Most marketers are familiar with a traditional sales funnel where leads filter from the top down, encountering various stages of the funnel before converting to customers at the end of the sales process. However, with the increasing impact of social selling and social media, a lead can convert at any stage of the process. As a result, many are beginning to wonder if
pay per click (PPC), the more “traditional” of the digital marketing tactics is still an effective method for generating qualified leads for businesses.
As a specialist in the 4 pillars of digital marketing in Kansas - search, site, social and mobile, I am passionate about effective online lead generation. My deep understanding of this strategy is based on knowledge and practical experience of having applied it successfully to my clients’ (and my own) business! I am, therefore, well-placed to talk about why PPC continues to be one of the most outstanding methods for online lead generation and is necessary before a long-term SEO strategy is put in place.
Let me elaborate on some of the advantages that PPC has over other lead generation methods:
- It’s measurable: The single greatest advantage of any lead generation method is the ability to measure the exact cost per lead. With traditional above-the-line marketing, this is always challenging. How many leads did a newspaper or radio campaign generate? PPC, whether paid search, display or social ads, all have a method to be able to track a conversion. It could be a form filled in, an email or a phone call, but you can tell when you have that lead firmly in the first level of your funnel, and you know exactly how it got there. That allows you to see what the cost per lead of each strategy is, and adjust your path accordingly.
- It’s targeted: Paid search, social and display marketing, all require you to select where, when and who you want to show your ads to. You can select people based on their age, what they typed in as a search on Google, what type of content they are reading or even if they have kids or not! Seth Godin says, “Everyone is not your customer” and this is a key thing to understand in marketing. By knowing your target market, you can reach them with an idea that resonates with them. Being able to target exactly the person that is your ideal customer can reduce your cost per lead and increase your overall ROI.
- It’s evolving: More and more companies are moving to online advertising to grow their business. In the past, the way to advertise was Yellow Pages and local newspapers. Billions of dollars are spent each on PPC advertising. Selling advertising is actually how most of the large internet companies make their money, Facebook and Google being at the forefront of this. In fact in 2015, 77% of Google’s total revenue came from ad clicks on the Google search page. That figure doesn’t even include revenue generated form the wider Display Network or YouTube! That is $52 billion from people clicking on ads after doing a search on Google.com. Since these ad platforms are their money spinners, it makes sense for these companies to spend a lot of time and effort developing their ad platforms to make it easier and more beneficial for advertisers to spend money with them. For advertisers, this means that you have a constantly evolving tool that offers several unique benefits.
- You can reach the same people again: Whether you call it remarketing or retargeting, the ability to show ads to people that have already interacted with you is powerful. There is an old marketing adage called the Rule of 7 – a potential customer needs to have 7 touch points or exposures to your brand before they take action. Now what if you could accelerate this process by showing your brand to people that had already been on your website? That’s remarketing. Some companies have had absolutely extraordinary results with remarketing, both on display platforms and on social. What is clear is that PPC has given us new and unique ways to stay top of mind.
Lead generation can be a businesses’ largest stumbling block, but the above points show that using PPC as a lead generation tactic is a sound way to fill that sales funnel with qualified, quality leads. Speak with a Marketing Angle consultant today, and find out how we can help to accelerate your business growth through some powerful online lead generation strategies.
