Essential Third-Party Tools for Lead Generation

Essential Third-Party Tools for Lead Generation

You’ve set up your Google ecosystem—Google Ads account, Business Profile, Tag Manager, Analytics 4, and Search Console. These are the basics for running ads and tracking performance. Now let’s talk about the third-party tools that complement Google and make your lead generation significantly more effective.

These tools aren’t required on day one, but you’ll need them eventually. Some you should add within the first few weeks, others you can wait on until you’re scaling. This article gives you an overview of what’s available and when to add each tool to your stack.

Here’s the important mindset shift: many business owners think of these tools as extra expenses. But that’s the wrong way to look at it. These tools aren’t costs—they’re investments that dramatically improve your ROI and ROAS. They help you track properly, close more leads, and waste less money on what doesn’t work. With that frame of mind, they’re actually cost savings tools.

Let’s break down which tools matter most for lead-generation businesses.

Call Tracking Platforms

Call tracking is ultimately very important, and here’s why: 70-80% of lead-generation leads come via phone calls, not form submissions. If you’re not tracking phone calls, you’re missing most of your data. You won’t know which keywords drove which calls. You can’t optimize effectively.

But call tracking does more than just count calls. It gives you the ability to track only certain calls over a certain length or certain type. Not every call is valuable. Someone calling to ask your hours isn’t the same as someone calling for a quote on a $10,000 job. Good call tracking platforms let you filter by call duration—for example, only count calls over 90 seconds as conversions.

In my experience, call tracking was also invaluable for hearing recordings of how my staff handled incoming leads. When we had our furniture showrooms, I’d listen to call recordings regularly. It was eye-opening. I could hear when someone on my team nailed the call—asked the right questions, built rapport, closed for an appointment. And I could hear when we dropped the ball—didn’t ask for contact info, didn’t follow up, sounded disinterested.

This became a training tool. I’d pull examples of great calls and terrible calls and use them in team meetings. “Here’s what good sounds like. Here’s what we need to fix.” The improvement in our close rate from incoming calls was dramatic once we started coaching based on actual recorded conversations.

Many business owners are paying a lot of money for leads through Google Ads. You want to make sure you’re handling those leads correctly when they come in. Call tracking with call recording gives you that visibility.

Here’s something else I learned: even calls that aren’t proper opportunities can lead to referrals and goodwill if you handle them courteously. Someone calls asking if you service an area you don’t cover, or they need a service you don’t offer. If you’re helpful, insightful, and resourceful—maybe you refer them to someone who can help—they remember that. They tell their friends. They leave you a good review. Being helpful to all callers, not just qualified leads, is ultimately very important for your reputation and long-term growth.

Popular Call Tracking Platforms

CallRail is the most popular option for small to mid-size businesses. Pricing starts around $45/month and goes up to $145/month depending on how many numbers you need and call volume. It integrates seamlessly with Google Ads, shows you which keywords drove which calls, and records calls for training.

CallTrackingMetrics is similar to CallRail with slightly different features. Pricing ranges from $39-$149/month. Some businesses prefer the reporting interface.

WhatConverts is an all-in-one platform that tracks calls, forms, and chats in one place. It’s more expensive but consolidates multiple tools.

When should you add call tracking? Early—ideally before launching campaigns, or within the first 1-2 weeks. If phone calls are your primary lead source (and for most home services and professional services, they are), you need this data from day one.

Detailed call tracking setup is covered in Chapter 6.3, but for now, just know this is one of the most important third-party tools you’ll use.

CRM & Lead Management Systems

Since the whole name of the game in advertising is to get incoming leads and turn them into customers and clients, you want to make sure you’re tracking them properly at all stages. The CRM is a tool to help you organize these leads and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Here’s what happens without a CRM: Someone fills out a form. You call them back but they don’t answer. You forget to follow up. Two weeks later, they hire your competitor. Or someone calls, you give them a quote, they say “let me think about it,” and you never hear from them again because you didn’t have a system to follow up.

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) tracks every lead from the moment they come in through every interaction until they become a customer—or until you determine they’re not going to convert. You can see at a glance which leads are fresh, which need follow-up, which have quotes pending, and which have been closed.

More importantly, a CRM lets you calculate true ROI, not just cost per lead. You can connect which leads came from which Google Ads campaigns and see which campaigns generated actual revenue, not just leads. A lead isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t close. The CRM tells you which marketing channels are driving paying customers.

CRM Options by Business Size

If you’re just starting out: Use a simple spreadsheet. Track lead source, contact info, date received, status (new/contacted/quoted/closed/lost), and notes. This works fine when you’re getting 10-20 leads per month. It’s free and you can start today.

HubSpot’s free tier is another great option for beginners. It’s a real CRM with basic features at no cost. You can track deals, set reminders, send emails, and see your pipeline visually. As you grow, HubSpot scales with paid tiers.

Mid-tier businesses: HubSpot’s paid plans ($50-$500+/month) or Pipedrive ($15-$100+/month per user) work well. These have automation, better reporting, and integration with your other tools.

Industry-specific CRMs: If you’re in home services, Jobber is purpose-built for businesses like plumbers, HVAC, landscaping, cleaning. It combines CRM with scheduling, invoicing, and job management. ServiceTitan is similar but designed for larger operations with multiple trucks and teams.

Enterprise: Salesforce is the 800-pound gorilla of CRMs. It’s powerful, customizable, and expensive. You probably don’t need this unless you’re running a large operation with complex sales processes.

When to Add a CRM

Start simple on day one—even if it’s just a spreadsheet. You need to track leads from the moment you start advertising. Within the first 1-3 months, upgrade to a proper CRM like HubSpot or Pipedrive so you can automate follow-ups and see your pipeline clearly.

When I was running my furniture business, we started with a spreadsheet. As we grew to multiple showrooms, we moved to a CRM that let each location manage their own leads while I could see the full pipeline across all locations. That visibility was critical for understanding which showrooms were converting well and which needed help with their sales process.

LeadPixl – Pixelocity’s Clicks-to-Clients Tool

To help many of our in-house clients with lead prospecting and turning opportunities into customers, we created LeadPixl. It’s our proprietary tool that simplifies lead management while solving a critical problem most businesses struggle with: connecting Google Ads to actual revenue.

Here’s the problem: Google Ads shows you cost per lead. But not all leads are equal. Some leads turn into $50,000 customers. Some never answer the phone. Some are tire-kickers. Google doesn’t know which is which unless you tell it.

LeadPixl tracks the full journey from click to closed customer and feeds that data back to Google Ads. This is called offline conversion tracking. When a lead closes and becomes a customer, LeadPixl sends that information to Google Ads. Now Google knows which campaigns, keywords, and ads are generating actual revenue—not just leads.

This is transformative for optimization. Google’s automated bidding strategies can optimize toward revenue, not just lead volume. You’ll spend more on campaigns that generate high-value customers and less on campaigns that generate junk leads.

How it’s different from standard tracking: Most businesses track form submissions and phone calls. That tells you cost per lead. LeadPixl tells you cost per customer and revenue per campaign. It connects your CRM (where you track deal status) to Google Ads (where you spend money) so the data flows automatically.

Who is it for? LeadPixl is especially valuable for businesses with longer sales cycles or multiple touchpoints. If someone clicks your ad, calls you, gets a quote, thinks about it for two weeks, and then signs a contract, standard tracking loses that connection. LeadPixl maintains it. You know that customer came from Google Ads, which campaign, which keyword, and how much revenue they generated.

LeadPixl also includes built-in solutions for landing pages, forms, and chatbots. We built these because we wanted a simple, integrated solution for clients rather than stitching together five different tools. But there are plenty of other high-caliber tools out there that do these things well too.

Other Useful Tools to Consider

Beyond call tracking, CRM, and attribution tools like LeadPixl, there are several other categories of tools that can improve your lead generation.

Landing page builders like Unbounce or Leadpages let you create dedicated landing pages for your ads without needing a developer. The advantage is speed—you can test new offers and layouts quickly. The disadvantage is they add another monthly cost ($80-$200+/month). Many businesses start by using existing pages on their website and only add a landing page builder later when they want more flexibility.

Form tools like Typeform, Jotform, or Gravity Forms improve the user experience of your contact forms. If your website already has forms built in, you probably don’t need a separate tool. But if your forms are clunky or hard to customize, these tools help.

Scheduling and booking tools like Calendly or Acuity are valuable if part of your sales process involves booking appointments. Instead of playing phone tag, leads can book a time directly. This works especially well for consultations, estimates, and service appointments.

Live chat tools like Intercom or Drift can capture leads who prefer to chat rather than call or fill out a form. The downside is you need someone monitoring the chat during business hours, or you need a chatbot that can handle basic questions. This is a nice-to-have, not a must-have for most businesses.

When does each make sense? Add these tools when you have a specific problem they solve. If you’re losing leads because your forms are terrible, fix the forms. If you’re spending 30 minutes per day scheduling appointments back and forth via email, add Calendly. Don’t add tools just because they exist—add them when they solve a real pain point.

What to Add When

Here’s the timeline I recommend for adding tools to your stack:

Day 1: Just the Google ecosystem (Ads, Business Profile, GTM, GA4, Search Console). Get the basics in place.

Week 1-2: Call tracking if phone leads are your primary source. This is critical data you need from the start.

Month 1-3: Basic CRM, even if it’s just a spreadsheet. You need to track leads from day one, but you can upgrade to a proper CRM once you see the volume and understand your sales process better.

As you scale: More sophisticated tools like landing page builders, chat tools, advanced attribution. Add these when you have the budget and a specific problem they solve.

Keep it simple. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) still applies. Don’t over-complicate your stack early on. But do have the few critical tools in place to make sure you’re tracking all your leads properly. Without proper tracking, you’re flying blind and wasting money.

Remember: these tools aren’t expenses. They’re investments that make your advertising return better ROI and ROAS. Call tracking helps you close more phone leads. A CRM helps you follow up and not lose leads. Attribution tools help Google optimize toward revenue. Each tool should pay for itself many times over in improved performance.

Your Tech Stack Roadmap Is Complete

You now have the complete picture of what tools you need:

Core Google tools (required):

  • Google Ads
  • Google Business Profile
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Google Search Console

Critical third-party tools (add early):

  • Call tracking platform
  • Basic CRM or lead tracking system

Optional but valuable (add as you scale):

  • Advanced attribution (LeadPixl)
  • Landing page builders
  • Scheduling tools
  • Live chat

Start with the Google tools and call tracking. Add the others as your needs grow and your budget allows. Don’t over-complicate things early, but don’t skip the essential tracking either.

Your setup phase is complete. You have the infrastructure to track leads, measure performance, and optimize campaigns. Now it’s time to move from setup to strategy—understanding which Google Ads campaign types work best for lead generation and how to structure your campaigns for maximum results.