Why a lead from 2024 is not the same as a lead from 2010

In 2010 I was 13 years old and I was just starting my “digital journey”.

I built my first website, a movie reviews platform, from 0 to 30,000 visitors/month in 6-8 months.

Most of the traffic was organic because… 13 years old, who had money to invest in something else?

And now, when I’m thinking back, I realize that probably even if I had a lot of money, SEO would still be my choice.

That’s because to be honest, there weren’t so many choices to make…

Advertising on platforms like Facebook was pretty early, Instagram wasn’t even born, TikTok the same…

The way people interacted with content, even if it was advertised or not, was way less.

And this… from my point of view, impacted a lot the way people were buying back then vs today.

I still remember how in 2010 I was looking for content to learn more about SEO and I was spending days finding something really useful.

Today, I still like to read about SEO but I’m doing it just to “be updated” – and it’s way easier because often I do it on social media.

Scroll, scroll, scroll, read, like, move on.

Now… this is exactly the reason why a lead from 2024 is not the same as one from 2010.

Back then, someone had to dig deeper into Google to actually find some useful content… which means they had a high intent.

They wanted to solve that problem, no matter what.

This means that for example if someone shared their email to access a guide, the chances to be willing to have a sales call… were higher.

So the way companies were labeling someone as a “lead”, was adjusted to the way people are buying.

Today… things are completely different – and the problem is that businesses don’t want to understand this.

What’s funny is that everyone is talking about the way the internet has changed, new technologies, disrupting, blah blah, but strange… this didn’t.

Well… it changed too, and assuming in 2024 that someone who just downloaded an ebook for example wants to buy your services, is completely wrong.

They keep sharing their email the same way they did in 2010, but what’s not measured is the intent.

Which is probably the most important thing when it comes to trying to create a lead and then turn it into a client.

So… if you want to get more leads and sign more customers, please pay attention to their intent.

If it’s low, try to find ways to make it high – with nurturing, for example.

If it’s high, try to capture and convert the intent – with 1:1 outreach, for example.

When you’re doing this, you’ll fix your “leads problem” once and for all.

Because you will always create, capture, and convert leads, thanks to the fact that you understand their intent.

Like a well-oiled engine.