Lead Quality vs Lead Volume

What Is Lead Volume?

Lead volume simply refers to the number of enquiries your business receives.

Examples include:

• Form submissions
• Phone calls
• Quote requests
• Consultation bookings
• Contact requests

Higher lead volume often looks impressive in reports, but numbers alone don't tell the full story.

What Is Lead Quality?

Lead quality refers to how likely a lead is to become a paying customer.

High-quality leads typically:

• Need your service
• Have the budget to buy
• Are located in your target area
• Match your ideal customer profile
• Have genuine buying intent

These leads are far more valuable than large volumes of low-quality enquiries.

Why More Leads Can Actually Hurt

Many advertisers optimize campaigns to lower the cost per lead.

While this can increase lead volume, it often comes with a hidden cost. Examples include:

• Broader targeting
• Lower intent keywords
• Weak qualification questions
• Poor audience selection

The result is often more leads but fewer actual customers.

Signs You Have A Lead Quality Problem

You may have a lead quality issue if:

• Leads rarely answer follow-up calls
• Most enquiries are outside your target market
• Leads are looking for the cheapest option
• Conversion rates from lead to customer are low
• Sales teams complain about lead quality

How To Improve Lead Quality

• Use Better Keywords — focus on keywords that indicate buying intent.
• Improve Your Landing Pages — clearly explain who your service is for.
• Add Qualification Questions — gather useful information before leads are submitted.
• Review Search Terms — remove irrelevant traffic using negative keywords.
• Track Offline Results — measure which leads actually become customers.

The Best Metric

Instead of focusing on cost per lead alone, consider:

• Cost per qualified lead
• Cost per customer
• Return on ad spend
• Revenue generated

These metrics provide a much clearer picture of campaign performance.