In this article, we will explore how Organic assets can generate leads from Search Marketing organically and how we can track them through to final conversion. While eCommerce and online purchases lend themselves to tracking lead through conversion, the problem becomes tricky in the case of most businesses which have online lead acquisition- offline conversion. The focus of this article is to recommend a ROI Tracking methodology for this segment, non-ecommerce businesses. We will briefly look at the different types of assets which come up on Search and possible consumer behavior paths based on different CTAs, and how a proper CRM can track these paths.
This blog will not cover SEO Optimization. That by itself is a subject by itself. The blog also does not cover PPC/ Paid Search Ads. If you are interested in tracking for Paid Search Ads, we recommend checking out the next blog in the series- Search Marketing- Tracking ROI in PPC.
Most Marketing Teams do not actively track ROI for Organic Leads because firstly, it’s hard to track. How do you track how much money was spent on creating an individual web page or video? And then if you could calculate that, how can you track the revenue generated?
Agreed that quantifying the effort in creating individual assets is difficult and it’s only something very evolved teams can do. But then, does that mean we should not track how much each asset is bringing in? Given that good content needs an analyst, copywriter, graphic designer, web developer and other Marketing Team members time, high quality content optimized for SEO can be quite expensive. As a Marketing Director, how would you decide or justify to the business leadership team the expense and effort that goes into getting Organic Leads. This thing becomes even more critical if you factor in the long lead time needed for Organic leads to build up.
So, while it may not be possible to granularly measure the exact effort, a savvy Marketing Team could work on thumb rules. Say, a blog will cost so much money if we create it without dedicated artwork vs so much money if we build with infographics, video, etc.
Once you have an estimate, you can go ahead and commission. Track leads which come from that asset (blog) and at the end of six months show a Marketing ROI against it. Does not have to be 100% accurate, but if it gives you a trend, is above your targeted ROI, you have a better tool for decision making. And more importantly, will be much better than going with generic platitudes. Each industry is different, geography is different. For example, Business Consulting firms may generate a lot of Leads by publishing White Papers, whereas, a haute-couture brand will do well to steer away from this type of content and focus on image content, and, a DIY hardware brand may find success publishing “How-To-Videos”.
The rest of this article will explore how we could track where an Organic Lead came from. At the end of this article, you should be able to identify how much revenue different pages on your website, or on sponsored content are generating. With this information, you should be in a better position to make decisions on what to invest in, what to improve, and what to axe. Having a table like the one at the end of a period will enable much more accurate decision making.
Life was much simpler when Search Engines only provided text results for searches. As search engines have evolved, so has the type of Search Results. Featured Snippets, Map Results (Business Listings), Videos, Images, Answers, have all become options which SEO’s have to optimize for. The list can be very exhaustive but here we will explore the most relevant ones.
If you are already familiar with different types of Organic Search results and opportunities, we would recommend that you skip ahead to the next section.
These are the most familiar results Google/ Bing throw up when a query is entered. Should the consumer click and navigate to your page, the consumer can then decide to follow through on a multitude of CTA’s. Your objective should be to capture which of your pages is generating this Lead and what is the conversion value (in case of a online acquisition-offline conversion category).
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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Ordinary Search | Click, Navigate to your page. Based on whether they like it or not they canfollow through on the following CTA's |
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Search Engines aim to provide users with the best information possible and have been trying to enrich search results with Featured Snippets/ Knowledge Graph/ Knowledge Panels.
Here’s what a Featured Snippet looks like.
Example of a Google Knowledge Graph side by side with a Google Knowledge Panel (Image courtesy: Google Blogs)
If you want to understand the finer distinctions between what is a Knowledge Graph and a Knowledge Panel, we recommend checking out Google’s Blog. How to create these kind of results is beyond the scope of this blog (Hint: We recommend that you explore Schema Markup), but suffice to say that working on creating these assets can help you jump to Position 0 in SERP. So what could be consumer action if they click on this page?
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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Image Carousel | Follow Through by Landing On Page. |
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Enabling and proper use of Schema Markup and Alt Text |
With Search Engines serving up Image and Video as Search Results, it can give you an edge to get your brand noticed by consumers and consequently a chance to generate a lead if they find your content interesting.
An example of an Image Carousel on Google:
An Example of a Video Carousel on Google:
Consumer Interaction can follow any of the following paths.
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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Image Carousel | Follow Through by Landing On Page. |
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Enabling and proper use of Schema Markup and Alt Text |
Video Carousel | Watch and Close | Enabling and proper use of Schema Markup for videos hosted on your page.Put links to conversion pages/ CTA’s in your videos hosted on YouTube/ Vimeo.Always a good practice to answer user comments promptly | |
Follow Through by Landing On Page. |
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Go To YouTube/ Vimeo/ Daily Motion. Watch and Leave | |||
Go To YouTube/ Vimeo/ Daily Motion. Leave Comment | G. Leave Comment on YouTube |
Other similar type of search results which can be ranked based on proper Schema Markup are the How To (Marked in Blue) and People Also Ask (Marked in Green). Again, like other Rich results, properly done these can help you jump to the top of Search Results.
While these type of results often end in Zero Click searches, the opportunity to rise to the top of Search Results is something that you should not let go of. If you are not trying for it, your competitors will, and even if not them, Search Engines will serve up the same result from a Wikipedia/ News site/ etc. Why not take the chance that the user will navigate to your page to learn more.
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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People Also Ask. How To Results. | Read and Leave | ||
Follow Through by Landing On Page. |
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Enabling and proper use of Schema Markup and Alt Text |
Local Search/ Business Listings.
If you are a local business, or have a physical place serving consumers, this is one set of assets you really need to focus on. In the beginning when Google Maps were just launched, it was OK to just list your business there. But over time with Google My Business , Google started highlighting the importance of physically staking out your position with information that would help consumers. Even today, Google gives inordinately high value in Search to Local SEO. To cut it short. This is IMPORTANT. You can see in the below example how these results rank even above Position 1 in Organic results.
Google allows a business to claim a page and add a variety of data covering opening hours, phone numbers, questions, reviews, offers, products available. This is very useful for mobile users. Any small and medium scale business owner will tell you how many high intent leads an optimized Google Business Listing can generate in a month.
With the variety of information possible, the CTA’s can be myriad.
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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Local Search/ Business Listings | Find Answer and Leave | ||
Ask Question on Google Business Listing | H. Question on Google Listing Profile | ||
Post Reviews | I. Review on Google Page | ||
Click on an Offer | J. Lead from Google Page Offer | ||
Book an Appointment | K. Appointment Booking Through Google Page | ||
Chat on Google Listing | L. Chat on Google Page | Bing Places and Maps Connect from Apple |
Google Shopping Network
With Google opening up Google Shopping Network to unpaid listings , this an opportunity for you to get your product up in front of the consumer especially when they are looking to buy. This being an ecommerce conversion route, you will be able to get a lead to final conversion tracking figure directly from your ecommerce platform, therefore while we mention it in this blog for completeness, we will not go into too much detail. Interested readers can explore further in this article 8 Google Shopping Alternatives for Online Merchant.
Assets | Possible Consumer Behaviour | CTA's | Do Keep In Mind |
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Google Shopping Network | Leave a Review | I. Review on Google Page | 8 Google Shopping Alternatives for Online Merchant [Aug 2023 ] (litcommerce.com) |
Go to Store's Website | M. Buy from site. |
Now, that we have reviewed all possible opportunities to rank and get ahead of competition in Organic Search, let’s see how we could track leads coming in from these assets in the cases where we are acquiring Leads online but have to go through a series of steps offline before final conversion.
Ecommerce businesses don’t face this challenge because the complete process is online. But wherever there is an offline component, even tools like Google Analytics are inadequate in providing last mile trackability. What is ideally needed is a CRM that can capture as much of this information as possible from different sources and provide a workflow for team members to trace each lead granularly till win (recording the exact conversion amount and conversion date).
The benefit of using a CRM is not only being able to track information on what page is of what value to the enterprise, but will yield additional insights into:
A true omnichannel CRM like Pronnel comes with integrations of webforms, calls, WhatsApp, Chatbots besides integration with platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Google Business Listings and Bing Places besides others. Using Pronnel we can capture not only leads but also manage Reviews, Comments from one place.
Based on the listing of the different CTA’s Pronnel’s Lead Funnel tickets uses automation to capture hidden fields (Page submission, UTM’s, Phone Numbers, etc). Based on the CTA’s listed above, these are the following ways in which we could capture lead origin data.
Where Does It Happen | CTA's | What Information Should We Capture in CRM |
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On Website Page | A. Call | Hidden Field- Page from which Call Was Made + Phone Number |
B. Form Fill | Hidden Field-Page from which Form Fill was submitted. Refer FAQ on Form Integration to see how you can integrate all types of forms into Pronnel. | |
C. WhatsApp | Phone Number + Name in WhatsApp. Pronnel comes with WhatsApp Business API. Refer our blog on WhatsApp Integration. | |
D. Chatbot Interaction | Hidden Field- Page of Interaction+ Details Bot is programmed for | |
E. Sign Up | Hidden Field-Page from which Form Fill was submitted. Refer FAQ on Form Integration to see how you can integrate all types of forms into Pronnel. | |
Ecommerce | F. Buy (Ecommerce sites) | Your Ecommerce platform will capture all details. |
YouTube | G. Leave Comment On YouTube | Not really leads, but good practice is to answer them promptly. Pronnel’s Omnichannel CRM can help you with Community Management. Refer FAQ section for how Pronnel can integrate with YouTube. |
Google Business Listing | H. Question on Google Listing Profile | Primarily, a Community Management task. While these may not generate Leads directly, they are still important. Pronnel can integrate. Refer FAQs on Google My Business Listing. |
I. Review on Google Page | ||
J. Lead from Google Page Offer | Put a UTM for the Offers Landing Page. | |
K. Appointment Booking Through GMB | Integrate with CRM for Chat, Appointment Booking, Review Management Workflows | |
L. Chat on Google Page | Pronnel connects directly with your Google My Business Profile. You can answer all your chats from within your Pronnel CRM. Refer FAQ on Integration with Chat Channels. | |
Shopping Network | M. Buy from site. | Your Ecommerce platform will capture all details. |
Where this approach outperforms a tool like Google Analytics is in being able to track Lead to Final Conversion completely. Whereas Marketing Teams using Google Analytics solely will often get two sets of data- Web Traffic to Lead by channel/ medium/ etc from Google Analytics and a final conversion data from the ERP, and then break their heads on trying to figure out which leads gave what conversion, a CRM like Pronnel can provide a much more granular view as shown below. Pronnel’s built in Automation (readers interested in how they can build Automation rule sets for classification can check out our Automation Tutorial on Lead Classification) tools will parse data, classify what lead is from what source and help summarize results.
Non- ecommerce businesses often struggle to track and understand their ROI investment for online acquisition. By understanding the different types of Search Results, the possible CTA’s and investing in a robust omnichannel CRM like Pronnel, business can get actionable insights into which assets are bringing how much revenue for the firm, allowing them to make strategic decisions in building up their Organic Leads portfolio.
In the next article of the series- Search Marketing- Tracking ROI in PPC, we will explore Paid Advertising and how non-ecommerce businesses can track Marketing ROI granularly.
The cookie jar is getting emptied. More and more, Tech giants like Google and Apple have been signaling that third party cookies are on their way out. With increasing Privacy regulation like GDPR and rising consumer concern around their Personally Identifiable Information (PII), third party cookies are on the way out. Given the stringent implementation of legislation around data privacy, it is better to err on the side of caution than risk it. What then is the way out for Marketers if they are to forget third party cookies. While not perfect the following tools can be useful to bridge these changes:
The first 10 results on a Google Page get about 86% of the Click Throughs with only the first three positions getting almost 55% of the traffic. Imagine how difficult it becomes for any new business to list in these positions. What do you do?
You can always advertise but then Search Marketing is not cheap (for a detailed discussion on Search Engine Ads you can jump to our blog- Search Marketing- Tracking ROI in PPC). Another option is to try and get featured as a Featured Snippet / Position Zero (Google Knowledge Panel, People Also Ask, Image Result, Video Result, How To, Google Shopping Network). Yes, there is the chance that viewers will read and navigate away from the Google page without visiting your website, but then the fact that your brand provided the information will remain with them, and if they are interested they may end up navigating to your site through the link at the bottom.
Google Business Listings, or, more popularly known as Google My Business, is our go-to Business Listing tool. However, there are alternatives in place. Do you need to have them, maybe no. But since you would already be creating a Google Business Listing, why not go ahead and copy these. Chances, are your competitors may overlook them and why not get that added edge?
Apple Business Connect- This one you want to pay attention to, especially if your Customer Profile is weighed towards Apple users. Apple Business Connect lets you create a profile on Apple Maps.
< href="https://www.bingplaces.com/" style="font-weight:500;color:var(--color-primary);">Bing Places for Business - Free Business Listing like google My Business. Chances are that even if you have not created one, your place already exists, and you need to claim it. Given preference on Bing Search.
Facebook Places- Basic FB pages that are different from Business Page on Facebook. Contains name, address, phone and users can share and review your place.
UTM’s stand for Urchin Tracking Method. We discuss the power of UTM’s in detail in a subsequent blog- Tracking Last Mile Conversions with UTMs. But in short, an UTM is a set of tracking parameters that are appended to the end of a standard URL so that our tracking software (like CRM, Google Analytics/ MixPanel etc) can pick up the origin from where the query came from.
To quickly understand and generate UTM’s, readers are recommended to check out the Google Campaign URL Builder link given below.
https://ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder/
With the rise of Influencers, Social Selling has become one of the new weapons in the arsenal for Marketing Teams globally. To track purchases influenced by Social Celebrities, firms often resort to providing Influencers with
Like leveraging UTM’s to provide insight from visits and conversions from paid business listings, specific Advertorials placed in online news magazines/ news portals, etc. Instead of putting a simple URL link, it is much better to put a link with UTM’s or a shortened link to connect back to your website/ App/ Play store. Not using proper tracking parameters will result in these visits being classified as Direct by most Analytics software like GA4 or MixPanel or Adobe Analytics.
All forms are good if you are able to configure them well. However, we would recommend Pronnel forms for three simple reasons:
Whether you have a custom website built on Laravel, Django, Express, Ruby on Rails, React or used a platform like Wordpress, WIX, Shopify, Webflow, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, you can implement Pronnel forms in them.
You can refer the Tutorial below on how to implement a Pronnel form through HTML/ iframe on any system in a few clicks.
Yes. The best way to integrate a Wordpress form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, you can use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your WordPress forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your Wordpress site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes. The best way to integrate a WIX form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, incorporate a Wix form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
To place a Pronnel form on your Wix website, …Use CatchHook. Refer Tutorial below.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your WIX site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes. Both are possible. The best way to integrate a Shopify form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, to incorporate a Shopify form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your Shopify site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes. Both are possible. The best way to integrate a Webflow form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, to incorporate a Webflow form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your Webflow site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes. Both are possible. The best way to integrate a Squarespace form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, to incorporate a Squarespace form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your Squarespace site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes. Both are possible. The best way to integrate a GoDaddy form into an Omnichannel CRM like Pronnel would be to use a Webhook as outlined in the Tutorial here. You can do it yourself or ask your web developer to do it for you.
Alternatively, to incorporate a GoDaddy form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed a Pronnel form into your GoDaddy site by pasting HTML. iframe Code. Refer FAQ - What is the best Form to integrate into my website? My website is custom code, can we implement your Forms?
Yes, it’s possible to integrate Ninja Forms to create leads directly into Pronnel every time a Form Submission happens. The easiest way to incorporate a Ninja Form into the CRM is to use an online Automation Tool like Zapier, Make, Integrately or Pabbly to have a single click connection between your Wix forms and Pronnel. Pronnel is already a registered App with Zapier, Make, Pabbly and Integrately.
Alternatively, you can embed Pronnel forms directly into your website using a Webhook like given in the Tutorial below.
You will have the advantage of using unlimited forms, unlimited submissions, less accounts/ passwords to maintain and of course a cost-saving from multiple connector and form Subscriptions. When you consider Pronnel’s pricing it would be insightful to consider the savings from avoiding these subscription services can practically mean that by adopting Pronnel your net costs will reduce.
Pronnel can create a new lead in the CRM directly if you are using any of the following forms:
This way you can avoid spending any money on an Automation Tool like Zapier, Pabbly, Make, Integrately. This is done using a Catch-Hook. Refer Tutorial on Using Catch Hooks to Collect Information from Forms
Pronnel has a single click Integration with YouTube through Automation services like Zapier, Pabbly, Make and Integrately. You can set up an automation, so that every time a viewer leaves a comment on your YouTube videos, an Item is created in your comment moderation board. No need to juggle platforms, just use one Pronnel Board for Community Management.
Yes, you can link an Omnichannel CRM to your Google My Business listing with a Single click through a connector like Zapier, Integrately, Make, Pabbly. Connect your Community Management Board to your profile. Every time someone creates a Review, you will have a new ticket created on your Community Management Board. You can answer the Reviews from within Pronnel itself.
Yes. Pronnel connects directly with all Chat platforms like Google Chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Viber, Telegram, Line, etc. All it takes is you to have an account in good standing and just a few clicks. You can find the connection options in Settings Channels on every board. For individual tutorials on how to connect each Channel refer our Tutorials page.
Once connected you can chat with your customers directly from the Communications View on each Board as shown below.
This blog is the fifth in the series on Lead Management. Dive deep and check out our other blogs: