What should I do if our sales team says the SEO leads aren’t qualified?

If your sales team is complaining that SEO leads aren’t qualified, start by examining the alignment between your SEO strategy and your target audience. Ensure your content and keywords match the needs of your ideal customers. Then, review your lead qualification process to identify any gaps or miscommunications between marketing and sales.

Understanding the Disconnect

Let’s face it, SEO and sales aren’t always the best of mates. They speak different languages. SEO folks are all about traffic, keywords, and rankings. Sales? They care about closing deals. If your sales team is saying the SEO leads are duds, it’s a sign that somewhere along the line, the message is getting muddled.

Imagine you’re a SAAS company targeting mid-sized enterprises. Your SEO strategy might attract loads of visitors, but if those visitors are mostly small business owners, your sales team will struggle to convert them. The traffic numbers look good, but the lead quality? Not so much.

Bridging the Gap

To get your SEO leads in line with what sales needs, you’ve got to make some adjustments. Here are a few steps to consider:

• Revisit Your Buyer Personas: Make sure your SEO strategy is built around the right audience. If your content isn’t speaking to the decision-makers you want, it’s time to tweak it.

• Align with Sales: Sit down with your sales team and discuss what a qualified lead looks like. Use their feedback to refine your keyword strategy and content focus.

• Audit Your Content: Check if your content is attracting the right type of traffic. If not, it might be time to refresh your topics and keywords.

• Review Lead Scoring: Ensure your lead scoring system accurately reflects what sales considers a qualified lead. Adjust it if necessary to better filter incoming leads.

• Monitor and Adjust: Keep an eye on the results and be ready to tweak your strategy. SEO is not a set-and-forget game.

By taking these steps, you can help bridge the gap between SEO and sales, ensuring that the leads you generate are more likely to convert.

It’s Not Just About Traffic

Here’s the thing. SEO isn’t just about getting more eyeballs on your site. It’s about getting the right eyeballs. That’s where a search engine optimisation expert comes in handy. They can help tailor your strategy to attract the right audience. It’s about quality over quantity.

The best seo agency will focus on understanding your business and aligning your SEO efforts with your sales goals. It’s not just about rankings and traffic. It’s about driving real business results. So, when your sales team says the leads aren’t qualified, it’s a cue to dig deeper, realign, and refine your approach.

Remember, SEO is a long game. It takes time to build the right strategy and see results. But when done right, it can be a powerful tool to drive qualified leads and grow your business.