7 Online Lead Generation Methods That Work

When it comes to online marketing, it’s all about generating leads. Whatever you do, you hope to drive traffic back to your website and close a sale. Here are 7 tried and true online lead generation tactics that still work.

Search engine optimization – SEO is nothing more than the process of ranking your web pages for specific keywords in hopes that you’ll be found by prospects. Effective SEO relies on good keyword and market research. Find out what your prospects are looking for when they search Google or Bing, then deliver that kind of content for them. There are a variety of SEO methods within this realm of lead generation, but it should be included in any discussion of lead generation – online or off line.
Pay per click advertising – PPC is to online advertising as television or radio sponsorships are to off line advertising. You determine the value of a click and based on your keyword-targeted efforts, your budget, and some quality factors, you can drive quick and steady traffic anywhere you want it.
Social media marketing – Social media is no longer the redheaded stepchild of online marketing. You can drive steady streams of traffic to your website with effective social media marketing. It takes a strategy and knowing how to interact with prospects and build relationships on third-party websites.
E-mail opt in – Place an e-mail subscription form or opt-in form on your website and drive traffic to it. It helps if you offer an incentive for gaining e-mail addresses. E-mail opt-in forms are still one of the best ways to generate leads online.
Video marketing – Create videos and distribute them online to places like YouTube, Viddler, and Vimeo. Many successful online marketers use video marketing every day.
Link building – Link building is really a subset of SEO, but it’s effective for lead generation because where you place your links, what calls to action you use, and generally who you target your links to determine how successfully you can generate leads from the effort. Link building often uses tactics like article marketing.
Blog marketing – Blog marketing can also be viewed as a subset of SEO. However, there is more to blog marketing than strictly SEO. You are also building a brand and communicating with your prospects. It is itself a form of relationship building. Blog marketing is effective because it allows interaction with your customers and prospects before, during, and after the sales process. It is a very powerful lead generation platform.