None of that means marketplaces never work. It means you should judge them the same way as everything else.
What are the marketplaces good and bad at?
Good at: immediate demand from people already looking, and no set-up work. They can fill a quiet month.
Weak at: control and margin. Lead prices vary by trade and area, the same enquiry can be sold to more than one business on the shared-lead model, and you have no customer relationship or data until you win the job. Check each platform's current terms for your trade and region, because they change.
In January 2023 the Federal Trade Commission ordered HomeAdvisor to pay up to $7.2 million over false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of the leads it sold to service providers (FTC press release). It's a reason to measure lead outcomes yourself instead of taking a platform's word.
How do you compare a marketplace with your own ads?
Use cost per customer, not cost per lead. For each source, add up everything you paid (fees, lead charges, ad spend, agency fee) and divide by signed jobs from that source. For example, a $60 lead that closes one in eight costs $480 a job before other costs, while a $35 lead that closes one in twenty costs $700 (illustrative figures). Cheaper leads can be dearer customers. The method is in cost per lead vs cost per customer. It only works if you track every lead to a signed job.
What are the real alternatives?
- Your own paid ads to your own pages. Meta and Google, sending to a page built for the job, with fast follow-up. You own the audience and data.
- Video proof. Finished projects, customer voices and expert explanations build trust before the enquiry, which matters when a job is worth thousands.
- Reviews and referrals as a system. Ask every finished job for a review and a referral, and respond to all reviews. Referral is your best source and also your ceiling.
- A website that answers local questions. Service pages, project pages and honest pricing guidance that rank in search and get quoted by AI assistants.
- Marketplaces, capped. Keep one if its cost per customer holds, with a budget cap and outcome tracking.
What does a kitchen fitter or remodeller need to get right?
A kitchen or bathroom job is high value, considered and trust-heavy: buyers compare several firms and want proof of finished work. That makes three things decisive: proof in the ad (real before-and-afters), speed to lead (the first firm to respond sets the frame; conversion was 8 times higher inside five minutes in a study of 5.7 million leads, see the data) and tracking to signed jobs.
What does a lead source you own look like?
If you're a kitchen fitter, remodeller or other home improvement firm already spending $5,000 or more a month on ads, the alternative to renting leads is a system you keep: video built from your finished jobs and customer voices, Meta ads and retargeting to your own pages, fast follow-up, and reporting that ends at signed jobs. That's what we build and run for you.
We don't have a home improvement case study on this site yet, so the proof we can show is from a funeral-plan provider: qualified opportunities from 24 to 60 a month on 29.5% less ad spend (the full account). Book A Free Call and we'll tell you honestly whether it would work for your trade; qualified clients get the first 30 days under a money-back guarantee (ad spend and third-party software excluded).
