Lead generation.

A lead is a contact who has shown interest but has not yet placed an order. Lead generation encompasses everything that generates such contacts: an inquiry form on the website, a request for a callback, a cost calculator, or a form embedded directly in an ad. For tradespeople, solar companies, and service providers, this is usually the actual goal of their website and advertising, because the sale doesn’t happen until a conversation takes place.

How Lead Generation Works

It all starts with an offer that encourages people to share their information. This could be a no-obligation offer, an in-person appointment, or an initial assessment. The path to this usually involves a landing page with a form or a form included in the ad itself.

Meta offers the "Leads" ad objective for this purpose. According to Meta, it is aimed at people who are more willing to share information, and—according to Meta’s developer documentation—the forms use information that people have already shared on Facebook. Google Ads offers assets with lead forms, which, according to Google, allow users to submit contact information directly from the ad. According to Google, leads are stored there for 60 days, and you can download a file containing the data from the last 30 days.

What Your Business Should Keep in Mind

There are too many leads, not too few. A contact form in an ad is convenient and often generates a lot of leads. In our projects, we often find that some of these leads can’t be reached by phone or barely remember the inquiry. Asking one or two questions—such as for a ZIP code or a time frame—helps filter them out early on.

Determine who handles leads and how quickly. According to Google’s help center, Google offers email notifications for each lead, as well as the ability to transfer leads via webhook or integration to a CRM. Without this connection, contacts remain in the ad account until someone checks them.

Keep data protection in mind. According to Google, for lead forms in Google Ads, you must include a link to your privacy policy that appears at the bottom of the form. Even if you’re using your own form, your privacy policy should explain what happens to the data.

Keep the form on your website short. Every required field is one more hurdle. To find out what else causes inquiries to fall through on your website, check out our article “Why You’re Not Getting Inquiries Through Your Contact Form.”

Frequently Asked Questions About Lead Generation

A form in the ad or on the website? The form in the ad is quicker to fill out, while on the website, the prospective customer learns more about you before submitting an inquiry. Google claims that lead forms generate more leads than standalone website forms. That’s just a marketing claim—the quality depends on your questions.

How much does a lead cost? That depends on the cost per click and the number of visitors who submit inquiries. The entries on CPC and conversion rate explain how to factor both of these in.

Is lead generation part of marketing or sales? It’s part of both. Marketing generates the lead, and sales turns it into an order. It’s important that both teams have the same understanding of what constitutes a good lead.

If you want your meta campaigns to generate leads rather than just clicks, we'll handle the setup, form, and analysis in Ad Management.