How to Get Roofing Leads: Every Channel Compared

Where do homeowners look for a roofer?

Mostly Google, but almost never only Google. 76% of Canadian homeowners in our survey used Google Search to find a contractor, 31% used directories, 27% asked friends or family, and 68% used more than one place⁵. A homeowner might hear your name from a neighbour, then Google you before calling.

Roofing Contractor's 2026 survey of US homeowners found the same pattern: 74% found their roofer by word of mouth, 62% through a contractor they'd used before, and 54% through search engines⁶. Referrals start the conversation and Google checks it.

Which channel gives the cheapest roofing lead?

Referrals and Google Maps, because you don't pay per lead. Among paid channels, Facebook is cheapest at about $61 CAD, then Local Services Ads at about $148 and Google search ads at about $258^1–3. But a cheap lead that rarely books can cost more per roof than a pricey one that books half the time.

Against a typical $13,000 asphalt re-roof in a Canadian city¹³, every row is small. What matters more is whether you track which leads became roofs.

How do you get roofing leads for free?

Work the neighbourhood around every job, ask every customer for a referral and a review, keep your Google profile busy and put your name where homeowners will see it. None of these cost per lead. They cost time and a habit, which is why most roofers skip them.

• Knock on the neighbours' doors. Before the crew starts, drop a note at the 5 to 10 houses around the job: who you are, how long you'll be there, a number to call about noise or parking. Neighbours watch roofs go on, and many of their roofs are the same age.
• Yard and truck signs. Leave a yard sign up for two weeks, with the owner's permission and within your local sign bylaw. Put your name, phone number and Google rating on every truck.
• Post every job to your Google profile with a photo and the town. Our roofing SEO guide shows how many reviews win the top 3 in your market.
• Email past customers twice a year, before fall rains and in spring, with a free check offer. Ask permission when they hire you; Canada's anti-spam law requires consent for commercial email¹⁴.
• Show up locally. A minor hockey sponsorship, a booth at the home show or a free roof talk at the community centre puts a face to your name.

Keep any referral reward simple and don't tie it to reviews. Google prohibits incentives for reviews¹⁵.

Do direct mail and door hangers work for roofers?

They can, when they're aimed at homes with roofs near the end of their life. Canada Post's free Precision Targeter lets you send flyers or postcards to every mailbox in chosen neighbourhoods, filtered by demographics like household age and income¹⁶. Pick suburbs built 20 to 25 years ago and offer a free roof check.

Door hangers work best around your active jobs, where the neighbours have just watched your crew. Keep them simple: a photo of the roof you're finishing on their street, your Google rating, your warranty and one offer. Track them with a separate phone number or a short web address, or you'll never know whether they paid.

Should roofers offer free inspections or an instant quote?

Yes to free inspections: they're the easiest yes for a homeowner and they get you on the roof, where you can show real photos. An instant online quote is rare. Only 4% of the Canadian roofing websites we tested had one, 9% in the top quarter and 3% in the bottom⁷, so it still stands out.

An instant estimate gives a range from the roof size and material, which suits homeowners who aren't ready to call. In Roofing Contractor's 2026 survey, 65% said transparent pricing on a website makes them more likely to call a roofer⁶. Follow up on every estimate within minutes, by text and phone.

How do Google Maps and SEO bring in roofing leads?

Your Google Business Profile is where homeowners compare roofers side by side, with your rating and reviews next to your competitors', and you don't pay per lead. The top 3 roofers in our 21-market snapshot had a median of 77 reviews, and 97% used "Roofing contractor" as their primary category¹⁷.

10% of all roofing listings had no website, so a decent site already puts you ahead of them¹⁷. SEO is slow: plan for 3 to 6 months before real movement and 9 to 12 months before steady calls. It's also the channel that keeps paying when you stop spending.

Should a roofer use Google search ads or Local Services Ads?

Most should run both. Local Services Ads sit at the very top with a Google Verified badge and charge per lead, about $148 CAD for roofing^1,18. Search ads cost about $258 a lead, but you choose exactly which searches to pay for, like "roof replacement Kelowna" instead of every roofing call².

The catch with Local Services Ads is that a flashing repair and a full re-roof can cost you the same lead¹. And since October 1, 2026, missed calls during business hours can be charged if the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds¹⁹. Our Google Ads guide for roofers covers keywords, budgets and tracking.

Do Facebook ads work for roofing leads?

Yes, if you call fast. A contractor lead from Facebook typically costs about $61 CAD, about a quarter of a Google roofing lead³. Facebook reaches homeowners before they search: someone with a 20-year-old roof, a ceiling stain or a quote they've put off. Those leads go cold within hours.

Only 18% of Canadian roofing websites have a Meta pixel, the code that lets you retarget site visitors⁷. Start with one lead campaign in the towns you serve and an instant text on every form.

Should roofers buy leads from HomeStars or Angi?

Only if you can call back within minutes and close shared leads well. HomeStars is free to join and charges only when a homeowner gets in touch, with more than 25,000 pros listed¹⁰. In the US, contractors report paying US$15 to $85 per Angi lead¹¹. The same homeowner often contacts several roofers.

Lead quality has been a legal issue too. In 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring HomeAdvisor, which does business as Angi Leads, to pay up to $7.2 million and stop deceptive claims about the leads it sold²¹. A free HomeStars profile is still worth having for reviews: only 2% of Canadian roofing websites link to or show one⁷.

How fast should a roofer answer a new lead?

Within five minutes, every channel. In a study of 5.7 million leads, those called within five minutes converted eight times as often as leads called later²². A homeowner with a leak calls the next roofer if you don't pick up, and a Facebook lead forgets they filled in the form.

Send an automatic text the moment a form arrives, forward missed calls to a cell, and keep every lead in one CRM. And add call tracking before you add a channel: only 5% of roofing websites use it⁷, so most roofers judge their channels by gut feel.

What about door knocking after a storm?

After a hailstorm, door knocking works, and it's also where the trade's reputation takes its hits. In Alberta, a business that sells in person away from its office and takes money before the work is done needs a prepaid contracting licence, with a criminal record check and a security²³.

Lead with proof, not pressure. A leave-behind with your Google rating, your local address and photos of roofs on nearby streets beats a clipboard and a deadline.

What's the right lead mix for your roofing company?

It depends on size. The average small or mid-size roofing contractor in Canada brings in about $639,100 a year²⁴. Owner-operators should start with free channels and one paid Google channel; growing roofers add search ads and Facebook; established roofers run everything with call tracking and SEO for each town.

Where to start

1. Fix your Google Business Profile: "Roofing contractor" as the primary category, real hours, every service listed.
2. Ask every customer for a review and a referral the day the job is done, and drop notes at the neighbours' doors.
3. Pick one paid Google channel and track every call.
4. Add Facebook once you can reach a lead within minutes.

If you'd rather have it set up for you, see our advertising and lead generation service or marketing for roofing companies. The full roofing data is in our roofing website study.