The basic exchange
A lead generation company builds a website aimed at a specific service in a specific area, gets it ranking in Google's organic results and its map pack, and points a tracking phone number at it. When somebody searches for that service in that area and rings the number, the call is routed to a trade business that pays for it.
That is the whole mechanism. Everything else — territories, lead definitions, exclusivity, reporting — is detail hung off that one idea.
Where the enquiries actually come from
Three sources, usually running together.
Organic search. The website ranks for phrases like the service plus a suburb. This is slow to build, cheap to maintain and produces the best-quality enquiries because the person chose to click.
Google Business Profile and the map pack. For most trades this is the largest single source of local clicks. It is why a lead generation operation cares as much about profiles as about websites, and why the Google Business Profile guide is worth your time even if you never buy a lead.
Paid search. Immediate but expensive, and the cost per click sets a floor under what a lead can sensibly be sold for. A supplier relying entirely on paid ads has thin margins and will feel it if your close rate is poor.
Who owns what, and why it matters
In a genuine pay-per-lead arrangement the supplier owns the domain, the site and frequently the Google Business Profile. That is precisely what allows them to charge no setup fee — they are amortising a build they already paid for across whoever holds the territory. The economics are set out in why rank-and-rent works.
The consequence is that you are renting a pipeline rather than acquiring one. Ask the ownership question explicitly and get the answer in writing. A supplier who is straight about it is fine to work with. One who lets you believe you are building equity is not.
Territories and exclusivity
A territory is a defined set of postcodes for a defined trade. Exclusive means the enquiries from those postcodes go to one business only.
This is where most of the money is won or lost, because a shared lead behaves completely differently to an exclusive one — the customer is already price shopping and already annoyed by the time you ring. The full argument is in exclusive versus shared leads. If a supplier is vague about which they are selling, assume shared.
What you should be charged for
Get the definition into the agreement rather than trusting a sales conversation. A reasonable one bills answered calls over about ninety seconds from inside your postcodes about services you actually offer, plus completed forms with real contact details.
It should not bill wrong numbers, hang-ups, robocalls, people selling you something, job applicants, enquiries from outside your area, or requests for work you told them you do not take. There should be a mechanism to dispute a lead with the recording attached, and a short, clearly stated window to do it in.
What it costs
Price per lead varies enormously by trade and territory, and anyone quoting you a universal figure is guessing. The variables are set out on the pricing page, and before you talk to anyone you should derive your own ceiling using what a lead is worth.
Where it goes wrong
Almost always at the callback. Bought leads have a short half-life — the customer is contacting several businesses and the first credible one to answer wins a disproportionate share. If you cannot answer within minutes during business hours, you will pay for enquiries and lose them, which is why an answering service is often the first thing to fix.
The other common failure is buying leads to paper over a weak quoting process. More enquiries do not fix a low close rate, they just make it more expensive. Both failure modes, and several others, are in when pay-per-lead is the wrong model.
The alternative
If you want to own the asset instead, local SEO is the same activity done in your name, and local SEO for tradies is the step-by-step version. The commercial comparison between the two arrangements is in pay-per-lead versus a retainer agency.
To check what a territory in your trade looks like, contact us or call 0468 062 773.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the website my leads come from?
Under a genuine pay-per-lead arrangement, the supplier does. That is what allows them to carry the build cost and charge nothing upfront. Ask the question directly, because some suppliers let clients assume they are buying an asset when they are renting access to one. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you have.
What is a fair definition of a billable lead?
A call over roughly ninety seconds from inside your territory about a service you offer, or a form with real contact details and a job description. Wrong numbers, sales calls, out-of-area enquiries and requests for services you do not provide should never be billed. Insist the definition is written into the agreement.
Can I negotiate the price per lead?
Usually yes, particularly on volume or on a wider territory. What you generally cannot negotiate is exclusivity in a territory someone else already holds. If a supplier offers you postcodes that are clearly already taken, they are selling shared leads and describing them as exclusive.
What happens to the leads if I stop?
They go to whoever takes the territory next, usually within days. Nothing transfers to you because nothing was ever yours. That is the trade-off for paying no setup cost, and it is the main reason to consider building your own presence in parallel if you intend to be in business for a long time.