What Gives Lead Generation a Bad Name?

I’ve been in the market for a new car over the past few weeks. So naturally, the first thing I did was head online to start my search. One of the first places I headed online was Cars.com. If you haven’t heard of that website before, maybe you’re an inchworm or a snail because surely you’ve been living under a rock the past 10 years. Anyway, I used the site to browse for the EXACT car I was looking for down to the last detail; make, model, price range, color, etc. The only aspect of the search I failed to double-check was the location. I filled out a lead generation form for a vehicle WAY too far away that I couldn’t even consider looking at it or buying it. But, every day I got so many phone calls that I was going bonkers. Even when I explained my situation to the person on the other line, the phone callers still persisted. It was downright annoying. This, my friends, is one of the reasons lead generation sites get such a mixed-view reputation. Everyone wants to find easy results online, but no one wants to be harassed with phone calls and emails.

What Gives Lead Generation a Bad Name?

I’ve actually been using a lot of lead generation sites recently. It really made me think about how useful they are to the basic necessities of life. Everyone knows the pains that happen when you are on an online search for anything. It’s hard to find time to crawl the web on individual detective missions. So, therefore, these lead gen sites are the middle-man that takes all the footwork out of the long trek towards finding the perfect result. When we look for a house or apartment, we head to Zillow.com, Apartments.com, or Realtor.com. These competitive sites all have a similar practice of giving that contact information provided by its users to (hopefully) the right people. Other lead generation sites we use are ones to find babysitters, insurance quotes, banking, credit cards, job searching, and more. In fact, a lot of people are actually using lead generation sites to find romance through pages like Match.com

Although there’s a lot of well-respected lead generation type sites such as Care.com or LendingTree.com—there’s a lot that the less reputable sites lack certain things that can be red flags to the user. If you’re putting out a lead-generation website, there’s a lot of things you can do to ensure that your authority and trust is held in high regard.

What Gives Lead Generation a Bad Name?

Not including a phone number to contact.

In my last semester in college, I used a crowdfunding website to raise money for a local nonprofit organization. However, after raising several hundred dollars, I was uncertain how to ensure that the website would get those funds to the community benefit organization I wanted to help. I just thought, “oh, I’ll give them a call and ask.” To my dismay, there was NO PHONE NUMBER!! I had to run around emailing foreign customer service representatives until I finally was able to be provided a number to use.

Not having testimonials and photos.

Trust-factor is a huge deal for online users. Simply adding a positive quote can really speak to a user, especially ones that may be using it for the first time.

Lacking trust seals. Or–having “fake” trust seals.

There are companies that will install trust seals on their website just to put some eye candy on their page. According to one study, consumers were 7.6% more likely to buy furniture from an online site that used a “BuySafe Inc.” seal. When users would click on the seal, it brought up a page that offered real guarantees on product purchases so that users were more motivated to buy.

Using generic page templates.

It’s just common sense that the higher quality a page is, the more successful it will be. Site users are savvier than you would think and can tell when you use “cookie-cutter” templates. It also creates a secure image that users will trust. Putting as much investment into your lead-generation site is of utmost importance. But keep in mind that simplicity is essential. The page needs to be clear at identifying the mission of the website so that users have a clear understanding.