What is Lead Generation?
Lead Generation is the method of generating an influx of clientele through active or passive methods. Through the generation of these new leads, a company gives themselves a higher probability of converting those leads to closings and sales of their particular products or services that they offer.
How Does Lead Generation Connect With SEO?
Lead Generation and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) go hand in hand, and is why SEO has become far more favorable than paid advertisements and synthetic lead generation. Lead Generation, as it pertains to SEO, is the process of creating brand awareness without investing into platforms or programs that market or advertise your company.
Lead Generation is the most ideal, as it brings in potential clientele without having to spend excess funding on expensive adverts and funnels that need to be renewed monthly or have various plans for numerous platforms. Being able to optimize your brand awareness in an organic way allows for outreach that comes strictly from your website or social media platform. When a highly optimized and tuned strategy is put into place, the need for paid advertising and funnels goes out the window. Although, it all begins with a solid and deep foundation, which can only be found through Lead Generation.
It’s essential to build modern lead generation programs that involve more than one department within your business. The process of generating new opportunities will usually begin with marketing, but as your business develops and as lead generation becomes a more important part of your strategy, it becomes vital that other departments contribute to this process too. Getting everyone involved in generating new leads can help to build a strong and cohesive team, as well as improving the quality of your lead generation program. You should also consider how you can use data from other departments within your business to inform the lead generation process. For example, if salespeople are struggling with pipeline issues, it might be worth looking at which marketing campaigns are most effective at driving qualified traffic to your website.
Why Is Lead Generation So Important?
As a marketing manager, digital marketer, or business owner. You may have found yourself in a situation similar to the one below. You’re set a cost per lead (CPL) target for your marketing efforts, and are incentivized to generate as many leads through your marketing campaigns as possible within that budget. On the other side of things, your sales team is incentivized to convert those leads into sales by achieving their targets and closing as many deals as possible, converting these leads into customers delighted for your wonderful service, and ideally eager to come back for more.
However, what happens when there is a poor alignment between your CPL and conversion rates? Chaos ensues! Not only are you missing your deadlines and targets, but customers and employees alike become frustrated due to the low numbers and poor conversions. Many in this situation scramble to find paid alternatives, hoping for a way to save the sinking ship. Although, patching the holes isn’t truly fixing the issue, and the same issue will inevitably occur once again in the near or far future. Avoiding such situations is why proper lead generation, along with diligent and effective Search Engine Optimization, is so important.
One of the biggest challenges when implementing a lead generation process is often the different objectives and KPIs of marketing and sales teams. It’s not uncommon for marketing teams to be set a ‘cost per lead’ (CPL) target for their marketing efforts, which incentivizes them to generate as many leads as possible within the marketing budget. On the other side of things, the sales team are often set targets based on the conversion rate of the leads they are passed. If marketing is passing through a high volume of low-quality leads, this isn’t going to help the sales team achieve their targets. They would actually most likely prefer to be passed a smaller number of high-quality leads. A holistic approach to lead scoring can help both teams work together more effectively. It allows marketing to identify the leads they should be passing on, whilst also providing sales with valuable insights into their own performance. For small business owners, the implementation of a powerful SEO lead generation strategy will have your business phones, and your sales floor with a constant influx of customers specifically interested in your brand and your particular expertise and services.
Lead Generation is a process that requires a lot of planning and research. It takes time to build your brand awareness, but it is the most effective way to generate leads for your business. If you want to learn more about how we can help with your lead generation needs, reach out today!
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