Generating leads is a slog when you are starting off.
Hubspots, “” highlights that when it comes to marketing generating leads is by far the most frustrating issue. This information doesn’t tell us to much about our problem and how to fix it, so here is a possible antidote to help releave that headache.
A while back we did a relatively small survey to see what tactics yielded the fastest results. We did this to help customers understand the length some mediums take to yield a return but now want to share it with you.
SEO On Page & Technical
Search engine optimisation takes 3.6 months on average to see a return.
It generally takes a month to get started, understand the sites flaws and do keywords research.
It takes another 2 – 4 weeks to get those tasks implemented and then another 4 – 6 weeks of waiting for a reaction from Google and enough data to show the return.
Sometimes there might be more tweaks to be made after the initial optimisation has happened pushing out the expected return date.
Content Marketing
Content marketing takes on average 5 months to see a return. From my perspective this is actually a fast return for the amount of effort required.
There’s planning and understanding your persona, there’s creating a content calendar. Then there is implementing the content calendar and finally promotion.
You won’t see a return from one piece of content its a compiled benefit so patients is paramount.
Once users make it too your post you then need to start capturing their details in order to transform them into leads. It’s only when you;ve cracked this that you will really see content marketing work.
Link Building
Link building is a tactic that can feel like you’re trying to pull your own teeth. It’s a painful process but pays off in the long run.
Generally with link building you will need to do some sort of content creation. It’s no wonder it takes 6 months for this tactic to pay off due to the level of work and persistence needed
Again this is another compiled affect and as you gather more links you’ll generally start to see a return slowly over time.
Google Ads
Google Ads is probably the fastest method of getting leads, by targeting high intent keywords people will come to your site within a few hours of the campaign going live.
They’ll be ready to interact and ask you for more information or add a product to the cart.
On average people who use Google Ads see a return in 1.1 months
Paid Social Media
Direct social media campaigns with a very clear goal and target audience saw on average a return with 1 month
What’s great about all paid advertising is that you can turn it on and off as you see fit so if a campaign isn’t working for you then you can change it overnight reducing the amount of time it takes to get it right.
As with all paid campaigns there is the downside that it will cost you money!
Email is probably the fastest organic way to generate leads, on average it takes 2 months to see a return.
This will really depend on how many people you are emailing and at what rate, your click through rate and experience in general to know how to improve engagement.
So What Should I Do
We always advise to start with paid, while it might cost you more in the short term you’re more than likely going to learn a lot faster whether digital marketing is going to work for you saving you in the long term.
While we recommend all tactics, depending on the type of business you are will greatly influence your return and the speed of that return.
If you want a consultation to get our opinion – at no cost