Lead Generation for Private Equity Firms: 3 Strategies That Drive Leads for Portfolio Companies

If your portcos are like 65% of businesses, generating traffic and leads is the biggest challenge. You want to continually grow your investment and increase the revenue it drives, so your PE firm can see the best returns.

So, what’s the most efficient way to grow your PE-backed companies?

Lead generation.

Lead generation for private equity firms helps you optimize your portfolio companies’ presence online, so people interested in what they offer find them, engage with them, and ultimately become customers. On this page, we’ll cover the top three strategies you can use, including:

1. Search engine optimization (SEO)
2. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
3. Social media advertising

Also, learn how WebFX can help you drive more leads that turn into revenue for your private equity portfolio companies!

Don’t want to wait to start getting better returns from your investment portfolio? Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our data-driven digital marketing services!

Top 3 strategies for doing lead generation for private equity firms

Ready to start generating leads for your portfolio companies? Let’s dive into the four lead generation strategies you can use to drive better returns from your investment-backed companies.

PE lead generation strategy #1: SEO

If you want to boost traffic and revenue to your portfolio companies’ websites? If so, you’ll want to invest in private equity SEO for them.

SEO has a 15% close rate — traditional marketing only has a 2% close rate.

SEO involves optimizing websites to help them rank in relevant search results. This strategy helps your portfolio companies appear in searches for keywords that their audience actively searches.

Here’s why SEO is a crucial component of a successful PE lead generation strategy:

• SEO helps your portfolio companies reach the right audience: When people want to find the products or services your investment-backed companies offer, they’re turning to search engines. Optimizing your portfolio companies for those relevant keywords helps you drive qualified traffic to them.
• SEO helps build brand awareness: When your portfolio companies rank in search results for specific keywords, searchers associate those companies with those keywords, It helps your portfolio companies build brand awareness, which leads to repeat visits and conversion opportunities.
• SEO provides continuous exposure: When your investment-backed companies rank in search results, people can see them in those results 24/7. The continuous exposure creates a great opportunity to drive valuable traffic all hours of the day.

PE lead generation strategy #2: PPC advertising

Want to drive qualified leads that turn into conversions (and returns) for your PE-backed companies? Then PPC is the strategy for you. These paid ads appear at the top of relevant search results.

When you do private equity lead generation, the goal is to obtain qualified leads that turn into revenue, which ultimately de-risks your investment and drives better returns. Private equity PPC is the perfect strategy because it drives leads that see your portfolio company’s ad, take an interest, and click on it to learn more.

For every $1.60 spent on Google Ads, businesses see an $8 return on average.

Here’s why PPC is a crucial strategy to use in your private equity lead gen strategy:

• PPC gives you control over your budget: When investing in lead generation for private equity, you want to stretch every dollar so you can maximize your return on investment (ROI). With PPC, there’s no set budget, so you control how much your portfolio companies invest.
• PPC targets leads ready to convert: The goal with your portfolio companies is to drive returns. Traffic from PPC ads brings 50% more conversions than organic traffic, so your investment-backed companies will drive purchase-ready leads that turn into revenue, and ultimately, returns for your PE firm.
• PPC helps your portfolio companies capitalize on search real estate: If your PE-backed companies have a PPC ad and organic ranking for the same query, they take up more search real estate. That means more people seeing your investment-backed companies, getting familiar with them, and ultimately choosing them when ready to convert.

PE lead generation strategy #3: Social media advertising

Another great strategy for private equity lead generation is social media advertising. Social media ads appear in targeted users’ feeds as they scroll through social media platforms. 

Social media ads are a great way for you to de-risk your investment because your portfolio companies can directly connect with people interested in their products or services.

Did you know?

• 81% of marketers are satisfied with their Facebook advertising ROI
• 76% of marketers are satisfied with their Instagram advertising ROI
• 60% of marketers are satisfied with their Twitter (X) advertising ROI
• 57% of marketers are satisfied with their LinkedIn advertising ROI

Here’s why social media advertising should be part of your private equity lead generation strategy for your portcos:

• Social media ads offer precise targeting: With social media ads, your portfolio companies can get precise with whom they target. That means their ads appear before people most likely to click and engage with them.
• Social media ads are budget-friendly: Many social media platforms have a low cost-per-click (CPC), which means your PE-backed companies can stretch every dollar. The average CPC across networks is $2.30 — combine that with social media’s precise targeting, and social media advertising costs become a worthwhile investment for getting good returns.
• Social media ads build brand familiarity: Like PPC ads, social media ads help build brand familiarity on social platforms. When people are more familiar with your portfolio brands, they’re more likely to turn to them when they’re ready to convert.

How WebFX can help with private equity lead generation

Taking on lead generation for PE firms is a tall task, especially if you have a large portfolio. That’s why it’s valuable to partner with an experienced marketing agency, like WebFX, who can handle marketing your portfolio companies for you.

So, what makes WebFX different from other marketing companies that offer private equity lead generation services?

• Custom lead generation plans: No matter how many companies you have in your investment portfolio, each one gets a custom plan. Your portfolio companies will receive a campaign tailored to their market, sector, and business needs.
• Revenue-driving tech: As a WebFX client, you gain access to our client-exclusive software, RevenueCloudFX. We use RevenueCloudFX to help you track how your PE-backed companies’ campaigns perform, as well as provide insight into how your companies can optimize campaigns to continually maximize revenue and returns for your business. 
• Data-backed decision-making: With the help of RevenueCloudFX, we make data-backed marketing decisions for your investment companies’ campaigns. That means your campaigns aren’t operating on hunches, but rather, performance data.
• Diverse team: When you invest in lead generation for private equity firms from WebFX, you gain access to a team of over 500 marketing experts who’ve worked in over 200+. You’re getting a skilled team that can help your portfolio companies market in their industry, regardless of which one they’re in.
• Dedicated point of contact: Getting the run-around to talk to someone about your marketing is exhausting. With WebFX, you get a dedicated account manager that you can always contact with questions about your portcos’ lead generation strategies.
• Variety of marketing services: At WebFX, we offer more than just lead generation. We can help your private equity firm manage everything from paid advertising to email marketing to due diligence.

Invest in lead generation for private equity firms from WebFX

If you want to de-risk your investments and start driving more revenue from them, it’s time to invest in private equity lead generation. With help from an agency like WebFX, you can maximize your returns from your portfolio companies.

With over 29 years of experience in digital marketing, our team knows how to craft campaigns that help your portfolio companies grow. We have also driven success for PE companies, so we know what it takes to make your investment-backed companies thrive.

Ready to generate better returns from your investment portfolio? Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our lead generation services!

We Drive Results for Private Equity

• Dedicated account manager backed by 500+ digital experts
• Renowned for our communication and transparency

Get a Quote