Marketing KPIs Sewer & Drain Companies Should Track

Start With the Metrics Closest to Revenue

Not every marketing metric deserves equal attention.

A ranking improvement can be useful.

An increase in impressions can be encouraging.

More website traffic can show growth.

But the closer a metric gets to revenue, the more important it usually becomes.

For example:

Useful but Early-Stage Metrics

• Impressions
• Rankings
• Website sessions
• Click-through rate

Stronger Business Metrics

• Calls
• Form submissions
• Qualified leads
• Booked appointments
• Estimates
• Closed jobs
• Customer acquisition cost
• Revenue
• Marketing ROI

A strong reporting system should connect both levels.

1. Marketing Spend

You need to know the full amount being invested in marketing.

That may include:

• SEO
• Google Ads
• Agency fees
• Website work
• CRM
• Call tracking
• Lead-generation software
• Review software
• Content
• Sponsorships
• Other paid channels

Without a clear spend number, you cannot calculate meaningful return.

2. Total Leads

Track the total number of inbound opportunities generated.

These may include:

• Phone calls
• Website forms
• Estimate requests
• Inspection requests
• Chat inquiries
• Bookings

Lead volume is important, but raw volume can be misleading.

Twenty strong sewer replacement leads may be more valuable than 100 irrelevant inquiries.

3. Qualified Leads

A qualified lead is an inquiry that actually fits the business.

Qualification may depend on:

• Service requested
• Service area
• Property type
• Project size
• Timing
• Budget
• Whether the company provides the requested service

Examples of unqualified leads may include:

• Job seekers
• DIY questions
• Equipment purchases
• Out-of-area requests
• Services you do not offer
• Spam

Qualified lead tracking gives you a much clearer picture of marketing quality.

4. Cost Per Lead

Formula:

Cost Per Lead = Marketing Spend ÷ Leads

Example:

Marketing spend:

$8,000

Leads:

80

Cost per lead:

$100

CPL is useful for comparing channels and campaigns.

But it should not be evaluated alone.

5. Cost Per Qualified Lead

This is often more useful than basic CPL.

Formula:

Cost Per Qualified Lead = Marketing Spend ÷ Qualified Leads

Example:

Spend:

$8,000

80 total leads

50 qualified leads

Cost per qualified lead:

$160

This immediately shows the impact of poor lead quality.

6. Lead Qualification Rate

Formula:

Qualified Leads ÷ Total Leads × 100

Example:

80 total leads

50 qualified leads

Qualification rate:

62.5%

If qualification rate is low, investigate:

• Keyword targeting
• Geographic targeting
• Landing pages
• Ad messaging
• Service positioning
• Forms

Poor qualification can make an otherwise strong campaign look better than it really is.

7. Lead-to-Appointment Rate

For companies that schedule inspections, estimates, or service calls, track how many leads actually reach the appointment stage.

Formula:

Appointments ÷ Qualified Leads × 100

Example:

50 qualified leads

30 appointments

Appointment rate:

60%

This can reveal problems in:

• Response speed
• Call handling
• Scheduling
• Qualification
• Follow-up

8. Estimate Rate

Some services require an estimate before the customer commits.

Track:

Estimates Issued ÷ Qualified Leads

or

Estimates Issued ÷ Appointments

depending on your sales process.

This can be especially useful for:

• Sewer replacement
• Pipe lining
• Pipe bursting
• Drainage projects
• Commercial work

9. Close Rate

Close rate shows how effectively opportunities turn into customers.

Formula:

Closed Jobs ÷ Qualified Leads × 100

or, for estimate-driven businesses:

Closed Jobs ÷ Estimates × 100

Be consistent in how you calculate it.

Example:

40 estimates

12 closed jobs

Close rate:

30%

A low close rate may indicate:

• Weak follow-up
• Pricing problems
• Poor sales process
• Low lead quality
• Slow response
• Weak trust

10. Customer Acquisition Cost

Customer Acquisition Cost, or CAC, is one of the most important marketing metrics.

Formula:

Marketing Spend ÷ New Customers

Example:

$10,000 marketing spend

20 new customers

CAC:

$500

This tells you how much it costs to acquire one paying customer.

11. Average Job Value

Track average revenue per completed job.

This should ideally be segmented by service.

For example:

• Drain cleaning
• Hydro jetting
• Sewer repair
• Sewer replacement
• Pipe lining
• Pipe bursting
• Septic work
• Drainage projects

Knowing average job value helps you determine what you can afford to spend on acquisition.

12. Revenue From Marketing

Try to connect booked work back to the marketing source that generated it.

Sources may include:

• Organic search
• Google Business Profile
• Google Ads
• Referral
• Direct
• Social
• Other campaigns

The stronger your attribution, the better your budget decisions become.

13. ROAS

ROAS measures revenue generated relative to marketing or ad spend.

Formula:

Attributed Revenue ÷ Marketing Spend

Example:

Marketing spend:

$10,000

Attributed revenue:

$50,000

ROAS:

5x

That means $5 in revenue was generated for every $1 spent.

Remember:

ROAS measures revenue, not profit.

14. Marketing ROI

Marketing ROI gives more context by incorporating profit.

A simplified formula is:

(Gross Profit From Marketing - Marketing Cost) ÷ Marketing Cost × 100

Example:

Attributed revenue:

$60,000

Gross margin:

50%

Gross profit:

$30,000

Marketing spend:

$10,000

Marketing ROI:

200%

This can be more useful than ROAS when comparing different service lines.

15. Gross Profit by Service

Do not assume every service contributes equally.

A service may have:

• Higher revenue
• Lower margin
• More labor
• More equipment cost
• Higher warranty risk

Track gross profit where possible.

This helps determine which services deserve more marketing investment.

16. Lead Source

Every lead should ideally have a source.

Examples include:

• SEO
• Google Business Profile
• Google Ads
• Referral
• Direct
• Social

Avoid lumping everything into categories such as:

Internet

That makes attribution much less useful.

17. Lead Source by Service

Go one level deeper.

Track:

Source + Service

For example:

• SEO → sewer repair
• GBP → drain cleaning
• Google Ads → pipe lining
• Referral → sewer replacement

This can reveal which channels work best for specific services.

18. Lead Source by Location

For multi-market businesses, track:

Source + Service + Location

Example:

1. Google Ads
2. Pipe lining
3. Houston

This makes geographic budget allocation much more precise.

19. Organic Impressions

Google Search Console impressions show how often your pages appeared in search results.

They can help indicate:

• Growing visibility
• New keyword exposure
• Improved page relevance

But impressions alone do not guarantee clicks or leads.

Use them as an early-stage metric.

20. Organic Clicks

Organic clicks show how many users clicked your unpaid Google search results.

Track:

• Total clicks
• Clicks by page
• Clicks by service
• Clicks by query
• Clicks by location where available

A rise in clicks is more meaningful when the traffic reaches commercial pages and produces inquiries.

21. Click-Through Rate

Search CTR is:

Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100

A low CTR can sometimes indicate:

• Weak title
• Weak meta description
• Poor search position
• Search-intent mismatch

Do not optimize CTR in isolation.

The goal is relevant traffic.

22. Keyword Rankings

Rankings help diagnose organic visibility.

Track:

• Core services
• High-value services
• Local searches
• Commercial queries

Examples include:

• sewer repair
• drain cleaning
• hydro jetting
• pipe lining
• trenchless sewer repair

Rankings matter most when they connect to lead-generating pages.

23. Google Maps Visibility

Local rankings can be especially important for sewer and drain companies.

Track:

• Core keywords
• Geographic visibility
• Competitor presence
• Changes over time

Use local-grid tracking where appropriate because rankings can vary significantly by searcher location.

24. Google Business Profile Actions

Monitor relevant GBP activity such as:

• Website visits
• Calls
• Direction-related actions where applicable

These metrics can provide useful context.

But they should still be connected to actual leads whenever possible.

25. Organic Conversion Rate

Formula:

Organic Leads ÷ Organic Sessions × 100

Example:

1,000 organic sessions

50 leads

Organic conversion rate:

5%

If traffic increases while leads remain flat, conversion rate may be declining.

That can point to a website or intent problem.

26. Landing Page Conversion Rate

Track conversion at the page level.

For example:

Sewer Repair Page

200 visits

20 leads

Conversion rate:

10%

Pipe Lining Page

100 visits

2 leads

Conversion rate:

2%

The second page may need improvement even if rankings are strong.

27. Google Ads Spend

Track total spend by:

• Campaign
• Service
• Location
• Month

This should be compared with:

• Leads
• Qualified leads
• Booked jobs
• Revenue

Raw spend alone tells you very little.

28. Cost Per Click

Formula:

Ad Spend ÷ Clicks

CPC helps explain campaign economics.

High CPC is not automatically bad.

A $50 click can be profitable if it consistently generates high-value pipe lining projects.

29. Paid Conversion Rate

Formula:

Paid Leads ÷ Paid Clicks × 100

Example:

200 clicks

20 leads

Conversion rate:

10%

If CPC is high and conversion rate is weak, lead costs can become expensive quickly.

30. Paid Cost Per Lead

Formula:

Google Ads Spend ÷ Paid Leads

Track this separately from overall marketing CPL.

That allows you to compare:

• SEO
• Google Ads
• Google Maps
• Other campaigns

31. Search Term Quality

Not every Google Ads search term is relevant.

Review whether clicks are coming from searches related to:

• Actual services
• DIY
• Jobs
• Training
• Equipment
• Products
• Unserved locations

Search-term quality can have a major effect on cost per qualified lead.

32. Call Answer Rate

A marketing campaign cannot produce revenue if nobody answers the phone.

Track:

Answered Calls ÷ Total Calls × 100

Missed calls represent potential lost opportunities.

This is especially important for emergency sewer and drain searches.

33. Missed Call Recovery Rate

If a customer calls and nobody answers, what happens next?

Track how many missed calls receive:

• Callback
• SMS
• Follow-up
• Appointment

A good recovery process can improve marketing performance without generating a single additional lead.

34. Lead Response Time

Measure how long it takes your team to respond to:

• Forms
• Missed calls
• Messages
• Estimate requests

Slow lead response can reduce close rate.

This is an operations metric with a direct impact on marketing ROI.

35. Estimate Follow-Up Rate

Track whether estimates actually receive follow-up.

A simple KPI may be:

Estimates Followed Up ÷ Total Estimates × 100

Many businesses spend heavily to generate leads and then fail to follow up after sending a quote.

36. Pipeline Conversion by Stage

If you use GoHighLevel or another CRM, track movement through stages such as:

1. New Lead
2. Contacted
3. Appointment Scheduled
4. Estimate Sent
5. Follow-Up
6. Won

Tracking stage conversion can show exactly where opportunities are being lost.

37. Review Growth

Track:

• Total reviews
• New reviews per month
• Rating
• Response rate

Review count alone should not become a vanity contest.

The goal is steady, authentic feedback from real customers.

38. Review Request Conversion Rate

If you send 100 review requests and receive 20 reviews:

Review conversion rate:

20%

This helps evaluate whether your review workflow is actually working.

39. Repeat Customer Rate

This matters especially for businesses offering recurring or repeatable services.

Examples include:

• Drain cleaning
• Hydro jetting
• Septic pumping
• Maintenance

Formula:

Repeat Customers ÷ Total Customers × 100

Repeat business can significantly improve customer economics.

40. Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value estimates the total value a customer may generate over the relationship.

This can include:

• Initial service
• Future repairs
• Maintenance
• Repeat drain cleaning
• Referrals
• Additional properties

A customer worth $5,000 over several years can support a higher acquisition cost than a one-time $300 job.

KPI Tracking by Service

This is especially important for sewer and trenchless companies.

Your reporting should distinguish between:

Drain Cleaning

Often higher volume, lower average job value.

Hydro Jetting

Potentially higher ticket and sometimes recurring commercial work.

Sewer Repair

Lower volume but potentially larger jobs.

Sewer Replacement

High-value project economics.

Pipe Lining

Specialized, high-value opportunity.

Pipe Bursting

Often a longer sales cycle with larger job value.

Looking only at blended averages can hide major differences.

KPI Tracking by Location

Multi-location companies should compare:

• Leads by location
• CPL
• Qualified lead rate
• Close rate
• Revenue
• CAC
• ROI

One location may be highly profitable while another consumes budget without enough return.

KPI Tracking by Channel

A useful channel report may look like:

Populate the revenue and acquisition numbers using your own tracking.

The objective is to compare channels using the same definitions.

Vanity Metrics vs Business Metrics

Vanity Metric

Website traffic increased 40%.

Useful context—but incomplete.

Better Question

Did qualified leads increase?

Better Still

Did booked jobs and revenue increase?

Another example:

Vanity Metric

We rank #1 for 50 keywords.

Better Question

Are those keywords generating customers for profitable services?

Do not ignore visibility metrics.

Just keep them in context.

Which KPIs Should the Owner Watch?

Business owners usually do not need to watch 50 metrics every day.

A practical executive view may include:

• Total marketing spend
• Qualified leads
• Cost per qualified lead
• New customers
• Close rate
• Customer acquisition cost
• Attributed revenue
• Marketing ROI

The supporting SEO and advertising metrics can then help explain why those numbers changed.

Which KPIs Should the Marketing Team Watch?

The marketing team may need more detailed diagnostic metrics such as:

• Rankings
• Impressions
• Clicks
• GBP visibility
• CPC
• Search terms
• Conversion rate
• Landing-page performance
• Technical SEO health
• Review growth

These metrics help identify what needs improvement.

Which KPIs Should the Sales Team Watch?

Sales and office teams should pay attention to:

• Lead response time
• Contact rate
• Appointment rate
• Estimate rate
• Follow-up rate
• Close rate
• Lost reason

Marketing and sales performance are connected.

Build a Simple Monthly Scorecard

A useful scorecard may include:

Marketing Investment

• Total spend
• SEO spend
• Ad spend

Lead Generation

• Total leads
• Qualified leads
• CPL
• Cost per qualified lead

Sales

• Appointments
• Estimates
• Closed jobs
• Close rate

Financial

• Average job value
• Revenue
• CAC
• ROAS
• ROI

Visibility

• Organic clicks
• Maps visibility
• Priority rankings

This gives the business both strategic and diagnostic information.

Do Not Change Strategy Based on One Bad Week

Sewer and drain demand can fluctuate.

Factors may include:

• Weather
• Seasonality
• Holidays
• Local demand
• Large project timing

Look for trends rather than reacting to every short-term movement.

That said, sudden performance changes should still be investigated.

Compare Against Your Own Baseline

Industry benchmarks can provide context, but your own historical performance is often more useful.

Track:

• Month over month
• Quarter over quarter
• Year over year where available

Ask:

• Is cost per qualified lead improving?
• Is close rate rising?
• Are we getting more high-value jobs?
• Are acquisition costs still profitable?

Your own economics should guide the final decision.