The Truth About Contractor Referral Directories

Here's a question that every homeowner asked themselves at least once. Where can I find a dependable contractor? When I was a child you would look through the yellow pages or start asking around the neighborhood, until you found someone that could work on your home. Nowadays, the Yellow Pages is almost a thing of the past and the referral directories provide you with the information you need.

If you've searched on the Internet, you probably ran across an ad like this.

Superduper Contractors is an organized network of pre-screened home improvement Professionals in every field from plumbing and landscaping to floor refinishing and room additions. Our goal is to locate, screen, and refer Contractors who offer high quality service at rates that are competitive with industry standards. Best of all, there is no charge to Homeowners for using our services.

I love how they use the word our goal is to locate, screen, and refer contractors. Do you realize that some contractor referral directories get over $65 per construction lead, per contractor. When I used this company to find a local contractor in my area, they sent me four contractors. Four contractors at $65 per lead equals $260 paid to their company. Oh and this money is paid immediately out of your bank accounts to their company. There's no waiting for their money. If you can't pay, they go on to the next contractor who can.

Now you get the idea, why superduper contractors is paying 5, 10 and even $20 per click to send customers to their companies. There's big money in the contractor directory business. There is big money on the Internet from companies that are telling you, we bend over backwards to send you a reliable, reputable, professional, special, quality, the best, the list goes on and on contractor.

I would imagine companies like this will soon be a thing of the past, once the customers realize that the contractors are not selected by their performance, ability, years in the business, reputation, knowledge, but by their ability to pay the $65, when they stand the contractor if possible client.

The money that the contractors pay to contractor referral directories is passed on to the consumer as a cost of doing business. The homeowner is the one who eventually pays the price as the contractor raises there's.