Online Lead Generation is a marketing term that refers to the creation or generation of prospective consumer interest or inquiry into a business' products or services online. Leads can be generated for a variety of purposes - list building, e-newsletter list acquisition, building out reward programs, loyalty programs or for other member acquisition programs.

A lead is a sign-up for an advertiser offer that includes contact information and in some cases, demographic information. There are two types of leads in the lead generation market: sales leads and marketing leads.

Sales leads are generated on the basis of demographic criteria such as FICO score, income, age, HHI, etc. These leads are resold to multiple advertisers. Sales leads are typically followed up through phone calls by the sales force. Sales leads are commonly found in the mortgage, insurance and finance leads.

Marketing leads are brand-specific leads generated for a unique advertiser offer. In direct contrast to sales leads, marketing leads are sold only once. Because transparency is a necessary requisite for generating marketing leads, marketing lead campaigns can be optimized by mapping leads to their sources. For more information on lead generation and lead buying visit: http://www.leadgenerationuniverse.com

Why Use Lead Generation?

Lead generation is a win-win for both the buyer and seller. A buyer is able to request information from several businesses that offer the product or service that they are looking for and the seller is given the opportunity to pitch their product or service to someone who has given them permission. Conversion rates on leads that you receive often have a higher conversion successrate than cold contacts because the prospect is prequalified, before you ever receive the lead.

Lead generation has become popular with businesses because it enablesa business to:

• Determine pricing on a per lead basis
• Choose the product or servicethey wish to offer to prospects
• Select the geographical area that the business is interested in
• Control the number of leads a business wishes to receive per month (this assists with budgeting)
• Pay only for the leads thatare received

How Much Does it Cost?

Lead generation can be extremely cost effective. Leads range anywhere from $5 to $25. Price often depends on the measure of difficulty ingetting the lead. The easier the lead is to get the lower the price seems to be.

Agencies that offer lead generation will often charge you a setup or maintenance fee. This can range between $50 to $200 per year.