Lead Generation: A 2024 Guide
Where Most Businesses Think Leads Come From
At Elivate, we understand the power of marketing and advertising. Without it, potential clients may never discover your business, especially if you’re just starting out. Relying solely on word-of-mouth is unreliable and insufficient.
Despite the plethora of resources available today, many businesses struggle with converting traffic into qualified leads. The issue isn’t the marketing itself, but the strategy behind it. Most businesses face two main challenges:
- Effort-Intensive Channels: Using channels that require significant time and resources, which many businesses can’t afford.
- Misallocation of Funds: Spending money on expensive methods instead of focusing on more effective strategies.
Let’s examine these issues in detail.
Expensive and Ineffective Advertising
Traditional advertising mediums like bus, bench, and billboard ads are common but have significant drawbacks:
- High Cost: These ads are expensive and can quickly drain your marketing budget.
- Low Effectiveness: They don’t generate quality leads. While these ads may increase brand visibility, they rarely convert viewers into clients. Studies show that people often ignore these ads, focusing on their phones instead.
Social Media (Paid and Organic)
Social media platforms are the digital equivalent of bustling cities, potentially offering significant visibility. However, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn use complex algorithms that prioritize certain types of content. Without a deep understanding of these algorithms, your organic posts may go unnoticed.
Building a large, engaged following takes time—often months or years. Most businesses don’t have the luxury of waiting, nor the time to create engaging content consistently. Paid social media ads are a valid option, but they should complement, not replace, a strong presence on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs), where people actively search for services.
Strategic Insights from Elivate
At Elivate, we recommend a balanced, strategic approach to improve your lead generation efforts. By avoiding common pitfalls and focusing on effective strategies, businesses can enhance their lead generation and drive growth.
Where Top Businesses’ Leads Actually Come From
TL;DR…Search Engines (mainly Google).
When someone needs help with a service, what’s the first thing they do?
They Google it.
For example, “how to improve online marketing” or “best digital marketing agency near me”.
This is where most high-quality leads come from because people are actively seeking solutions.
If you’re not seeing results from search engine marketing (SEO, PPC Ads), you’re not alone. Many businesses struggle with this.
The Elements of Effective Search Marketing
When someone searches for a “digital marketing agency near me,” here’s what they see:
- Local Service Ads
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Ads
- Local “Maps Pack” Listings
- “People Also Ask” Content
- Traditional Organic Results
All of these sections attract clicks. If you’re not targeting each one, your campaigns will struggle.
The Blended Search Approach
The key to generating more leads from search engines in 2024 is to be hyper-present in all elements of search. At Elivate, we call this a “Blended Search” approach. By being visible across all search elements, businesses can improve their lead generation efforts and achieve better results.
"Blended Search": The Key to More Clients (And Fewer Unqualified Leads)
Step 1: Paid Search
Starting with paid search offers fast results and identifies “winning keywords” that drive high-quality leads at a low cost. Our process includes:- Tracking and reporting
- Keyword research
- Landing page design
- Ad copywriting
- Campaign setup
- A/B testing
- Scaling successful keywords
Step 2: Local Service Ads
Local service ads highlight important business details and attract quality clicks. Our approach involves:- Creating optimized landing pages
- Bidding on winning keywords
- Continuous optimization and monitoring
Step 3: Local SEO
To dominate local SEO, businesses must appear in the local 3-pack by optimizing their Google My Business Profile (GBP). This includes:- Completing and optimizing the GBP with target keywords
- Getting reviews and ratings
- Building local citations
- Keeping the profile updated
Step 4: Traditional SEO
Traditional SEO builds the foundation of search engine marketing. We focus on:- Technical SEO audits
- Custom landing page creation
- Optimizing key pages
- Targeting snippets and PAA
- Regularly publishing blog posts, guides, and videos
Step 5: Content Marketing
Content marketing is crucial for capturing snippets and ranking high. We use blog posts, guides, and videos optimized with winning keywords. Quality content should be published regularly to maintain relevance and authority. Capturing More Snippets To capture snippets, structure your content to answer specific questions clearly. Use headings and paragraphs that directly address common queries. Build Quality Content and Backlinks Regularly publishing high-quality content builds authority and attracts backlinks from reputable sites, boosting your domain authority and Google ranking. At Elivate, we help businesses implement these strategies to maximize their search engine presence and generate more qualified leads.Results From Using “Blended Search” Marketing
“Blended Search” marketing is a comprehensive approach to dominating the first page of Google. How well does it work for converting high-quality traffic into leads and sales?
Our clients have experienced substantial growth using this strategy. Monthly visitors have significantly increased, often by several thousand percent. Each campaign we run results in notable gains in traffic and conversions.
To ensure success, our engineering team uses a predictive tool to estimate SEO campaign outcomes based on your site’s data, past performance, and competitive market, providing clear expectations before starting.
Marketing Is Best Left to the Experts
Managing a business involves numerous responsibilities—client consultations, project management, and strategic planning. Adding marketing to your plate can be overwhelming.
Marketing requires years of experience and proven processes. Instead of tackling the learning curve, focus on what you do best: growing your business. Let us handle lead generation to help you attract high-quality prospects.
Your potential clients are out there, but they won’t wait forever—contact Elivate’s growth team to start dominating search engines today.
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