Mortgage broking
Local SEO for mortgage brokers.
A funded loan costs $1,125 to $2,000 to buy through lead vendors, against a commission of around $6,000. The published guidance says keep acquisition under 20% of commission. Do the subtraction.
- $15 to $75
- cost per mortgage lead, shared to exclusive
- $1,125 to $2,000
- typical cost per funded loan through bought leads
- ~$6,000
- commission at 1.5% on a $400,000 loan
- 20%
- the published ceiling for acquisition as a share of commission
The bought loan already spends a third of your ceiling
The lead vendors publish both of these numbers. Putting them next to each other is the part they leave to you.
| Shared internet lead | $15 to $30 |
|---|---|
| Exclusive internet lead | $40 to $75 |
| Live transfer | ~$150 |
| Cost per funded loan, typical | $1,125 to $2,000 |
| Commission, 1.5% on $400,000 | ~$6,000 |
| 20% ceiling on that commission | $1,200 |
At the top of the published range you are already through the ceiling before you have paid for anything else.
A cost per funded loan of $2,000 against a $6,000 commission is 33%, and the industry's own guidance says stay under 20%. That is before your software, your compliance costs or your time. It is also before the fact that net take-home is typically 50 to 70% of gross commission. This is not an argument that buying leads is wrong; plenty of brokers run profitably on them. It is an argument that the broker whose enquiries arrive without a per-loan invoice attached is running a structurally different business.
US market figures for 2026. Commission structures differ substantially by country; substitute your own rate and average loan size and the shape of the comparison usually holds.
What each enquiry actually costs you
- Shared internet lead
- $15 to $30
- Exclusive internet lead
- $40 to $75
- Live transfer
- ~$150
- Referral from an agent or accountant
- relationship cost
- Organic search enquiry
- no per-loan cost
The borrower decides months before they contact anyone
This is the longest consideration cycle of any trade on this site, and it is why the searches that win the client are not the ones with broker in them.
Months out
Am I even able to do this
Borrowing capacity, deposit size, whether their situation is a problem: self-employed, casual income, a default, a first home. They are not looking for a broker, they are looking for an answer.
Weeks out
What will this cost me
Rates, fees, lenders mortgage insurance, stamp duty, what a broker charges. Comparing and building a shortlist without contacting anyone.
Now
Who do I call
The shortest phase and the only one most broker websites are written for. By this point the decision has usually been made by whoever answered the first two questions well.
The searches that win the client have no broker in them
| Search type | What they type | Where their head is at | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity and eligibility | how much can I borrow, deposit needed, self employed home loan | Months out. Deciding if this is possible at all. | Highest |
| Difficult circumstances | home loan with a default, casual income mortgage, low deposit options | Has been declined or expects to be. Highly motivated, poorly served. | Highest |
| Cost and comparison | mortgage broker fees, do brokers cost money, broker vs bank | Comparing. Deciding whether a broker is worth it at all. | High |
| Broker selection | mortgage broker near me, best broker reviews | Ready. Shortlisting. | High |
The first ninety days on a mortgage broking account
- Days 1 to 30
The listing, and the compliance pass
Category, service areas, hours and reviews, plus a check of every public claim against your regulator's advertising rules. Financial services marketing carries obligations that most website copy was written without reference to, and a compliance problem is a larger risk than a ranking one.
- Days 31 to 60
The difficult circumstances cluster
Self-employed, casual income, past default, low deposit, first home buyer. These are the highest intent searches in the trade, the borrowers are motivated because they have been turned away, and the pages are usually missing entirely because they feel negative to write.
- Days 61 to 90
Capacity content and the referral loop
Borrowing capacity, deposit and cost pages that answer the months-out question, plus getting your referral partners to link to you. Agents, accountants and conveyancers have websites, and the relationships already exist.
What brokers ask us
We buy leads and they work. Why change?
Not necessarily to change, but to know the number. At $1,125 to $2,000 per funded loan against a roughly $6,000 commission, you are between 19% and 33% of gross before anything else, and the industry's own guidance is to stay under 20%. If that is where you are, the case for building something that does not invoice per loan makes itself.
Do borrowers really search before they contact a broker?
Months before. The searches that decide it are about borrowing capacity, deposits and whether their situation is workable, not about brokers. Whoever answers those is usually the one contacted at the end.
Is it worth writing about difficult circumstances?
It is the highest intent content available in this trade. Someone searching for a home loan after a default has been turned away and is looking for anyone who will engage with the question. Those pages are missing on almost every broker site because they feel negative to write.
What about compliance?
Financial services advertising is regulated and the rules differ by country. Get every public claim checked against your regulator's position and put a review date on the page. This is not optional and it is a larger risk than any ranking question.
Our business is all referral. Does search matter?
Referred clients search for you by name and then search for the question they were too embarrassed to ask their agent. Being findable and having answered that question is what converts a referral into a booking.
Local SEO for nearby trades
What a customer is worth, and which searches actually convert, change by trade. These are the closest neighbours to this one.
Work out what a funded loan actually costs you.
The free audit checks where you rank for the capacity and eligibility searches that decide these clients, and what your listing is doing.