What roofing leads actually cost

Typical ranges by channel

These are broad ranges across US markets. Your numbers will move with season, storm activity and competition density.

• Paid social (retail replacement): $25–$80 per lead
• Paid social (insurance / storm): $15–$50 per lead
• Search ads: $80–$250 per lead
• Local SEO: high setup cost, low marginal cost per lead
• Shared marketplace leads: $60–$150, sold to multiple contractors
• Commercial outbound: $150–$600 per qualified conversation

The four numbers that matter

Track these monthly and the CPL conversation resolves itself.

• Contact rate: what percentage of leads you actually reach
• Booked rate: leads that become a scheduled appointment
• Show rate: appointments that do not cancel or ghost
• Cost per signed job against your average job value

Working the math backwards

If your average job is $14,000 at 35% gross margin, you have roughly $4,900 of gross profit per job. Spending $900 to sign one is a strong return. Whether that $900 came from thirty $30 leads or six $150 leads is irrelevant.

Meta is what makes that math comfortable. At $25 to $80 a lead you can afford to filter hard and still sign jobs for a fifth of the gross profit they produce — roughly $1 in for $5 out. Search at $200 a lead leaves no such room.

The trap is chasing cheap leads that crush your show rate. A funnel that filters harder produces fewer, more expensive leads and a far better cost per job. That is the whole thesis behind our qualification and appointment setting.

Budgeting with confidence

Once you know cost per signed job, budgeting stops being a guess. Decide how many jobs you want next month, multiply, and fund it. That is the point at which marketing becomes a machine rather than a gamble — which is what a roofing marketing agency should be delivering.

Ask any agency you are considering one question: what happens to their pay if you sign zero jobs next month? For most, nothing — the retainer clears either way, and the same copy-and-paste campaign gets billed to the next roofer. We are paid on booked, showed appointments, so a bad month costs us too.

Run the math honestly and one channel keeps winning for roofers: Facebook ads. Done properly it behaves like a money printer — put $1 in, pull $4 to $5 out, then turn the dial up. That is why we build every account around roofing Facebook ads and tie our own pay to booked, showed appointments instead of a flat retainer for shuffling ad accounts.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a roofing company spend on marketing?

Most healthy roofing companies run between 5% and 12% of revenue on marketing. Newer companies buying market share sit at the top of that range; established companies with strong referral flow sit at the bottom.

Why are my leads cheap but bad?

Cheap leads usually mean a broad offer with no qualification. Adding budget, timeline and ownership questions to the funnel raises your cost per lead and lowers your cost per job at the same time.

Is cost per lead comparable between roofing companies?

Not really. Job mix, average ticket, market density and offer all move it. Compare your own numbers month over month instead of against another contractor's.

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