FAQ

How do lead aggregators work and how do I sell leads to them?

Lead Gen Infrastructure

Key Takeaways
  • An aggregator connects to your system via API or ping-post integration.
  • Start by identifying which aggregators buy in your vertical.
  • Aggregators typically pay 30-50% less per lead than end buyers because they add their margin on the resale.
  • Selling to aggregators requires infrastructure that can handle real-time delivery, track acceptance rates per buyer, enforce volume caps, and format payloads correctly for each integration.

Lead aggregators buy leads in bulk from multiple generators, then resell those leads to end buyers — insurance carriers, financial institutions, law firms, and brokers. They are the middlemen of the lead economy, and they are often the easiest first buyers for new lead generation businesses because they have established purchasing programs, accept leads across multiple verticals, and can absorb volume from day one.

How aggregators operate

An aggregator connects to your system via API or ping-post integration. When you generate a lead, your system sends the lead data to the aggregator's endpoint. The aggregator checks the lead against their active buyer criteria — geography, vertical, qualification fields — and either accepts or rejects it in real time. Accepted leads get paid at the agreed per-lead rate. Rejected leads come back with a reason code (duplicate, out of area, missing data) so you can fix the issue upstream.

According to ZoomInfo's 2025 lead generation ecosystem report, the top 20 lead aggregators in the US collectively process over 200 million leads annually across insurance, finance, legal, and home services verticals. The aggregator market has consolidated significantly since 2023, with the largest players (QuoteWizard/LendingTree, EverQuote, MediaAlpha) controlling a growing share of buyer demand.

How to connect and sell

Start by identifying which aggregators buy in your vertical. For insurance: QuoteWizard, EverQuote, MediaAlpha, and SmartFinancial are major buyers. For finance: LendingTree, Bankrate, and NerdWallet operate aggregation programs. For legal: leads are typically sold direct to firms or through specialized legal lead networks.

The technical requirements are consistent across most aggregators: real-time API delivery, consent documentation (TrustedForm certificates), deduplication, and lead data in their specified format. PRJ-01's feed routing system handles this through integration-specific payload formatting for 6 delivery providers, configurable per-route suppression with expiration, and cap enforcement at daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time intervals. The system supports dual routing modes — direct feed ID matching and URL-based matching — so connecting to a new aggregator is a configuration task, not a development project.

What aggregators pay versus direct buyers

Aggregators typically pay 30-50% less per lead than end buyers because they add their margin on the resale. An auto insurance lead that sells to a carrier for $45 might pay $20-25 through an aggregator. The tradeoff is volume certainty and lower friction: aggregators buy consistently and handle the end-buyer relationships.

According to Insurance Journal's 2025 lead marketplace analysis, the average aggregator markup ranges from 40-60%, meaning generators typically capture 40-60% of the end-buyer price. As your volume and quality prove out, you can negotiate higher rates or begin selling direct to end buyers — where the margins are significantly better.

The operational reality

Selling to aggregators requires infrastructure that can handle real-time delivery, track acceptance rates per buyer, enforce volume caps, and format payloads correctly for each integration. Running this across 616,543+ leads and multiple verticals simultaneously is what separates infrastructure-backed operations from manual approaches. The routing layer in PRJ-01 processes outbound deliveries (76,836 tracked) with per-route configuration, blacklist checking against 306,676 entries, and persona-based feed targeting — so the right leads go to the right aggregators automatically.

Related: What is ping-post in lead generation and how does it work?

References

  1. ZoomInfo (2025). "Lead Generation Ecosystem Report." Aggregator market structure and volume data.
  2. Insurance Journal (2025). "Lead Marketplace Analysis." Aggregator markup and pricing benchmarks.
  3. Keating, M.G. (2026). "The Compounding Execution Method: Complete Technical Documentation." Stealth Labz. Browse papers