As more publishers are offering cost-per-lead advertising options, prices are going up, according to a study from cost-per-lead marketplace Pontiflex.
Marketers are also changing the way they use the qualified leads acquired through cost-per-lead advertising. Marketing leads—which can consist of either basic or premium information and are not resold like sales leads—are most often used to build out engagement initiatives. Social and community sites were the most popular way to engage leads, and the proportion of marketers using them increased from Q3 to Q4 2009. Qualified leads also received e-newsletters in increasing numbers.
Engagement through subscriber acquisition, such as for loyalty programs, and free trials dropped somewhat, while direct response engagement went up dramatically. Pontiflex attributed this change to increased use of direct response tactics over the holiday shopping season.
Overall, the cost of a marketing lead with basic fields, such as name, address and e-mail, went up 31% between Q3 and Q4, likely because more premium publishers offer cost-per-lead advertising options. The cost of leads with premium fields, including phone number, Twitter username and geo-targeting information, fell over the same period. Marketers are asking for less information up front and waiting to engage consumers before getting more details, according to the report. Leads for the entertainment industry were most valuable in the second half of 2009.
According to earlier research from Pontiflex, the overall average cost per lead from August 2008 to July 2009 was $0.60 for basic fields and $2.27 for premium fields. At that time, the technology industry racked up the highest cost per lead.
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Check out today’s other article, “Boom Time in Second Life.”