Digital marketing term
Lead
A lead is a potential customer who has shown interest — by submitting a form, downloading content, or requesting contact — and is not yet a paying customer.
Detailed explanation
A lead sits between an anonymous visitor and a customer: someone who has taken a specific, trackable action that signals interest, such as filling out a contact form, downloading a gated resource, signing up for a demo, or subscribing to a newsletter with commercial intent. Lead generation is the deliberate practice of designing content, offers, and landing pages to produce more of these actions.
Not every lead is equally valuable, which is why most B2B and high-ticket funnels distinguish between an MQL (marketing-qualified lead, showing engagement but not yet vetted for fit) and an SQL (sales-qualified lead, vetted by sales as ready for a direct conversation). Tracking lead volume without tracking this qualification and downstream close rate can make a campaign look successful on volume while actually producing very few real customers.
For “what is a lead” or “MQL vs SQL” searches, this entry is a starting point. See Conversion and CTA for how a visitor is actually moved to becoming a lead, and Landing Page for where that conversion typically happens.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
- An MQL (marketing-qualified lead) has shown engagement, such as downloading content or visiting pricing pages, but has not been vetted for fit or budget. An SQL (sales-qualified lead) has been reviewed and judged ready for a direct sales conversation.
- Why isn't lead volume alone a good success metric?
- A campaign can generate a large volume of low-intent or poor-fit leads that never convert to paying customers. Tracking lead-to-customer conversion rate alongside volume gives a much more honest picture of campaign performance.
Related terms
Internal links for the topic cluster — read these concepts together.
- ConversionA conversion is when a visitor who arrived via an online ad (or other channel) completes a desired action—such as a purchase, signup, or subscription.
- Conversion RateConversion Rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a predefined action relative to all visitors.
- CTACTA: A method for prompting someone who is researching to take action — for example, phrases like 'Buy Now' or 'Almost Sold Out.' This digigund glossary entry explains how the term is used in digital marketing.
- Landing PageLanding Page: The destination page a visitor lands on after clicking an ad. This digigund glossary entry explains how the term is used in digital marketing.