Quantity vs Quality – The Pitfall of Vanity MetricsWelcome to the third installment 7 Deadly Sins of PPC Lead Generation Marketing series, where we expose the most common pitfalls in PPC lead generation and show you exactly how to fix them.

Today we’re looking at the third deadly PPC sin: Quantity vs Quality – the trap of chasing vanity metrics rather than revenue-generating leads.

Many businesses focus on the total number of leads they generate rather than considering their quality, leading to wasted ad spend and low conversion rates. If your PPC campaigns are bringing in large volumes of leads, but very few turn into actual customers, then this article is for you. Let’s explore how to shift the focus from quantity to quality in PPC lead generation.

So what is it?

This occurs when businesses measure the success of their PPC campaigns based solely on lead volume, rather than evaluating whether those leads are high-quality and likely to convert into paying customers.

Why is it a problem?

Focusing on sheer numbers rather than lead quality can lead to several major issues:

• Higher cost per acquisition (CPA) with low returns – Generating a large number of low-quality leads increases costs but fails to deliver revenue.
• Overloaded sales teams – If your sales team is constantly chasing unqualified leads, productivity suffers, and resources are wasted.
• Misleading performance data – High lead volume may look good on reports, but if those leads don’t convert, your PPC strategy is failing.
• Ad budget inefficiency – Algorithms will optimise for volume rather than quality unless they receive the right data inputs.

Why does it happen?

There are several reasons why businesses fall into the quantity-over-quality trap:

1. Lack of lead qualification – Many advertisers simply fire a conversion tag whenever a form is submitted, without assessing the actual lead quality.
2. PPC platform algorithms default to volume – Google Ads and Meta Ads prioritise achieving the highest number of conversions unless explicitly trained otherwise.
3. Internal pressure for quick wins – Marketing teams often face pressure to show immediate results, leading to an emphasis on vanity metrics over real business impact.
4. No proper feedback loop between marketing and sale – If PPC teams don’t receive feedback on lead quality from sales, they cannot adjust their strategies accordingly.

How does this manifest?

Some common symptoms of a quantity-over-quality approach include:

• Form submissions skyrocketing, but revenue staying stagnant.
• Sales teams complaining about unqualified leads that waste their time.
• PPC campaigns showing high conversion rates, but customer acquisition cost (CAC) remains too high.
• Lead nurturing efforts failing because prospects lack genuine interest.

How to fix it?

Shifting the focus to lead quality requires changes in tracking, targeting, and optimisation strategies. Here’s how:
 
Define What a High-Quality Lead Looks Like

• Work with sales teams to establish key characteristics of leads that convert.
• Analyse past customer data to identify common attributes of successful leads.

 
Refine Lead Qualification in PPC Campaigns

• Instead of tracking all form fills as conversions, implement lead scoring to prioritise high-intent users.
• Use multi-step forms to filter out unqualified leads early in the process.
• Implement dynamic forms that ask additional questions for better lead segmentation.

 
Adjust Conversion Tracking to Reflect Quality

• Modify conversion goals to include only high-quality leads by filtering out low-value actions.
• Use offline conversion tracking to import CRM data back into ad platforms, training algorithms to optimise for real revenue-driving leads.
• Assign conversion values to different lead types so that PPC platforms favour the most valuable prospects.

 
Optimise Audience Targeting and Messaging

• Refine targeting criteria to focus on audiences with higher buying intent.
• Test ad creatives and landing pages that pre-qualify leads by emphasising commitment or pricing.
• Use lookalike audiences based on actual paying customers, rather than just lead form submissions.

 
Create a Feedback Loop Between Marketing & Sales

• Regularly review CRM data to assess lead quality from PPC efforts.
• Conduct joint marketing-sales meetings to align expectations and refine strategies.
• Continuously test and iterate on what constitutes a “good lead” based on real conversion data.

Final Thoughts

Prioritising quantity over quality is one of the biggest mistakes PPC marketers can make. Without a focus on high-quality leads, ad spend is wasted, sales teams are frustrated, and revenue growth stalls. By redefining success based on meaningful conversions rather than vanity metrics, businesses can dramatically improve their PPC efficiency and bottom-line results.

This is the third of the 7 PPC Deadly Sins that could be holding your lead generation campaigns back. In the next instalment, we’ll discuss Focusing on Customer Acquisition Cost Instead of LTV – The Short-Term Thinking That Kills Profitability, and how to ensure your marketing strategies align with long-term revenue growth.