ReachLocal (now part of Gannett/LocaliQ) is a digital marketing platform for local businesses — managing Google Ads, Facebook advertising, SEO, and website solutions to drive inbound leads. If you've worked with ReachLocal, you know the pitch: they run your ads, you focus on running your business.
FollowFire does one thing: converts the leads your marketing generates by responding within 60 seconds and following up automatically. It doesn't run ads. It doesn't manage your SEO. It makes sure that when a lead comes in — from ReachLocal campaigns, Google, Yelp, or anywhere else — you respond before your competitor does.
These tools solve fundamentally different problems. Understanding which problem costs you more money right now determines which deserves your attention first.
What ReachLocal Does
ReachLocal/LocaliQ is a managed digital marketing service for local businesses. Their platform includes:
- Google Ads and paid search management
- Facebook and social media advertising
- Local SEO and directory management
- Website design and landing page creation
- Lead tracking and call recording
- Reputation monitoring
- Dedicated account management and reporting
ReachLocal pricing varies significantly by market and service level — typical engagements run $500–$2,500+/month depending on ad spend, market competition, and the services included. They've been in the space for two decades and have a large footprint across home service verticals.
What FollowFire Does
FollowFire is a lead response automation tool built for contractors and local service businesses. When a new lead comes in through your website, Google Business Profile, or any other source, FollowFire texts them within 60 seconds and runs a 3-touch follow-up sequence automatically.
- Automated 60-second text response to every inbound lead
- 3-touch follow-up sequence (immediate, 20 minutes, Day 3)
- Works across website forms, GBP, Yelp, and other lead sources
- Simple dashboard to track lead status and responses
- Flat pricing: $49/month
FollowFire doesn't generate leads. It converts them. The moment marketing works — the moment a homeowner submits a request — FollowFire makes sure you're first to respond.
The Core Difference: Getting Leads vs. Converting Them
ReachLocal operates at the top of the funnel. Their job is to make sure homeowners in your area find your business when they search for a plumber, roofer, or HVAC technician. More visibility, more ad impressions, more clicks to your site.
FollowFire operates at the middle of the funnel — the moment a lead submits a form or calls after hours. Its job is to convert that already-generated lead into a booked job before your competitor picks up the phone.
The problem most contractors face isn't that they can't get leads. It's that they lose 50–70% of the leads they generate because they respond too slowly. Research shows 78% of homeowners hire the first contractor to respond. If your average response time is 4–6 hours — which is typical — ReachLocal is sending you leads you're handing to competitors.
Where the Gap Shows Up
Here's a scenario that plays out every day for contractors running digital ads:
A homeowner searches "emergency plumber near me" at 7 PM on a Thursday. They click your ReachLocal ad, land on your website, and fill out the contact form. Your office is closed. No one sees the form until 8 AM Friday. By then, they've already hired someone else — probably a competitor who had a simpler "text us" button or happened to answer the phone.
ReachLocal did its job — they drove the lead. But the lead didn't convert because the response gap was too wide. You paid for the click. You didn't book the job.
FollowFire closes that gap. The moment the form is submitted, a personalized text goes out within 60 seconds: "Hi, it's [Company] — we got your request. We have emergency availability tonight. What's your address?" The conversation starts before your competitor even knows the lead exists.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ReachLocal | FollowFire |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads management | ✅ | ❌ |
| Facebook advertising | ✅ | ❌ |
| SEO and directory management | ✅ | ❌ |
| Website/landing page design | ✅ | ❌ |
| 60-second lead response | ❌ | ✅ |
| Automated 3-touch follow-up | ❌ | ✅ |
| Works with existing lead sources | ⚠️ Tracks own campaigns | ✅ |
| Simple self-service setup | ❌ Managed service | ✅ |
| Flat monthly pricing | ❌ Variable ad spend+fees | ✅ $49/mo |
| Converts after-hours leads | ❌ | ✅ |
The Sequencing Argument: Which Comes First?
If you're deciding where to invest your next $500/month in your business, here's the honest answer: fix your conversion rate before scaling your traffic.
If you're currently converting 25% of inbound leads into booked jobs — which is close to average for contractors with slow response times — doubling your ad spend doubles your leads but still leaves you losing 75% of them. You're buying more water and pouring it into a leaky bucket.
FollowFire patches the bucket. If 60-second response takes your close rate from 25% to 45%, you're now booking 80% more jobs from the leads you already have — before spending a dollar more on advertising.
Then add ReachLocal. With a 45%+ close rate and a functioning follow-up system, every incremental lead from advertising converts at nearly double the rate. Your cost per booked job drops significantly. The economics of paid advertising improve dramatically when the conversion infrastructure is already in place.
The Case for Using Both
Long-term, most successful contractors use both tools — and there's a smart sequence for getting there:
- Month 1–3: Install FollowFire ($49/mo). Watch how many leads you were previously losing. Baseline your close rate. Book more jobs from existing traffic without spending more on ads.
- Month 4+: Add ReachLocal or increase ad spend. Now every lead they send converts at your new, higher rate. Your cost per booked job is significantly lower. The math works.
The combined stack — FollowFire at $49 + ReachLocal campaign — is more effective than ReachLocal alone at 5x the cost, because the conversion infrastructure is working before the traffic scales.
Pricing Reality Check
ReachLocal engagements typically run $500–$2,500+/month, not including ad spend. For a contractor spending $1,500/month on a ReachLocal campaign, that's $18,000/year. If your close rate is 25%, you're paying $18,000 to book roughly 1 in 4 leads.
FollowFire is $49/month. If it improves your close rate by even 10 percentage points — from 25% to 35% — you're booking 40% more jobs from the same leads. That's the equivalent of a 40% increase in advertising ROI without increasing ad spend.
For most contractors, FollowFire is the higher-ROI investment at any stage of growth — because it multiplies the return on every other marketing dollar you're already spending.
Bottom Line
ReachLocal is a legitimate tool for contractors who want to scale lead volume through managed digital advertising. If you have the budget and want someone to handle your Google Ads, they're a reasonable option.
FollowFire is a different kind of investment — it improves the ROI of every lead source you already have, including ReachLocal campaigns, by making sure you respond within 60 seconds and follow up automatically.
Start with FollowFire. Then scale with advertising. The math works better in that order.
Start a free trial at followfire.app — setup takes 5 minutes and works with any lead source you're already using.