When it comes to finding your potential clients on the internet, there are two main ways you can do this: Google and Social Media.
When it comes to finding your potential clients on the internet, there are two main ways you can do this: Google and Social Media.
Gathering Leads With Google
When someone types something in Google, your website ranks on Google, without you having to pay to be there. Ranking on Google organically takes a lot of effort. This is done via Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
As part of a Google Ad campaign, you can attach a form to your campaign to generate leads for your business. You can create a new campaign with a new lead form, or attach a new lead form to an existing campaign. Google lead form extensions will be shown on mobile or tablet devices in your search ad and enable a user to directly provide their contact information through your ad. This replaces the conversion requirement for a user to visit your mobile site. If the user is logged into their Google account, they will be able to access a Google-hosted form with their contact details already pre-populated and can convert it immediately with one click. The benefit here is that these ads capture in-market leads, i.e. an audience proactively looking for the product. They also provide a seamless user experience on mobile and these pre-filled lead forms can be used for better conversion rates.
Creating a Google My Business (GMB) listing can also generate leads for any brand because of the popularity of the platform. Optimizing a GMB listing can also allow you to make sure that your business shows up in more search results.
Gathering Leads with Social Media
Similar to Google, you can generate leads organically or do paid advertising on social media. With social media, you can build a stronger brand, connect to those in your audience, provide support answer questions and build new relationships.
How does this process work?
In exchange for displaying ads to people in your target audience (your future customers), you pay money on social media platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter). In exchange for their contact information (usually their name and email), these adverts allow your prospective customers to access free educational content provided by you. This enables you to gather leads (or information) on potential customers for you to follow up with later. The best platform for generating leads is the platform your customers use. That said, most agree that Facebook is the best site for social media lead generation followed by LinkedIn and Instagram. All these platforms capture data on their interfaces, hence there is no website needed.
The Benefits Of Developing A Website
A website can benefit from SEO and will help you establish your online portfolio and brand identity. When people are looking to buy something, people usually search for it on Google. If you rank high on Google for keywords that indicate someone is looking to buy your services and you can usually get a high amount of leads, sales and conversions through your website.
The Verdict
Although it differs from industry to industry, overall, Google has been found to be more expensive to generate leads. However, if you have to pay more for leads, but those are good quality leads that are generating a good ROI, it’s not a bad thing. Hence we recommend maintaining a balance of both google and social media ads along with a website. However, if establishing a strong brand image and identity online isn’t your priority OR if you come from a place where your small scale business doesn’t necessarily need a website (like a fashion/ accessories page with a niche market on Instagram), then you can skip the website development bit. The ball is entirely in your court.
