A report from Webmarketing123 shows that B2B and B2C marketers say SEO campaigns are most likely to improve lead generation.

Fifty-three percent of B2B and B2C marketing professionals included in a recent survey said SEO campaigns are the greatest driver of lead generation, Webmarketing123 reports.

The company compared SEO strategies to PPC campaigns and social media marketing in its analysis. While all three forms of marketing outreach proved to help businesses appeal to new prospects and create opportunities for conversion, SEO had the greatest impact.

For B2B marketers, the most important metric for any marketing campaign is lead generation, while B2C marketers said increase sales was most critical. Despite the differing goal priority, both sectors said using SEO helped them more PPC or social.

“Search optimization is now, more than ever, a ‘must’ in the digital marketing world,” Paul Taylor, CEO of Webmarketing123, said in a release. “In our survey, SEO has been confirmed as the most important program to integrate into a business’ online marketing efforts.”

Among B2B marketers, 57 percent say that SEO has boosted lead generation, and 41 percent of B2C marketing executives claim search engine optimization has the biggest impact on leads. Meanwhile, just 28 percent of all respondents say PPC is top for lead gen, demonstrating that no search campaign is complete without organic efforts. Marketing budgets may have to shift accordingly, especially in the business-to-consumer sector as 42.5 percent of B2C respondents say PPC gets the largest share of their digital marketing spend (compared to 21.5 percent who prioritize SEO investment).

With businesses reporting that SEO campaigns are improving leads (and ultimately sales), marketers must ensure they are supporting their organic search efforts with quality content marketing. Brafton recently reported 41 percent of businesses struggle to create the type of content likely to generate leads.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.