Organic lead volume pops 26% in Q1, analysis shows

Unique lead volume from organic channels in Q1 jumped over 25 percent compared to last year, while customer acquisition costs fell, according to an analysis of 100 HVAC contractors’ digital marketing data shared with Homepros. 

The big picture: The findings come as consumers continue to spend across the economy, despite reports suggesting the contrary, and coincide with a six percent yearly rise in nationwide heating demand during January and February.

What’s happening: Organic channels, including Google Business Profiles, Facebook, and search engines, delivered a 26 percent year-over-year bump in unique lead volume during the quarter. 

• Google Business Profiles and Google search generated 95 percent of leads, with Bing, Facebook, and DuckDuckGo splitting the remaining five percent. 
• Customer acquisition costs across these channels dropped 18 percent compared to last year, per the data. 

Zoom in: Average tickets grew, too — by five percent. While Google Business Profiles generated a $2,960 average ticket, Bing and Facebook drove even higher spending, similar to Q4. 

• Customers who came through Bing and Facebook spent 35 and 109 percent more than those from Business Profiles, with average tickets of $3,189 and $6,182, respectively. 
• Of note: Though tickets were high, Facebook represented just one percent of total lead volume, as messaging focused largely on driving installs — “buy one, get one.”

Between the lines: Also measured was the performance of AI CSRs, which handled over 11,000 leads during the quarter and slightly trailed humans. 

• AI CSRs achieved a “raw booking rate” of 37 percent, compared to 39 percent for human CSRs — the calculation divides booked appointments by all calls 60 seconds or more, regardless of time-of-day or lead quality.  
• A 27 percent spending difference emerged between the two, with AI CSRs’ booked appointments resulting in a $3,084 average ticket, while human-booked appointments averaged $3,913. 

The bottom line: Despite the economic and political turbulence since January, consumer demand for HVAC services remains strong.

Editor’s note: The data, provided by SearchLight, was anonymized and includes contractors that also offer plumbing services.