Specifically, everybody wants to attract more leads online, but not everyone understands what that really means, or how to define online success.
At Kayak, we've built our name on creating spectacular inbound marketing results for our clients. But, we often find that initial conversations with executives and business leaders show that many have some misconceptions about lead generation.
For instance, we sometimes find that new clients are confused by the difference between lead generation and search engine optimization. This makes sense, as they are thinking of the results they want to get from a website (more inquiries or customers), and have probably heard dozens of times that improving your ranking on Google is the key.
There is an ounce of truth in that – search engine marketing is part of the lead-generation process – but the reality is that real lead generation involves so much more. That's because gaining more traffic, in and of itself, doesn't do a lot for your company. In fact, if it isn't the right kinds of traffic, it could actually lead to wasted time, and missed opportunities.
With that in mind, let's take a moment to examine what a good lead-generation website is: It's a web presence that brings you qualified and focused traffic that you can convert into new sales or opportunities profitably, month after month. There are a lot of smaller parts that could go in to that bigger sales engine, but it's important to note that a good lead-generating website always has a few important characteristics:
1. Focus
Not everyone who could buy your product or service, or is a target for your industry, is necessarily a good fit for your company or what you sell. That's why great lead-generating websites focus on a specific type of buyer and opportunity (a marketing persona), so that time, money, and effort aren’t being wasted.
2. Profitability
It goes without saying that you should be making more from your Internet marketing than it is costing. And yet, so many companies spend huge money on display ads and pay-per-click ads under the guise of "lead generation" that it's nearly impossible for them to ever recoup their investment.
3. Efficiency
At the same time, a proper web strategy should show you a higher rate of return than you would see with traditional marketing. If you're seeing higher returns from direct mail, for example, than you are with your lead-generation website, then something is wrong with your plan, the execution, or both. (Condider the expense of mass mailings – that on a good day – might get a 1-2% return.)
4. Multiple contacts and offers
A great lead-generation website shouldn't have just one way in, or one way out. Instead, there should be a variety of different topics to draw prospects in, and ample valued offers to entice them to take the next step, register for more information, download a document, and so on.
5. Fresh, dynamic content
One of the best things about a great lead-generation campaign is that it should adapt itself to demand, feedback, and split (A/B) testing. In other words, once you've built a foundation for lead capture, you should be converting more and more visitors into sales opportunities every month. That requires updates, fresh content, and new approaches that reflect the feedback from and activity on your lead-generation website.
Any website that doesn't have these qualities is bound to under-perform, in terms of generating new leads and sales opportunities, over time. So, if your reason for being on the Internet and performing any kind of Internet marketing is to have your website bring you prospects, then it's absolutely crucial that you don't overlook any of them… or better yet, have an online marketing team that helps you put the pieces in place.
Lead-generating websites can make almost any business more profitable and efficient. But, too many companies think they have a solid platform for creating new opportunities when they're really just working with a nice website and a few mismatched pieces of content.
What category does your organization fall into?
