What is pay per call?

Pay per call in one sentence

Pay-per-call is performance marketing where a provider drives phone calls from real customers to your business and you pay a fixed price per qualified call — not per click or impression.

How it works

1. The provider runs traffic. Search ads, display, SEO, directory listings — designed to capture phone-call intent.
2. The customer calls a tracking number. Each campaign and source has its own number so calls are attributed accurately.
3. The call is qualified. Length, service area, and intent are checked — at GetCallz with a 60-second qualification buffer so unqualified calls don't get billed.
4. The call routes live to you. You answer a homeowner already ready to talk.
5. You get billed per qualified call. Not per click, not per form, not per impression.

What a pay-per-call costs

Price depends on trade, market, and job value. Typical ranges:

• Locksmith, appliance repair, lawn care: $30–$75
• HVAC, electrical, plumbing, garage door: $80–$180
• Roofing, remodeling, solar: $180–$350
• Water and fire damage restoration: $600–$1,800

Pay-per-call vs. other channels

• vs. PPC (Google Ads): PPC charges per click whether the click converts or not. Pay-per-call only charges when a real human calls.
• vs. Shared leads: Shared leads sell the same homeowner to 3+ contractors. Exclusive pay-per-call sends the call to one contractor.
• vs. SEO: SEO is slow and unpredictable. Pay-per-call delivers volume on day one.

When pay-per-call makes sense

• You have someone who can answer the phone fast.
• You convert better on a live conversation than chasing form-fills.
• You want predictable cost-per-booked-job math.

What to ask before signing up

• Are these calls exclusive, or shared with other contractors?
• What's the qualification window for credits? (GetCallz uses 60 seconds.)
• Can I pause or change my bid anytime, or am I in a contract?
• Do I get call recordings and a real-time dashboard?

Read about live transfer leads next, or see how pay-per-call compares to Google Local Service Ads.