumbtack

$7-$68 per lead / Varies by location

You are only charged for the leads you receive

Trubids

Appears to no longer provide leads

 

eWebify

Varies based on package

  

Connexion Solutions

Included with monthly subscription

Packages start at $497/month. You arealso responsible for your Google Ads monthly budget

Porch

$20-$45 / shared lead

Plus $35/month profile pro subscription

99 Calls

$29 / exclusive painting lead

Pay only per qualified organic lead, PPC with Google Ads is also available as a separate service

Figure 2: Price-per-lead comparison

Top 8 Pay-Per-Lead Services for Painter Contractors

After reviewing the information above, you likely have a good sense of which vendor is the right fit for your business. Below you can find more details about each vendor as well as the pros and cons of working with them to help you make the best decision:

1. HomeAdvisor / Angi

Cost per lead (painting job): $45-$75 per lead.

Additional Cost: $350/year.

Lead distribution system: Leads shared by several contractors.

Lead source: Forms on the website and third-party data sources.

Pros:

  • It’s the largest and oldest contractor-matching service.

  • It has the largest number of contractors doing business on the platform, compared with other services.

  • It has a strong online presence.

  • It offers a user-friendly interface.

Cons:

  • Shared leads … you’ll compete with other contractors on every lead.

  • The refund policy isn’t the most satisfactory. May get some bad leads and not be credited.

  • They have a strong online presence, but they won’t help you build yours.

  • You may pay for more leads than you can handle.

Advice: For every lead that you receive, the corresponding amount will be charged to your account. Manage your profile carefully and remember to turn off the paid leads feature every 14 days if you can’t accommodate clients to avoid paying for too many leads.

Reviews:

133965312_1981976715168505_2520767154140217344_o

1

Source: BBB-Better Business Bureau

2. PainterChoice

Cost per lead (painting job): $35 per qualified shared lead.

Introductory Price: $175 for the first 8 leads, plus free small leads. Afterward, it costs $175 per 5 leads.

Lead distribution system: Leads shared by 1-3 contractors.

Lead source: Local advertisement to generate traffic to PainterChoice website.

Lead Verification System: All leads are pre-screened to make sure they’re actual customers.

Expected leads per month: 15-40 painting leads per month depending on the service area.

Pros:

  • Small leads are free.

  • You get a full refund for invalid leads.

  • There are no additional or hidden fees.

Cons:

  • Shared leads … you’ll compete with other contractors on every lead.

  • The job often goes to the lowest bid.

  • You aren’t building your own online presence.

Reviews:

1

2

3

4

Source: shopperapproved.com

 

3. CraftJack

Cost per lead (painting job): $27-$74 per lead.

Introductory Price: $100 to start receiving leads.

Lead distribution system: Shared by 1-4 contractors.

Lead source: Homeowners submit a request on CraftJack website.

Lead Verification System: As soon as homeowners submit their requests to CraftJack, the system gives them a call to verify that they are in fact real customers. Any lead that contains an invalid or disconnected phone number is automatically rejected.

Pros:

  • It utilizes a patent-pending Speed-to-Call discount. When you call a lead within 30 minutes of receiving it, you’ll get 20% off.

Cons:

  • Shared leads … you’ll compete with other contractors on every lead
  • You will often have to be the lowest bid do win the job

Reviews:

5

6

1

Source: BBB-Better Business Bureau

4. Networx

Cost per lead (painting job): $30-$70 per lead.

Lead distribution system: Shared by 1-4 contractors.

Lead source: Third-party data sources.

Pros:

  • You can set up a custom profile to showcase your services.

Cons:

  • Shared leads … you’ll compete with other contractors on every lead.
  • You will often need to be the lowest bid to win the job

Reviews:

1

1

Source: BBB-Better Business Bureau

 

5. Thumbtack

Cost per lead (painting job): $7-$25 to send a quote.

Additional Cost: No additional cost.

Lead distribution system: Shared by several contractors.

Lead source: Forms on the website.

Lead Verification System: The company reviews each customer to make sure the request is legitimate.

Pros:

  • The site provides you with a detailed description of each job or project.

  • There’s a large number of homeowners sending requests to Thumbtack.

  • There’s no additional or hidden cost, you only pay for each quote you send.

Cons:

  • It’s very competitive for quality jobs since many many contractors receive the same opportunity to provide a quote.
  • You have to quote jobs without seeing the job site.
  • Your company’s contact details are not visible to potential clients so they can’t contact you directly via your Thumbtack profile.

Advice: Create an outstanding company profile to help you beat your competition. Collect and import excellent reviews on the profile and write compelling descriptions of your services.

Reviews:

1

1

1

1Source: BBB-Better Business Bureau

 

6. ConnexionSolutions

Cost per lead (painting job): Included in monthly cost

Additional Cost: Packages start at $497/month. This fee covers unlimited exclusive leads. You are also responsible for the Google Ads spend.

Lead distribution system: Exclusive.

Lead source: Leads generated through your website.

Pros:

  • The company builds your website and does the advertising, SEO, and social media marketing for you.

  • You will be the only contractor in your category within your town or city.

Cons:

  • It’s more expensive than many other pay-per-lead sites.
  • You pay a fixed fee each month regardless of the results

Reviews: Very little is known about what consumers think. They only have 1 review on Google and none on Yelp.

Image source: Google

 

7. Porch

Cost per lead (painting job): $20-$45 per lead.

Additional Cost: Porch Plus subscription costs $35 per month, which gives you added visibility, an enhanced profile, and project/profile support.

Lead distribution system: Shared by up to four contractors.

Lead source: Leads come from local homeowners through word of mouth, organic searches, or Porch’s partnerships with Lowe’s and Wayfair.

Pros:

  • 10% credit back on leads you respond to within the first hour.

  • Porch partners with Lowe’s and Realtor.com, from which you can get referrals.

Cons:

  • You’ll compete with other contractors for every lead.
  • It an be difficult to dispute unqualifed leads
  • Contractors often have to be the lowest bid in order to win the job

Reviews:

1

1

1

2

2

8. 99 Calls

Cost per lead: $29 per exclusive lead.

Additional Cost: None. Only pay per qualified organic lead (SEO)

Lead distribution system: Exclusive live leads, sent directly to contractor.

Lead source: 99 Calls creates a proven Google optimized website for your painting business that gets you in front of local customers searching for your services.

Expected leads per month: Lead volume is low in the first couple months but steadily increases over the next 2 years. Customers who follow the 99 Calls system can expect 50-150 leads in the first year, and 100-300 leads in the second year.

Pros:

  • Exclusive painting leads – customers call you directly.
  • Additional complimentary services such as managing online listings and reputation management. Your business is listed on prominent directories including Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, Bing Places, Yellowpages.com and more.
  • Free call tracking and monthly lead report to prove you are receiving quality painting leads.
  • Simple and easy to dispute unqualified leads.
  • Now offers Google Ads PPC for faster results for an low montly fee. Contractors set their own budgets.

Cons:

  • Lead volume is low in first few months while SEO builds up

Reviews:

2

2

Source: BBB-Better Business Bureau

Also see:
Google reviews for 99 Calls
Facebook reviews for 99 Calls

 

Conclusion

Selecting the best pay-per-lead vendor for your painting business can take some trial-and-error. While some painters get great results through one lead provider, others may have a less-than-satisfactory experience with the same vendor.

It’s therefore important to understand the needs of your business and find a painting leads vendor that meets your criteria.

Don’t forget to monitor your marketing metrics to ensure that you’re getting the highest ROI for the resources you invest in lead generation. A reputable vendor should be able to provide you with lead reports to prove you got the painting leads you paid for.