Digital Marketing Blog

Online Lead Generation vs. Search Engine Rankings? Don't Forget the Sales!

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During a new client meeting the other day, the CMO of a professional services company said to me, "Paul, my one single focus right now is to rank highly for important keywords in major search engines." I kindly replied to him, "With all do respect, if you have a single focus at the moment, it should be on generating more leads and increasing your sales."

Don't get me wrong, ranking highly in search engines is a wonderful thing (I've made a great living at it), but too many business leaders get wrapped up in SEO rankings and forget they may be leaving money on the table by way of actionable data for quality lead nurturing. Search Engine Optimization is powerful; every business needs SEO and is missing out on a greater online ROI without it. But SEO needs to be a part of a bigger, comprehensive strategy working toward an efficient Lead Generation program--alongside PPC, Blogging, Social Media, Lead Nurture, and Good Looks (okay, I just threw that in there). If done right, your lead generation program can prove to be sustainable and measurable over the long haul.

It's important to have a focus on SEO and Link Building in order to optimize your site, its content, off-page SEO elements, and more. But while you continue to make improvements in your SEO program every month (on your way to massive search engine success) don't forget to generate meaningful business in the meantime.

• Where does your ideal target traffic live/visit/shop/play?
  
• What "persona" should your business employ to connect with that audience?
  
• Do you have contact forms on every page with a strong "call to actions"?
  
• How are you tracking your leads?
  
• Do you have lead nurture in place? (Don't just focus on the HOT leads!)

These are just a few of the many questions that need to be answered before anyone can operate a successful business dependent on lead generation.

Which now brings me to my point.

So after driving traffic to your site obtaining a form submission, what does that leave you? Yes, of course, a lead for you to contact, but what else? Well, if you have the right tracking in place you have... data (no, not the kid from "Goonies"). And if you have the right minds in place, sound research, the right strategies, best practices, a good team and partners.... then you may just have the winning formula; actionable data.

How data is gathered and formed into an actionable strategy is what separates the adults' table from the kids' table. We all know that the kids' table is fun to sit at, but they don't buy the meal and inevitably someone spits on your food. In digital marketing, it's important to not only value data, but value how you look at and perceive that data.

There's a million different ways to cut through numbers and statistics. Strategies are often time-sensitive but make sure you look at the data from obscure angles, not just the obvious ones.

• ASSESSMENT: Who truly is your (current) audience? Who should be your target audience?
  
• AWARENESS: What branding opportunities are you passing up?
  
• TRENDS: Where is tomorrow's traffic going and how does it impact my business today?
  

One of our partners likes to quote the famous line from Wayne Gretzky, "A good hockey player skates to where the puck is. A great hockey player skates to where the puck is going."

My new client chuckled after hearing my comment about his responsibility to generate leads and increase sales. "Let me correct myself, Paul" he said. "Ranking highly for important keywords is my second biggest, single focus."

Something tells me that he's skating to where the puck is going.