New Research: SMB web lead generation failures & how to fix

06/27/24 • 46 min

Leadferno: a better tools to capture website leads -
Leadferno is a conversion platform designed to transform website visitors into leads through seamless communication tools. Unlike traditional chatbots, Leadferno leverages SMS to facilitate human conversations, which studies show is the preferred communication channel for most people. It’s floating CTAs (Call-to-Actions) on websites encourage visitors to start conversations via text messaging. This approach helps businesses engage more effectively with potential customers by providing a more responsive and preferred communication method.

Leadferno offers various tools, including an embeddable contact form that initiates SMS conversations, request call-back options, and links to other lead forms and scheduling tools. It attempts to make businesses easier to work with by enhancing their ability to convert website visitors into valuable leads through better communication options.
Google nuking GBP & Business Messaging costs small developers:
Google's recent decision to axe its business messaging tools—Google Business Profile Chat and Business Messenger— hits particularly hard for niche players like Leadferno, a company that had heavily invested in integrating these tools. The discontinuation forces smaller firms to reconsider future integrations with Google, given the considerable time and financial resources wasted—six months and approximately $100K, in Leadferno's case.

While it looks like Google will potentially integrate with WhatsApp or SMS, which could partially mitigate the blow for some businesses. However, for many, the sudden shift means lost opportunities and the need to reallocate development efforts. The most affected were businesses with significant Google Business Profile visibility and multi-location operations, which benefited from centralized messaging and automated replies. These features allowed for quicker customer interactions, a critical factor in Google's ranking algorithms.

Google’s decision, like so many similar ones it has made in the past, leaves smaller, innovative companies grappling with the fallout, forcing them to navigate the challenging landscape of constantly shifting tech ecosystems.
Leadferno Research: Small Business Contact Form Failures -
Leadferno documented the startling inefficiencies of small businesses in responding to online contact forms, a crucial channel for new customer acquisition. The research, encompassing 225 businesses across home services, professional services, and medical sectors, highlights a significant gap between customer inquiries and business responses.

Leadferno's Aaron Weiche and his team "mystery shopped" these businesses, submitting highly detailed and strong buying inquiries via their contact forms. The findings are staggering: almost 5% of forms were broken, failing to deliver customer messages entirely. More shockingly, only 15.6% of forms sent an auto-reply, a basic feature that acknowledges receipt and sets customer expectations.

The average response time to these contact form submissions was a lethargic 17 hours and 49 minutes, with professional services responding slightly faster than average, and healthcare lagging behind at over 19 hours. Yet, the most alarming statistic was that 42% of these forms received no response at all.

While small businesses consistently rank new customer acquisition as their top challenge, they are neglecting warm, ready-to-buy leads that land directly in their inboxes. This neglect is even more baffling given the simplicity of the solution: prompt and efficient responses to online inquiries.

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Expanding Local Results in SERPS, Cluttered SERP Reduce Organic Traffic, AI Overviews Worsen Search

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Google Expanding Local Results in the SERPS to the Exclusion of Organic:
While many SEOs have been focused on AI answers and how they are disrupting search, the story in Local search is different. AI Answers have yet to have any impact in Local but Google, over the past several years has dramatically increased their control & domination of the Local SERPS with Local Entity data and in doing so seem to be in the process of banishing organic results.... this is particularly true in Near Me searches and the EU results, which should be treated as the canary in the coal mine.
Agencies and businesses need to double down on real world activities that get reflected on line to succeed in these increasingly entity driven search results.
Cluttered Google Results Decrease Traditional Organic Traffic - How to Cope?
We have often mentioned the increasingly cluttered nature of Google's search engine results pages (SERPs). There has been a significant rise in various elements such as product listing ads (PLAs), image carousels, and video results, which diminish the visibility of organic search results. In a recent client analysis, David found that cluttered SERPs for that client, filled with multiple search features and reduced organic presence, were identified as a likely cause for their declining organic traffic.

In a world where Google's shift towards a more modular, AI-driven organization of search results leads to a disjointed user experience, prompting multiple searches to find relevant information, businesses need to adopt a multimodal approach, optimizing their digital assets across various SERP features. This includes using high-quality images with descriptive alt text, leveraging Google Merchant Center feeds for PLAs, and considering broader online channels to build brand visibility.
Google’s AI Overviews Make Search Worse - A Lot Worse:
SE Ranking conducted a study of Google’s AI Overview frequency, finding them present in only 8% of searches, a significant drop from earlier & much higher percentages. This decline is attributed to numerous errors and inaccuracies, causing Google to reduce their usage drastically.

Jess Peck's article, "How and Why Google Made Its Own Product Worse," critiques Google's implementation of AI, highlighted inherent flaws in large language models (LLMs) and their unsuitability for delivering factual search results. Google's rushed deployment of AI overviews, driven by competitive pressure rather than product improvement, has led to a compromised search experience. Google should either refine the use of AI in a controlled manner or reconsider its placement within search results to mitigate the negative impact on its brand and user trust.
The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
Ep 162

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From the vault: What and why of review fraud on Google how to deal with it

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The big picture of review fraud - who does it and why:
We explore the full range of review fraud from fake positive reviews, black hat negative reviews and review extortion with Curtis Boyd of the Transparency Company. How widespread is it, is it growing, which categories are most likely to participate in it and why.

How to deal with fake review attacks and competitors who use fake reviews:
If you are an honest business can you compete in a world rife with review fraud. We discuss how to deal with fake review attacks and how to get fake reviews that your competitors have gotten taken down.
The FTC and fake review guidelines and rules:
The FTC has been upping their enforcement game with new Guidelines which set a standard and upcoming Rules which will facilitate their ability to impose fines on buyers and sellers of reviews. The major platforms are largely exempt from any enforcement but their is language in the upcoming FTC rules that makes a business fully responsible for compliance.

The Future of Reviews: What will see over the next 24 months in review spam & possible enforcement:
New rules from the FTC and better filters from Google might turn the corner on fake reviews but the lack of FTC resources and the lack of Google’s focus may prevent that from happening
The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.

ep 164 from the vault ep 128

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