Online Lead Generation

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Online Marketing Lead Generation

Would you like to get more web leads for your business? Chances are the answer is yes. Online marketing lead generation is a broad topic, but we’ll cover some of the most proven strategies on this page.

There are basically two types of online lead acquisition: organic lead generation where prospects find your website “organically” – or without clicking on an advertisement. And paid lead generation – where you are paying something (per click, per impression, etc.) to attract visitors to your website. Ideally you will have a mix of both to diversify your lead stream, as well as utilizing other lead acquisition techniques, just in case (trust me).

How to Get More Web Leads

First of all, your website should have a contact form – and the contact form should be very easy to navigate to and complete.

Once you are satisfied with your website’s contact form and your method of collecting the data from the contact form, it’s time to begin your online marketing lead generation efforts.

Organic Lead Generation – SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of developing and maintaining a website so that it has the optimal chance to rank highly for a keyword search on a search engine. A well optimized web site makes it much easier to get more web leads.

Other pages of this website cover the basics of search engine optimization, on page seo, off page seo and keyword selection so if you haven’t already, you may want to review those resources.

But if you are just getting serious about organic lead generation, here are a few tips.

Link Building

This is a massive topic unto itself, but suffice to say, without quality inbound links to your website, it will not rank well – at least not for the more competitive terms.

Of course, one of the best ways to generate links naturally is to produce great content that people want to link to.

Target Long Tail Keywords

Typically, there is less competition for long tail keywords. A long tail keyword is more specific than a short tail term, and as a result contains more keywords. An example of short tail term would be “widgets” while a long tail term would be “small round blue widgets”.

There are several advantages to long tail terms.

1. There are lots of long tail keywords.
2. There is less search competition for long tails.
3. Prospects searching long tails are typically later in the buying cycle.

A disadvantage is one it’s own, a long tail term doesn’t provide a lot of search volume, but collectively, many long tail terms can produce significant volume.

Use Analytics

Web analytics allows you to analyze your organic lead generation efforts – so you can put more energy into the tactics that are working.

Organic Lead Generation – Social Media Marketing

Social media is all the latest talk – and has been for several years now. Social media marketing is an easy, cost-effective way to get more web leads. And if you happen to hit the proverbial home run, you can experience huge spikes in traffic.

Online Marketing Lead Generation – Paid Methods

There are lots of ways to spend your advertising dollars on the web, but one of the most quantifiable, targeted methods is pay per click marketing. Another advantage of PPC campaigns is you determine how much you are willing to spend.

Google AdWords

I recommend you start your PPC marketing with Google AdWords. It will provide the greatest reach (largest audience) and an extremely high level of sophistication.

Other PPC Networks

Once you have a good grasp on Google AdWords – consider expanding into the other major search marketing platforms, like Yahoo! Search Marketing and the Microsoft adCenter.

Other PPC Strategies

Unlike SEO, where it is often easier to start narrow (long tails) before expanding out (short tail keywords); with pay per click marketing, it prefer to start with broad keywords and refine to more targeted, profitable keywords.

PPC Market Expansion

There are many ways to expand your reach through PPC marketing – all of which can help you get more web leads.

If you are targeting geographically, consider expanding your area. Also consider creating new AdGroups that target different industries (or different segments within your target industry). PPC campaigns make it very easy to specifically target markets outside of you traditional marketing methods.

Online Marketing Lead Generation Recap

In order to get more web leads for your business you should consider several methods of online marketing lead generation. Organic lead generation, paid online marketing and more traditional lead generation methods should all be part of your mix. But the world is shifting more and more toward online marketing, so make sure your small business capitalizes. Of course, you also need an effective sales lead follow up process.

Contact Marketing Practicality to improve your online marketing lead generation.