Today we will discuss a serious matter: the quality of your Facebook™ ad leads. First of all, what is a quality lead? It is a person who clicks on your ad, follows through your sales funnel and actually makes a purchase. These are the kind of leads you want to collect.
The Truth about the Quality of Facebook™ Ad Leads
The reality is that you will get lots of empty clicks on your ads. We do not talk about fraudulent clicks from fake accounts and click farms (although, sadly, they still happen). What we mean here are clicks from genuine people that do not materialise in a qualified lead and, later on, a customer.
So, first of all, it is important to understand why you get empty clicks. These low-quality Facebook™ ad leads get in your sales funnel for one of the following reasons:
- The ad was clicked by mistake as they were scrolling down;
- They were curious to know what the ad is about;
- Those who clicked are not qualified as buyers for your products;
- A freebie was expected after clicking
Therefore, if you see a large discrepancy between the CTR (the number of clicks on your ads) and the conversion rate (the number of leads who take action) it is time to reconsider your Facebook™ ad strategy.
Here are a few things you should do:
1. Clean Up Your Database
Before you create a custom audience for Facebook™ ads, you should take the time to review your email database. The truth is that many leads in your email database are fake or irrelevant. These are people who signed up only to receive a freebie or for the chance to win one of your contests.
If you upload them as a custom audience, you will perpetuate the vicious cycle with low-quality Facebook™ ad leads. A quick way to purge your email database of fake leads is to send an email to all subscribers asking them to click on a link if they are still interested in your messages.
2. Include Qualifier Words in Your Ad Copy
Many low-quality Facebook™ ad leads are people who thought they were getting a good deal on something, but it turns out that they are not qualified as buyers. For instance, if you are a wholesaler and that sweet deal on shoes is for retailers. Or, you’ve developed a smart tax calculator tool for employers and payroll outsourcing services.
To avoid clicks from individual consumers, add a clear qualifier in your ad headline and copy. Here are some effective qualifiers: B2B, company, business, retailer, and purchaser.
3. Check that the Ad Matches the Funnel Phase
There are times when you want to speed up the sales funnel and the customers’ buying cycle. But this is not a smart idea. Someone who is not yet ready to make a purchase will not follow through with a sale offer.
They may click on the ad and even add the product to the cart. But a few of them will actually complete the transaction. Be patient and allow your leads to become warm and ready to become your clients.
4. Target Adequate Website Page Visitors
The Facebook™ Pixel allows you to target Facebook™ users who visited specific pages of your website and took various actions. In order to reduce the number of low-quality Facebook™ ad leads, you should select people who had meaningful interactions with your site.
For example, a visitor who visited your products page or read the terms and conditions for delivery is much closer to a purchase decision than someone who spent time on your home page and About section.
5. Add More Fields to the Lead Ads
Lead ads are convenient for companies that want to speed up bookings, such as beauty salons, realtors and car dealerships. However, you may still get many low-quality leads – even have an entire day booked, yet no one shows up.
To weed out these irrelevant Facebook™ ad leads, make your booking form a little longer and more detailed. Instead of asking only for their name and email address, also ask for the lead’s phone number. Faced with the possibility of a phone call asking them why they did not keep an appointment, many curious people will refrain from completing the booking.