Online Lead generation is often called the lifeblood of a successful business. Why? Because to win more clients, you need to generate more leads.
Without any new leads, you won’t be able to get any new clients.
It’s as simple as that.
So, the big question is…
What is the best way to generate new business leads each month?
And how can you do this in a way that is predictable, profitable, scalable and automated?
After helping hundreds of business owners successfully generate leads, here are the best online lead generation strategies.
The best and fastest way to get new business leads each month is by using a lead generation strategy that attracts and converts leads into clients on autopilot. This free video training explains how to do this step-by-step in a way that is automated, profitable and scalable.
Summary
If you’re short on time, here is a summary of the best online lead generation strategies for business owners:
- YouTube SEO (Best overall)
- Google SEO
- TikTok Ads
- Meta Facebook & Instagram Ads
- LinkedIn outreach
These lead generation strategies have been tested in our business and with our clients. The lead gen strategies can work for both B2C lead gen and B2B lead generation.
Watch this video if you’d like to learn how to use each of these online lead generation strategies in more detail.
What are the best online lead generation strategies?
Here are the best online lead generation strategies (from best to worst!):
1. YouTube SEO
Best overall
YouTube is one of the best online lead generation strategies. By creating YouTube videos, you can get new business leads for free when people search YouTube and Google for keywords related to your services.
YouTube SEO Pros
YouTube SEO Cons
For your YouTube videos to rank higher on YouTube, they must do 3 things:
- Answers a question your potential clients are searching for. This will help you generate leads each month on autopilot.
- Have a good title & thumbnail. You could have the best video in the world, but it won’t perform well if no one clicks on it.
- Have a higher watch time than your competitors. The longer people watch your videos, the better this signals to YouTube that your video is good and the higher they will rank it.
- Create lots of videos. 80% of your YouTube views will come from 20% of your videos. So the more videos you record, the higher the chances are some of your videos will perform well.
For your YouTube videos to appear on search results, you must answer questions your potential clients are asking (or searching for).
Tip: A big mistake people make is creating videos that never generate any leads. Watch ‘Step 4’ of this video to see how you can convert YouTube views into leads, sales appointments and clients for your business.
Additional Google & YouTube SEO resources:
2. Google SEO
Most profitable free online lead generation strategy
Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most profitable online lead generation strategies to get free business leads. Google SEO allows you to generate a steady stream of new leads from people “in the market” to buy your services.
Google SEO Pros
Google SEO Cons
Every day there are thousands of people (including your potential clients) who are searching Google and/or YouTube for answers to their questions.
The question you need to ask yourself is…
Are they finding YOU or your competitors?
By writing articles that answer questions your potential clients ask, you can generate high-quality leads for free each month from Google searches.
Tip: The more content you create answering questions your potential clients ask, the faster results you’ll get. See ‘Step 4’ of this video to learn what kind of questions typically get the best results from Google and YouTube.
Additional Google & YouTube SEO resources:
3. TikTok ads
Best paid advertising lead gen channel
TikTok lead generation ads are one of the best online lead generation strategies for buying exclusive leads. TikTok ads can work well for both b2b and b2c lead generation.
TikTok Ad Pros
TikTok Ad Cons
But wait… What if you’re thinking: Isn’t TikTok just for young people!
Nope! Not anymore…
The older demographic (people aged 45+ or 55+) is growing rapidly on TikTok. We’ve bene testing TikTok for both b2b and b2c lead gen and we’ve had no problems targeting high networth people on this channel.
Is TikTok better than Facebook ads?
In our tests, we’ve found 90% of our clients who test Facebook and TikTok ads get better results (in terms of cost per lead, cost per appointment and cost per aquisition) with TikTok ads.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown on why TikTok ads beats Facebook ads (in most cases):
If you’re interested in using TikTok ads, check out our Free Masterclass training.
4. Meta Facebook & Instagram ads
Largest online lead generation social media platform
With Meta’s Facebook & Instagram ads, you can generate leads much more quickly compared with free or organic channels such as LinkedIn outreach or Google SEO.
Please note: Since Meta own both Facebook & Instagram, when referring to “Facebook Ads” please keep in mind this includes “Instagram”, Threads and any other assets owned by Meta which may display ads either now or in the future.
Facebook Ad Pros
Facebook Ad Cons
With Facebook ads, you can combine multiple interests to drill down and target someone who is exactly the kind of client you want to win.
Facebook ads allow you to get leads and find new clients on-demand. One of the advantages to using Facebook ads is that you can target people on Facebook who are searching Google without paying for Google ads.
See ‘step 4’ of my free training for more info on how to use Facebook ads to get leads on-demand.
Additional Facebook ad resources:
5. LinkedIn
Best online outreach lead generation strategy
On LinkedIn, you can generate new business for free by connecting to potential clients and asking them if they want to watch a free video that goes through how they can solve a big problem they have.
You don’t have to spend any money on LinkedIn ads to do this, but you do need to spend time finding, connecting and messaging people who are your potential clients.
Or…
If you don’t mind spending a bit of money on software, you can use LinkedIn automation tools to do most of the hard work for you!
LinkedIn Pros
LinkedIn Cons
The KEY to getting results on LinkedIn is to NOT sell to leads straight away (which is what most other people are doing).
Instead, ASK leads if they want to see a short video about how you can help them solve a big painful problem they have.
See ‘step 4’ of this video for more info about how this works.
Additional LinkedIn resources:
6. Google & YouTube ads
If you’re looking to target people who are actively searching for a solution that you provide, Google & YouTube ads is a great way to generate online leads.
The advantage to generating leads with Google and YouTube ads are that you can target people searching for different keywords on Google in real-time. Often these people can convert quicker because they are looking for a solution right now.
The downside is that it can be more expensive than other advertising channels due to the higher number of advertisers competing for the same keywords.
7. Buy leads
If you don’t want to get leads yourself, you can also buy online leads from lead generation companies.
However, there are pros and cons of buying leads.
The pros are that you don’t have to do any work to get leads.
The cons are that when you buy leads they are often more expensive compared to getting your own exclusive leads at cost.
In my own business, I’ve both sold leads to businesses and helped businesses generate their own leads.
Although both strategies can work, overall, I’ve found most business owners prefer to generate their own leads. How to generate your own leads (and automate most of the process) is explained in this video.
8. Use AI lead generation tools
Another great way to generate leads online is to use AI lead generation tools. These tools can help make lead generation in your business easier, quicker and more cost-effective vs doing everything manually by yourself.
AI lead generation is a new concept that is changing quickly. In the future, it will likely be possible to automate almost every aspect of your lead generation campaign using artificial intelligence.
Recommended lead generation software resources:
9. Look for niche specific lead generation services
If you’re looking for faster lead generation results, searching for what lead generation strategies work specifically well for YOUR niche can be helpful.
The fact of the matter is you’ll get much quicker results with your lead generation campaign if you work with someone who already has success in your niche.
For example, although we can help lots of different types of businesses generate leads, here are some of the types of leads we have the most experience generating:
- Financial advisor leads
- Annuity leads
- Life insurance leads
- Accounting leads
- Mortgage leads
- Medicare leads
- Commercial cleaning leads
You can see more examples on our clients results page here.
10. Other lead generation strategies
There are many additional types of lead generation strategies including:
Traditional lead generation strategies:
- Networking events
- Referrals
- Seminars
- Speaking at events
- Sending out flyers
- Cold calling
- Door knocking
- BNI
- Word of mouth
Online lead generation strategies:
- Cold emailing
- Buying leads
- Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- YouTube search engine optimization
- Paid Advertising (Facebook ads, Google ads, TikTok ads, YouTube ads, etc)
- Retargeting ads
- Email marketing
- Inbound leads
- Content marketing
- High-converting landing pages
- Affiliate marketing
- Joint Ventures
- And more!
As you can see, there’s no shortage of ways to get leads for your business.
However, you do NOT need to do all of these lead gen strategies.
In fact, you only need one (or a few) high-converting lead gen strategies.
Watch ‘Step 4’ of this video to see what the top lead gen channels are right now.
How can you generate new business leads?
To get new business leads, you need the right strategy.
Without the right strategy, it doesn’t matter what you do to try and get leads, it won’t work very well…
In this video, I explain the best lead generation strategy to get high quality business leads and sales appointments with your ideal clients every single month.
Here’s a quick overview of the process involved:
- Step 1: Generate leads with an opt-in page (your lead magnet)
- Step 2: Convert leads to appointments with your lead magnet
- Step 3: Convert appointments into clients after speaking to them
It sounds simple, but the reality is, there are lots of moving parts at each step of the process. That’s why I recommend watching this video which explains each of these steps in more detail. This will help you avoid making common mistakes and get faster results.
Tip: Don’t have the time to do this yourself? Check out my done-for-you lead generation services.
Here’s a breakdown of each step in the lead generation funnel:
Step 1: Have an opt-in page
An opt-in page is a landing page where you promise to give your potential clients a solution to a problem they have in return for them giving you their name & email.
Here’s an example of one of my most popular opt-in pages:
An opt-in landing page should have:
- A title that describes a big problem you solve for your potential clients
- A few bullet points with some added value or reasons why this would be a good fit for them
- A form where they can enter their name & email to receive the information you promise
Tip: Keep the opt-in landing page simple. Sometimes if you put too much text (e.g. a long sales page) you can accidentally give reasons why you might NOT be a good fit. Long sales pages can also cause your website to load slower which negatively affects the conversion rate.
Step 2: Convert leads into sales calls
After leads have given you their name & email, you now need to give them the information you promised.
The information needs to explain how they can solve a problem they have and how you can help them get even better and quicker results if they decide to work with you rather than do everything by themselves.
When presenting this information, I recommend doing it in a video format, rather than a written guide.
Why use a video as your lead magnet?
A video is:
- More engaging (in other words, people will actually WATCH it)
- It’s easier to build trust on video vs written information alone
If you’d like to know in more detail what to actually say in this video to get more conversions, then check out ‘Step 2’ of the free Masterclass training I recorded which goes through how to do this in a lot more detail.
If people like what they hear in the video, they need to be able to click on a button below the video to go to the next step in your sales process (e.g. buy a product, service or book a sales appointment).
For most of our clients, the next step in the sales process is to schedule a sales appointment.
Step 3: Convert sales calls into clients
At this stage, your lead has gone from a stranger to someone who has booked an appointment with you to learn more about how you can help them.
To increase the quality of your sales appointment you can:
- Get leads to fill out an application form prior to scheduling a call
- Explain who you are (or are not) a good fit for
- Tell prospects your pricing upfront
At this stage, you now need to speak to them, explain how you can help them and of course answer any other questions they might have.
It’s also worth noting that…
Some leads you generate will convert into appointments and clients straight away.
But most will not (which is totally normal).
That’s why you must have a strong follow-up process to build trust with your leads over time and to maximize your conversions.
You can follow up with leads via:
- An automated email follow-up sequence
- Retargeting ads on social media
- Retargeting ads on Adroll
If you want a deeper dive into generating leads, appointments and clients step-by-step I highly recommend watching my free training here.
Lead Generation Quick Guide
The first step to generating leads is to understand what lead generation is and how it works. Here’s a quick beginners guide to getting started guide to lead generation.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is defined as the process of getting people to raise their hand because they are interested in learning more about how you or your business can help them. Business owners use lead generation to attract potential customers to their business.
What is a lead?
A lead is a person who fills in a form online because they are interested in learning more about your product or services. This is usually done in the form of a lead magnet, such as an:
- eBook
- PDF Guide
- Webinar
- Or video sales letter
A lead is not the same as a qualified sales appointment or new clients, but it is the first step to getting one.
If you want to learn how to get more quality sales appointments each month with your lead generation campaign, be sure to watch my free training here.
Why is lead generation important?
Lead generation allows you to grow your business. Without a lead generation strategy in your business, you will not have a constant supply of new clients. Without any new clients, your business won’t be able to grow.
Because some B2B or B2C lead generation companies have sales cycles that may last many months, it’s often recommended that you always keep your lead pipeline full to ensure your business keeps growing.
The bottom line
When it comes to marketing your business, there are hundreds of marketing strategies you could use.
But very few actually get real tangible results.
So I recommend you keep your marketing simple and stay focused on the marketing activities that will get the best results.
In fact, all you really need to do is focus on ONE or a few good strategies that will constantly generate new leads for your business each month.
Remember: The more leads you generate, the more appointments and clients you will win each month in your business.
To see my detailed step-by-step strategy on how to get leads & appointments each month on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google & YouTube then watch my free Masterclass training here.
FAQs related to Lead Generation
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, he has been helping business owners with lead generation. Ash specializes in helping businesses get high-quality leads, appointments and clients each month in an automated, scalable and profitable way. You can watch his free Masterclass training to learn more.
