There are four primary advertising campaigns used to generate Internet leads. These include:

1. Pay Per Click
2. Organic Search
3. Display Advertising
4. Email Marketing

Pay per click
In this model advertisers generate leads typically by purchasing keyword phrases on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. When consumers look for a service and enter in the purchased phrase in the search field, the ad from the direct marketer shows up within a paid search section on the page. The advertiser pays the search engine a fee each time the listing is clicked.

For Google, this is generally the top three placements on a page or additional listing on the right side of the page. Consumers who click on these pages are taken to a web page created by the advertiser where they are encouraged to enter their information to be contacted about the service they are interested in.

Organic search
In organic search, a consumer again looks for a service using one of the above search engines. In this scenario, instead of clicking on one of the paid listings, the consumer clicks on a listing that appears based on its relevance to the search terms according to the search engine’s algorithms. Advertisers do not pay the search engine when consumers click on this link, though there are significant costs to maintaining a site that ranks high in organic search.

Display Advertising
Leads generated from display ads are banner ads or buttons consisting of static or animated images that catch a consumer’s attention when they check email or browse content rich web sites. Often, the banners are tied to editorial content that has some relevance to the service offered.

Email Marketing
Leads generated from email marketing are responses to direct marketing email pieces that have been sent to subscribers who have opted-in to a list requesting information on various subjects.

A general belief is that the best converting leads typically come from search. The rational is that a consumer has actively made the effort to seek out this service by typing in the information into a search browser and because of this they are a more serious purchaser of the product offering. Organic search is often deemed preferable to paid search as it is assumed that consumers trust sites that are generated based on their relevance as determined by a search engine’s algorithms as opposed to a paid listing.

The flip side to the theory that search is best is that a consumer is more likely to be doing research to gather information or simply fishing for a best available price. This results in them sometimes not being quite ready to make a purchase when telephoned by the company they have been matched with.

With display and email leads, an offer may catch a consumer causing them to consider a service that they may not have been actively seeking. While this spontaneity may result in a “less serious” consumer, they may also be less price sensitive. They may also be looking at fewer of your competitors’ offers.

In evaluating buyer feedback from LeadPoint customers there are best-in-class advertisers who are successful in generating high performing leads in all four advertising segments. It often comes down to the copy in the offer and how closely it matches the service that the lead buyer has to offer. For direct marketers it is an optimization game. Each ad segment has fierce competition which drives up costs. Internet advertisers focus on generating lead demand through the quality of their leads while trying to maximize profits

Leads generated from organic search make up a sizable block of the leads traded over LeadPoint’s data market. As noted above, based on feedback some of the stronger performing sellers according to our buyer feedback have not always been sellers who have generated leads through search.

LeadPoint’s industry leading quality initiatives including our LeadClass program help to ensure that all leads sold over our market, regardless of how they are derived, are among the best converting leads within the industry. Thus, while a relevant question to ask, it plays less of a factor in determining the overall quality of the leads a buyer may purchase over the LeadPoint exchange.