If you’re tired of guessing which marketing channels actually bring in worthwhile leads, this guide is for you. Maybe you’re in B2B marketing or sales ops, and your boss just asked, “Which campaigns are actually filling the pipeline?” You need answers, not more noise.
Here’s how to cut through the clutter and use LeadFeeder to get a clear look at which lead sources are working—and which aren’t worth your time. No fluff, no hand-waving, just practical steps you can run with.
Step 1: Get Your Tracking in Order
Before you start slicing and dicing reports, make sure your tracking basics are solid. Garbage in, garbage out—if you mess this up, everything else is a waste.
Checklist:
- LeadFeeder Tracker Installed: The LeadFeeder tracking script must be on every page you want to analyze. Miss a landing page, and you’ll be missing leads.
- UTM Parameters Everywhere: Make sure your campaigns, ads, emails, and social posts use UTM tags. If you don’t know what drove a visit, you can’t analyze it later.
- Integrations: Connect LeadFeeder to your CRM (like HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Salesforce) so you can eventually see which leads became real opportunities.
Pro tip: Don’t trust marketing to “get around to it.” Spot-check your top landing pages and campaigns to see if UTMs are firing and the tracker is present.
Step 2: Define What a “Good” Lead Source Means for You
Not all lead sources are created equal. Don’t assume the channel with the most leads is automatically the best. Define what actually matters.
Ask yourself:
- Do you want more leads, or better leads?
- Are you tracking companies that match your target profile?
- Is sales complaining about junk leads from a specific campaign?
Metrics to focus on:
- Company fit: Are you seeing the right industries, company sizes, or geographies?
- Engagement: Did they view more than one page, or just bounce?
- Pipeline impact: Did any leads from this source turn into meetings, deals, or revenue?
What to ignore: Raw traffic numbers. If you start chasing “more visitors” without checking quality, you’ll waste budget and frustrate sales.
Step 3: Segment Your Leads by Source in LeadFeeder
Now, get hands-on in the platform. LeadFeeder auto-detects UTM parameters and traffic sources, but you’ll get more value if you set up proper segmentation.
How to do it:
- Use Filters: In LeadFeeder, set up filters for different sources (for example, “Source contains Google Ads” or “utm_campaign = webinar2024”).
- Create Custom Feeds: Save these filters as Feeds for ongoing tracking—think “Paid Search Leads,” “LinkedIn Campaign,” or “Newsletter Traffic.”
- Tag High-Value Leads: Tag companies that fit your ideal customer profile. Over time, you’ll see which sources actually deliver these.
Pro tip: Don’t go overboard with filters. Start with 3-5 main sources you care about. If you try to track everything, you’ll drown in data.
Step 4: Analyze What’s Actually Working
Here’s where most folks trip up: they either skim the dashboard and call it a day, or get lost in analysis paralysis. Let’s keep it simple and actionable.
What to look for:
- Conversion Trends: Are certain sources consistently showing up as new leads? Did a recent campaign spike interest?
- Quality, Not Just Quantity: Which sources bring companies that match your ICP, spend time on your site, and don’t bounce?
- Sales Feedback: Sync with your sales team. Are leads from Source X always getting marked as “junk” or “not interested?”
Sample workflow:
- Open your custom Feed for a source, say, “LinkedIn Ads.”
- Export or view the list of companies. Are they in your target segments?
- Check how many became deals or got contacted, using your CRM integration.
- Compare to another Feed, like “Organic Search.” Which has more pipeline impact?
Honest take: Don’t obsess over week-to-week blips. Look for patterns over a month or quarter. If your “hot” new campaign only brings in tiny companies from the wrong country, that’s not a win.
Step 5: Share Real Insights—Not Just Data Dumps
No one wants a spreadsheet with 4,000 rows and no commentary. Your job is to translate LeadFeeder findings into something useful for your team.
How to do it:
- Highlight the Good Sources: “Our LinkedIn campaign brought in 12 companies in our target sector. Two booked demos. That’s better than last month’s Google Ads test.”
- Call Out the Dead Ends: “The Facebook retargeting push drove a lot of visits, but zero ICP matches. Let’s pause this one.”
- Suggest Next Steps: “Doubling down on paid search targeting these job titles might be worth testing.”
Pro tip: Screenshots go a long way. Grab a filtered LeadFeeder view to show your point—don’t just paste raw numbers.
Step 6: Act on What You Learn
Otherwise, what’s the point? Use your analysis to actually tweak your campaigns, budget, or outreach.
- Scale up sources that bring quality leads and pipeline.
- Kill or pause anything that’s consistently underperforming.
- Try new experiments based on what you see. For example, if webinars keep showing up as top sources, try a new format or topic.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics. Don’t get pressured into boosting channels that look good on paper but don’t deliver in reality.
Step 7: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t let this become another dashboard you never look at. The best teams run this process monthly or quarterly, adjust, and move on.
- Set a regular time to review lead source performance—put it on the calendar.
- Keep your Feeds and filters tidy. Archive ones you don’t use.
- Ask sales for feedback—often, they’ll spot patterns you missed.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a PhD in analytics to figure out your best lead sources. Set up solid tracking, focus on quality over quantity, and use LeadFeeder to keep score. Don’t overcomplicate it—pick a few key sources, watch what actually turns into pipeline, and double down on what works. Iterate, adjust, and keep it real.