What Is Lead Generation?

By Keith Noonan – Updated Nov 18, 2024 at 10:05 AM

Key Points

Lead generation connects businesses to potential customers, boosting sales opportunities.
Outbound and inbound techniques target different customer interactions for lead generation.
Effective lead generation strategies hinge on precise targeting and understanding audience segments.

Even if a business offers top-notch products or services, it will struggle if it's not able to reach and attract customers. Because of this, lead generation is a central to success for most businesses.

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Person using a telephone on a desk. — Image Source: Getty Images

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Through the search service, businesses can pay to have their links promoted in search queries or try to foster inbound lead generation by hosting valuable information that attracts potential customers. By building profiles that include relevant user information, Google can estimate whether a person is a viable sales lead for a given product. The search engine is one of the world's most important tools and destinations for lead generation, and it plays a huge role in shaping the digital advertising industry and determining what content is seen and interacted with around the web.

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About the Author

Keith Noonan is a contributing writer at The Motley Fool covering technology, consumer goods, and other sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.