Internet Marketing 101: Why light leads are better than simple clicks

This is the theory which runs Reply.com. The company engages a platform using light leads rather than simple clicks to help marketers engage consumers, convert sales and increase revenue. CEO and found Payam Zamani explains light leads this way, "Consumers who are interested in buying a car go to a jump page and are asked where and what they want to buy. Since [Reply.com] knows that piece of information, we can categorize auto-buyers and get that information to the advertiser. The advertiser buys that traffic on a Cost Per Lead (CPL) or Cost Per Enhanced Click (CpEH) basis."

Over the past ten years, performance based marketing has increased from $77 million (1998) to just over $13 billion (2008). This is a 67% increase as marketers figure out how to manage paid search and other online campaigns.

How important are these light leads in the performance marketing space? Considering the majority of consumers, 84% according to a Brand Reputation survey, research purchases online prior to buying, these light leads can be incredibly important especially to hyper local businesses. Auto dealers, local restaurants, local merchants and brands can take enhanced clicks and the information compiled by Reply.com to engage local consumers and convert sales - both online and offline.

To date, Reply.com has seen revenues in some ad categories increase by up to 80% versus using other advertising platforms.

What can a light lead do for the marketer?
• Gives marketers targeted traffic without heavy keyword buys
• Offers geographically targeted traffic
• Offers segmented traffic based on geographic location and purchase intent

"Enhanced clicks direct consumers to an advertiser's customized landing page. The advertiser gets the consumer location and intent-to-purchase without managing keywords or text campaigns," said Mr. Zamadi. "Leads are distributed through an auction interface, giving the marketer price, quality and volume control. The moment a consumer clarifies their intent and location, the click is enhanced. Because it includes user-submitted information the advertiser knows what the consumer wants and where the consumer is which gives them a better conversion rate."

The other benefit to using light leads is that the advertiser receives the consumer location; geographically targeted ads or, in this case, taking only leads from a specific geographic area, has been proven to give advertisers a higher return on investment for the overall campaign. This is becoming more and more important as advertisers try to squeeze as much as they can from each ad, auction buy and campaign.

"There is a need, especially in the last 12 months, to become more profitable," said Zamani. "Services who can cut waste and not force advertisers to buy unwanted traffic or unmonetized traffic have done well. I see [marketers] wanting to broaden their reach but pay accordingly. For example, a woman of thirty may be the perfect demographic target but women between forty and fifty may also be strong leads. I, as a marketer, would pay a premium for the perfect target but would expect a lower cost for leads outside that perfect targeted base."

Tags: cost per lead, CpEH, CPL, enhanced clicks, light leads, performance based marketing, PPC campaign, Reply.com