Build a Lead Generation Website

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation websites capture potential customers searching for specific services and connect them with businesses that can help. Instead of building a business that delivers services, you build the marketing machine that finds customers for other businesses.

When someone searches "best roofer in Denver" and lands on your site, they fill out a contact form or call a number you control. You then sell that lead to a roofing company, either per-lead or through a monthly retainer.

Why Lead Gen Works for Digital Nomads

True Passive Income Potential

Once a lead generation site ranks in Google, it generates leads automatically. Visitors find your site through search, request information, and become leads you sell. The income flows whether you're working or traveling.

Location Independence

Everything happens online. You build sites from anywhere, optimize content remotely, and collect payments digitally. The businesses you serve are local to their markets, but you can be anywhere in the world.

Scalable Asset Building

Each lead gen site is an asset that generates ongoing income. Build one successful site, then replicate the model in new cities or niches. Some operators run portfolios of 20-50+ sites generating substantial monthly revenue.

How Lead Generation Works

The Business Model

Step	What Happens
Research	Identify high-value service niche + target city
Build	Create SEO-optimized website for that market
Rank	Implement local SEO to rank in Google
Capture	Visitors become leads via forms or calls
Monetize	Sell leads to local service providers

Monetization Options

Per-Lead Pricing Charge for each qualified lead delivered. Rates vary by industry:

Industry	Typical Lead Value
Roofing	$50-150
HVAC	$30-80
Legal (personal injury)	$100-500+
Plumbing	$25-60
Home remodeling	$40-100
Real estate	$25-75

Flat Monthly Retainer Rent the entire site to a business for a fixed monthly fee. Common for exclusive partnerships where one company gets all leads.

• Small markets: $500-1,500/month
• Medium markets: $1,500-3,000/month
• Large/competitive markets: $3,000-10,000+/month

Hybrid Model Base retainer plus per-lead fees, ensuring minimum income while rewarding high performance.

Choosing Your Niche and Market

High-Value Niches

Focus on services where:

• Each customer is worth significant revenue ($500+)
• Businesses actively spend on marketing
• Leads are urgent/high-intent
• Local competition isn't dominated by national brands

Best industries: Roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, legal, dental, home services, pest control, landscaping, moving services.

Market Selection

Start with cities that are:

• Medium-sized (easier to rank than major metros)
• Growing population (increasing demand)
• Not oversaturated with lead gen competition
• Familiar to you (helps with content quality)

Avoid the most competitive markets (NYC, LA, Chicago) until you have experience. Second-tier cities often offer better ROI.

Building Your Lead Gen Site

Domain Strategy

Options for domain selection:

• Exact match local: DenverRoofingPros.com (strongest local signal)
• Service-focused: BestLocalRoofers.com (scalable to multiple cities)
• Branded: [YourBrand]Roofing.com (professional, but less SEO advantage)

Exact match domains still carry weight for local SEO, though less than before.

Essential Pages

Page	Purpose
Homepage	Target main keyword, clear call-to-action
Service pages	Individual pages for each service type
Location pages	Pages for surrounding cities/neighborhoods
About page	Build trust and local credibility
Contact page	Multiple contact options

Content Strategy

Quality over quantity. Google rewards helpful, expert content. For each service:

• Explain the service and why it matters
• Include local context (weather, regulations, common issues)
• Add FAQs addressing common questions
• Include pricing guides or cost factors
• Provide tips for choosing a provider

This content demonstrates expertise and helps the site rank.

Local SEO Essentials

Google Business Profile

Create and optimize a Google Business Profile for your lead gen brand:

• Complete all information fields
• Add photos of work (with permission from partner businesses)
• Encourage reviews from satisfied customers
• Post updates regularly

GBP is crucial for appearing in local map results.

Citation Building

List your business in local directories:

• Yelp
• Yellow Pages
• Angie's List
• Industry-specific directories
• Local chamber of commerce
• BBB

Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across all listings builds trust with Google.

On-Page Optimization

• Include city and service in title tags
• Use location keywords naturally in content
• Add schema markup for local business
• Optimize meta descriptions for clicks
• Include embedded Google Map

Link Building

Local links carry significant weight:

• Local news and blog mentions
• Partnerships with complementary businesses
• Community sponsorships
• Guest posts on local sites

Focus on relevance over volume.

Finding Business Partners

Outreach Strategy

Once your site generates traffic, contact local businesses:

1. Research: Find businesses in your niche without strong web presence
2. Prepare: Document your traffic and lead potential
3. Contact: Call or email with a clear value proposition
4. Pitch: Offer trial period or pay-per-lead to reduce risk
5. Close: Sign simple agreement and start delivering leads

What to Offer

• Exclusive leads (only sent to them)
• Real-time delivery (via email, text, or CRM)
• Qualified leads (pre-screened for intent)
• Transparent tracking and reporting
• No long-term contracts initially

Managing Relationships

Keep partners happy by:

• Delivering quality leads consistently
• Responding quickly to feedback
• Providing monthly reports
• Adjusting as needed based on results

Happy partners pay reliably and may refer you to others.

Scaling Your Lead Gen Business

Multiple Sites Strategy

Once you have one successful site:

1. Replicate in same niche, different cities
2. Expand to related niches in same city
3. Build portfolio across multiple markets

Each site is a semi-passive income stream. Ten sites at $1,500/month each = $15,000/month.

Outsourcing

As you scale, outsource:

• Content writing (with your strategy/oversight)
• Citation building
• Technical SEO tasks
• Lead qualification and routing

Focus your time on strategy, partner relationships, and expansion.

Tools and Systems

Essential tools for lead gen operators:

Category	Tools
Website	WordPress, Elementor, local themes
SEO	Ahrefs, SEMrush, BrightLocal
Tracking	CallRail, Google Analytics
Lead routing	Zapier, custom forms
Communication	Notion, email, CRM

Timeline and Expectations

Realistic Milestones

Month	Focus	Expected Results
1-2	Research, build first site	Site live, content created
3-4	Local SEO, citations	Minimal traffic, rankings improving
5-6	Content expansion, link building	First leads trickling in
7-9	Partner outreach, optimization	Regular leads, first revenue
10-12	Scale or replicate	Consistent income, planning expansion

The first 6 months often feel slow. Trust the process and keep building.

Who Should Consider Lead Generation?

This path is ideal if you:

• Have patience for SEO timelines
• Enjoy research and optimization
• Want to build income-generating assets
• Are comfortable with sales/outreach
• Like the idea of passive income

It's not right if you:

• Need immediate income
• Dislike uncertainty in results
• Don't want to learn SEO
• Avoid sales conversations
• Prefer predictable freelance work

The Bottom Line

Lead generation combines the best aspects of SEO, content marketing, and local business into a scalable model for digital nomads. You're building assets that work for you—websites that rank, attract visitors, and generate revenue automatically.

The path requires patience. SEO takes months, partnerships take effort, and the first site is always the hardest. But each successful site proves the model and makes the next one easier.

Start with one niche, one city, one site. Master the fundamentals before scaling. The operators earning $10,000-50,000+/month all started with that first site that finally started ranking.

Your future income could be one well-built, well-ranked website away.