Lead Buying vs. Search Engine Marketing [Pro’s & Con’s]

Each year people come to us at Hook Agency and want to know the difference between lead buying + doing search engine marketing. This is a very good question, we can certainly understand the need to know the difference.

As it is a choice business owners have to live with, and has implications on the way your company operates.

But the truth is Search Engine Optimization and Google ads may not be the best fit for you.

And the truth is, buying leads may be the best fit fo you. So this article will outline the pros and cons of each method, so by the end you can make a smart decision about which will be the best fit for you.

So first – the options:

1. Buying leads through Angi leads (the new name for Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor) craft jack is part of this.. many other companies like this got purchase purchased by IAC, angi’s parent organization)
2. Using a call center to generate leads for your company.
3. Using a Company who simply says they can get leads for you by any means necessary (may use Facebook ads, Craig’s list, lead aggregators or a mix)
4. Search engine marketing

This article will talk about Angi + the top lead sellers vs search engine marketing.

Pro’s and Con’s of Angi Leads & Other Lead Buying Options

The pros of getting leads through Angi leads and other lead sellers is. You get leads right away and can scale up or down your budget while paying a base rate.

Con – is the quality can be really low, and sorting through them might tire out sales people. Chuck thokey, roofing sales coach suggests using Active Prospect as an addition to Angi to validate these leads and get refunds for non real leads.

Another con – they often send these leads to several other companies, so you’re in a bidding war from the beginning. Which has implications on your pricing, your quality of service etc.

Another pro is that you’re working with a large corporation that advertises on tv and does very well In search rankings

That also goes to a con – I’ve seen this company go after small businesses name in search so that they actually out ranked them for their own name and probably sold that lead back to them.

Another – last con… because your paying for an outside system to generate that lead, you’re not building to build you an asset..

It’s like renting vs owning a home.

Pro’s and Con’s of Search Engine Marketing

Now search engine marketing on the paid side can be somewhat like renting as well – though perhaps creating the ads, and the landing pages, if you create them on an ad account you own and can access is a bit more like building something long term.

Cons of Google ads – is that only one or 2 out of 10 people click the ads.

Pro – you can get to the top of list quickly for things real buyers are searching.

Another pro – the intent of people on search engines is often to purchase (where-as most people use social media to entertain or distract themselves.)

A few more cons – it gets competitive and the price goes up, and you need a good landing page or website to capitalize on the clicks to persuade them to follow through to get an inspection or whatever your call to action is.

SEO is the ‘own your house’ option:

Con – is that it takes a long time to really rank for money making keywords.

Pro- you build content as part of the process and that can be used for social media as well and it warms up prospects who see you as a resource.

Con – it takes a little longer to understand the process and you should learn a good amount before you delegate to an outside company because there are low quality providers that will waste your time.

Pro – it’s long term.. usually the work you do if you rank, lasts long after the effort, it’s a store of value.

Con – a lot less immediate gratification.

So although I absolutely love search engine marketing, it’s powerful and long term…

Many people will choose to just buy leads – and that may be right for them. Anything I missed?