The second annual State of Digital Marketing survey has been released recently, and it shows that SEO continues to be the leading channel for driving new leads online. U.S. digital marketers cite SEO as their top lead generating channel. In today’s blog, I want to go over the statistics to give you an idea of how well different methods work.

State of Digital Marketing 2012 logo

SEO Still Holds Top Spot

This year, 59% of U.S. B2B digital marketing companies say that search engine optimization makes the biggest impact on lead generation. This is a 2% increase from last year’s 57%. It continues to hold the majority vote, being three times more effective than social media or pay per click (PPC) advertising.

Lead Generation

Social media holds the runner-up spot for lead generation. 21% of U.S digital marketers say social media is their most effective lead generation tool. The 3% jump from last year means more B2B marketers now believe it is more effective than PPC advertising, which is now at just 20% from 25% last year. Among the social networks available, LinkedIn holds the top spot for B2B marketing, rating 44% for generating leads. Facebook holds the second spot at 39%, followed by Twitter at 30%.

B2B Lead Generation

Measuring True SEO ROI Still Difficult

While SEO is the most effective lead generation channel today, measuring its true ROI remains to be a challenge for majority of U.S. B2B marketers. Only one-third of the survey participants measured SEO by looking at the leads and sales figures, while 10% said they were not sure of what to measure.

ROI Measurement

Our way of measuring our SEO success looks at basic measurements like overall traffic, organic traffic, and keyword rankings, and we put these alongside conversion rates. This gives a more accurate picture of where your SEO campaigns stand.

Keep checking back here for the latest updates on the SEO industry. Check out our white label SEO packages or contact your account manager if you want to get started on gathering new leads for your clients.

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