Lead generation glossary: terms from A to Z

Plain definitions of the terms lead buyers and sellers meet in home improvement and MVA lead generation, from ping trees and caps to consent records and signed retainers. Where a term has its own guide on this site, the definition links to it. These definitions are general information, not legal advice.

By Russell Brown, founder of Summit LeadsUpdated How we write and check guides16 min read

A

Acceptance rate
The share of leads a buyer accepts out of the leads it is offered or sent. A falling acceptance rate usually points to a filter mismatch, duplicates or a data quality problem.What makes leads worth buying
Advertorial
An ad written in the style of an article, usually placed on a native ad network or a publisher's own site, that leads the reader to an offer. It must be labeled as advertising and its claims must be accurate.What is an advertorial
Aged insurance lead
An insurance quote request sold some time after it was first captured, often days or months later. It usually costs less than a real-time lead because the consumer may already have bought a policy.Aged insurance leads
Aged lead
A lead sold some time after it was captured rather than at the moment of submission. Aged leads usually cost less because the consumer has often already been contacted or has moved on.Real-time vs aged leads
ATDS / autodialer
An automatic telephone dialing system, a category of equipment regulated by the TCPA. In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021), the Supreme Court held that equipment counts as an ATDS only if it can store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator. Prerecorded and artificial voice calls are regulated separately, whatever equipment dials them.TCPA compliance guide

B

Batch delivery
Sending leads to a buyer in scheduled groups, such as a file or a periodic upload, instead of one at a time as they are captured. It suits buyers whose systems cannot take real-time posts.Lead delivery methods
Bid
The price a buyer offers for a lead in response to a ping. In a ping/post auction, the winning bid receives the full lead by post.Ping/post integration for buyers
Break-even ROAS
The return on ad spend at which ad revenue exactly covers the ad spend and the other costs of each sale, so the campaign makes no profit and no loss. It equals 1 divided by the profit margin before ad spend. A campaign whose ROAS stays below this figure loses money.Break-even ROAS calculator
Bundled policy (home and auto)
A home insurance policy and an auto insurance policy placed with the same insurance company. A bundle lead is a quote request for both lines on one form.Home and auto insurance leads
Buying desk
A team inside a lead-generation company, agency or aggregator that purchases leads to fill its own or its clients' campaigns. A buying desk sets the filters, caps and bids for each campaign it runs.Lead supply for buyers

C

Cap
A limit on how many leads a buyer will take in a period, usually per day and sometimes per hour, week or campaign. Once a cap is reached, the buyer stops receiving pings or posts until it resets.Ping/post integration for buyers
Captive agent
An insurance agent who represents one insurance company and can quote and sell only that company's policies.Insurance leads for agents
Close rate
The share of leads worked that become closed deals, such as sold jobs or signed cases. It equals closed deals divided by leads worked. Close rate is one of the inputs that sets how much a lead is worth to a buyer.Close rate calculator
Contact rate
The share of leads a buyer or its client actually reaches by phone, text or email. It depends on data accuracy, speed to contact and how many other companies are calling the same consumer.
Conversion rate
The share of leads that turn into the outcome the end client wants, such as a booked appointment, a sold job or a signed case. It is the number most buyers use to judge whether a source is worth scaling.
CPA (cost per action)
A payout model in which an advertiser pays an affiliate when a set action happens, such as a form submission, a sign-up or a sale. Pay-per-lead programs are one type of CPA arrangement, where the action is a lead.What is CPA marketing
CPA network
A company that lists offers from many advertisers and pays affiliates a set amount for each completed action on those offers. It sits between advertisers and affiliates and handles tracking and payment for the offers it lists.CPA networks vs pay-per-lead programs
CPC (cost per click)
The average amount an advertiser pays for each click on an ad. It equals ad spend divided by clicks. Dividing CPC by the landing page conversion rate gives the cost per lead.CPC calculator
CPL (cost per lead)
The amount a buyer pays for each lead it receives. CPL only means something next to contact and conversion rates, because the real measure of a source is the cost per outcome, not the cost per lead.
CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
The cost of showing an ad 1,000 times. It equals ad spend divided by impressions, times 1,000. Many display, social and native ad platforms price or report ad buys this way.CPM calculator
Currently insured
A lead field that records whether the consumer has an active policy for the line they are shopping, sometimes with how long it has been in force. Auto insurance buyers commonly use it to sort leads.Auto insurance leads

D

Day-parting
Scheduling ads to run only on certain days or at certain hours, usually the hours when leads are most likely to be contacted and sold. Most ad platforms let you set an ad schedule at the campaign level.Day-parting for lead gen campaigns
Direct post
A delivery method in which a supplier sends the full lead straight to a buyer, with no ping first. The buyer sets a fixed price for leads that match its criteria.Ping/post vs direct post
Disconnect
A lead whose phone number is not in service. Disconnected numbers are a common reason for a lead return.Lead quality standards
DNC / Do Not Call Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry is a federal list of numbers whose owners have opted out of most telemarketing calls. Companies must also keep their own internal do-not-call lists, and some states run separate registries.TCPA compliance guide
Duplicate
A lead for a consumer the buyer has already received within a set lookback period, from the same source or another one. Buyers usually check duplicates at the ping stage and reject or return them.Lead quality standards

E

Effective cost per lead
The cost of each lead a buyer keeps after returns are credited. It equals the price per lead times one minus the return rate. Buyers use it, rather than the list price, to work out the cost per sale or signed case.Lead cost calculator
Endpoint
The web address in a buyer's system that receives pings and posts. The supplier maps its fields to the endpoint's format and tests it before any live traffic is sent.Ping/post integration for buyers
EPC (earnings per click)
The average amount a publisher earns for each click it sends to an offer. It equals earnings divided by clicks, or the conversion rate times the payout per conversion. Publishers compare EPC with their cost per click to see whether a campaign makes money.EPC calculator
Exclusive lead
A lead delivered to one buyer and not resold to others. The terms, such as how long the lead stays with that buyer, should be written into the supply agreement.Exclusive vs shared leads

F

Filter
A rule that decides which leads a buyer is offered, based on fields such as vertical, sub-type, state, ZIP code, homeownership or accident details. Leads that fail a buyer's filters are never pinged to that buyer.Ping/post integration for buyers
Final expense insurance
A small whole life insurance policy bought to pay end-of-life costs such as a funeral. Final expense leads are quote requests for these policies.Final expense leads
First-party traffic
Leads captured on websites, landing pages or ad accounts the supplier runs itself. Buyers often prefer it because the supplier controls the forms, the consent language and the traffic sources.How to sell leads you generate
Floor price
The lowest bid a supplier or distribution system will accept for a lead. Bids below the floor are ignored, and the lead goes to the next eligible buyer or is held back.Lead distribution explained

H

Home improvement lead
A request from a homeowner for quotes on a home project, such as roofing, flooring, siding and gutters, or bathroom work. Useful fields include project type, property address, homeownership and timeframe.Home improvement leads for buyers
Hosted lander
A landing page built and run by the lead program or network rather than by the publisher. The publisher sends traffic to it through a tracking link, and the form and consent language on it stay as the program set them.Hosted landers vs your own landers

I

Independent agent
An insurance agent or agency that represents several insurance companies and can quote policies from each of them.Insurance lead companies
Insurance producer
The licensing term for a person who sells, solicits or negotiates insurance. It includes agents and brokers, and each state licenses the producers who work there.TCPA compliance for insurance leads
Intake
The process a law firm or its intake team uses to screen a potential client, collect the facts of the accident and injury, and decide whether to take the case. Fast intake matters because injured people often contact several firms.MVA lead documentation
IP address and timestamp record
The consumer's IP address and the exact date and time of submission, saved with the lead. Together with the opt-in language and page URL, they form the basic proof of when and where consent was given.TCPA record keeping
IUL (indexed universal life)
A type of permanent life insurance in which the interest credited to the policy's cash value is linked to a stock market index. An IUL lead is a request for information about this policy type.IUL leads

L

Lead aggregator
A company that buys leads from many suppliers and routes or resells them to end clients, such as contractors or law firms. Aggregators often run their own distribution systems and client campaigns.Lead supply for buyers
Lead brokerage
A business that sits between lead sellers and lead buyers, taking in leads from publishers and routing them to buyers. Summit Leads operates as a real-time ping/post lead brokerage.How lead networks work
Lead ID token
A unique identifier created by a tracking script on the capture form and passed along with the lead. A buyer can use it to retrieve the matching consent record from the third-party consent certificate provider that issued it.TCPA record keeping
Lead validation
Checks run on a lead before it is sold, such as phone and email verification, address checks, duplicate checks and screening for obvious fake data. Validation reduces returns and protects buyer trust.Lead quality standards
Lead value
What a lead is worth to the business that works it. The revenue value of a lead equals the average revenue per customer times the close rate, and the profit value applies the profit margin to that figure. It sets the most a buyer can pay per lead and still make money.Lead value calculator
Live transfer
A lead delivered as a phone call that is connected directly to a buyer's agent while the consumer is still on the line. It usually follows a short qualifying conversation.TCPA and pay per call
LTV (lifetime value)
The total gross profit a business expects from one customer over the whole relationship. It equals the average revenue per sale times the number of sales per customer, times the gross margin. Comparing LTV with the cost of winning a customer shows how much can be spent on acquisition.LTV calculator

M

Media buyer
A person or team that buys ad space or clicks, for example on Meta, Google or native ad networks, and sends that traffic to offers. In lead generation, a media buyer earns the difference between what the traffic costs and what the leads it produces pay.What is media buying
Mortgage protection insurance
Life insurance bought to pay off or toward a mortgage if the borrower dies, usually a term policy sized to the loan. Mortgage protection leads are requests for this coverage.Mortgage protection leads
MVA lead
A motor vehicle accident lead: a person injured in a car, motorcycle, commercial vehicle or rideshare accident who is looking for legal help. Buyers usually look for a documented injury, clear or favorable liability and no current attorney.MVA leads for buyers

N

Native ad
A paid ad made to match the look of the content around it, often shown as a headline and image in a recommendation widget on a news or content site. Native ads must still be labeled as sponsored or as advertising.What are native ads

O

Opt-in language
The consent disclosure shown next to the submit button on a lead form. It should state who may contact the consumer, by what means, and that consent is not a condition of purchase.TCPA for lead generators

P

P&C (property and casualty)
The insurance lines that cover property and liability, including auto and home insurance. Agents who sell these lines are often called P&C agents.Insurance lead generation
Pay per call
A model in which the buyer pays for inbound phone calls rather than form leads, usually only for calls that meet a minimum duration or qualification. Calls may come from ads, landing pages or live transfers. Summit Leads works with web leads (form fills) and does not buy or sell calls or live transfers.TCPA and pay per call
Personal injury lead
A lead from a person who was hurt and may have a legal claim. MVA leads are the largest category, and law firms judge them on injury, liability, timing and representation status.Personal injury leads for buyers
Ping
The first message in a ping/post exchange: a partial, non-identifying version of the lead sent to eligible buyers so they can decide whether to bid. A ping carries fields like vertical, ZIP code and project or accident details, but no name or phone number.Ping post explained
Ping tree
The ordered set of buyers a lead is offered to, with rules for who is pinged, in what order and at what price. It decides which buyer wins each lead.Lead distribution explained
Ping/post
A real-time selling method in which a lead is pinged to buyers with partial data, buyers bid, and the winning bidder receives the full lead by post. It lets buyers price each lead before seeing personal details.Ping post explained
Post
The second message in a ping/post exchange: the full lead, including contact details and consent data, sent to the buyer that won the bid. The buyer's system then accepts or rejects it.Ping post explained
Post rejection
When a buyer declines a lead at the post stage after winning the ping, for example because of a duplicate or a failed validation. High post rejection rates hurt a supplier's standing in the ping tree.Ping post explained
Postback
A server-to-server message one tracking system sends to another to report an event, such as a conversion, along with an identifier like a click ID or sub ID. Which tracking methods a lead program supports varies, so ask the program which options apply to your account.Tracking links and sub IDs explained
Pre-lander
A page a visitor sees after clicking an ad and before reaching the offer's landing page, such as an advertorial, a quiz or a short article. It explains the offer and sends the visitor on, but it does not collect the lead.Advertorials and pre-landers for lead gen
Publisher
A company or individual that generates leads, usually through websites, ads or content, and sells them to brokers or buyers. Publisher is often used interchangeably with supplier or affiliate.Publisher program

Q

Quote request lead
A lead created when a consumer completes an online form asking for an insurance quote and agrees to be contacted. Most insurance leads bought and sold are quote request leads.Auto insurance lead generation

R

Rank and rent
Building a local website, ranking it in search for a service in a set area, and then earning from the leads it produces, either by renting the site to a local business or by sending its traffic to a lead offer.Rank and rent for home improvement leads
Real-time lead
A lead sold and delivered within moments of the consumer submitting a form. Real-time leads carry the most value because the consumer is still actively looking.Real-time vs aged leads
Return
A buyer's request for credit on a lead that fails agreed standards, such as a disconnected number, a duplicate or a lead outside the filters. What counts as a valid return is set in the supply agreement.Lead quality standards
Return window
The period after delivery during which a buyer may submit a return. The length and the accepted reasons are defined per partner in the supply terms.
Rev share
A payout model in which the publisher is paid a share of what the lead sells for, rather than a fixed price per lead. Under rev share, a lead that does not sell earns nothing.Rev share vs CPL
ROAS (return on ad spend)
The revenue a campaign earns for each dollar spent on ads. It equals revenue from ads divided by ad spend, shown as a ratio or a percentage. ROAS counts ad spend only, so it does not show profit on its own.ROAS calculator

S

Shared lead
A lead sold to more than one buyer, usually up to a stated, capped number. Shared leads cost less per lead, but each buyer competes with the others for the same consumer.Exclusive vs shared leads
Signed retainer
An agreement signed by an injured person hiring a law firm to represent them. Some personal injury buyers pay for signed retainers rather than for leads, which moves the intake work to the supplier.MVA lead documentation
Sold rate
The share of a publisher's leads that sell to a buyer. It is one of the main numbers a publisher can improve, through traffic quality, targeting and lead accuracy.How to increase your sold rate
State mini-TCPA
A state law that adds telemarketing rules on top of the federal TCPA, such as tighter calling hours, limits on call frequency or a narrower definition of an autodialer. Several states have passed one, and they can apply even when a campaign meets federal rules.State telemarketing laws
Storm lead
A roofing or exterior lead from a homeowner whose property was damaged by hail, wind or another storm, often with an insurance claim open or planned. Storm leads lose value quickly, so they are usually sold in real time.Roofing leads for buyers
Sub ID
A value a publisher adds to a tracking link to label the traffic, such as the campaign, ad set, ad or placement. Sub IDs come back with each lead in reporting, so the publisher can see which ads produced which leads.Sub ID naming template
Supplier
Any company that provides leads to a buyer, whether it generates them itself or brokers them from publishers. Buyers should check a supplier's traffic sources, consent records and return handling before scaling.How to evaluate lead suppliers

T

TCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. It allows consumers to sue for violations, which is why consent records matter to lead buyers.TCPA compliance guide
Third-party traffic
Leads a supplier buys from other publishers or affiliates rather than capturing itself. Buyers usually ask for source disclosure and consent records for this traffic, because the supplier has less direct control over it.Sell to a broker or build a buyer network

V

Vertical
The industry or product category a lead belongs to, such as roofing or car accident. Buyers filter by vertical and often by sub-type within it.The Summit Leads network

X

X-date
The expiration or renewal date of a consumer's current insurance policy. Agents track x-dates to contact people before their policy renews.Insurance agency marketing

Z

ZIP targeting
A filter that limits the leads a buyer receives to a list of ZIP codes, often matched to where its clients operate. It is narrower than state targeting and common in home improvement.Ping/post integration for buyers

Buying leads? Talk to us

Summit Leads supplies home improvement and MVA leads by real-time ping/post, with direct post and batch delivery where a buyer needs them. Tell us your verticals, filters, caps and how you take delivery.

Start small, with no long-term commitment

  • No long-term contract. Pause or stop at any time.
  • No setup fee and no monthly fee. You pay only for leads delivered that match your filters.
  • Start with a small test volume and scale when the numbers work.
  • MVA and home improvement leads are exclusive by default: each lead is sold to one buyer.
  • Return terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
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Related

All resources and guidesping post explainedhow the ping/post integration worksExclusive vs shared leadsTCPA compliance guideLead supply for buyers

Related in the lead gen guide: The lead generation industry guide. Related in insurance: Insurance lead generation.

Lead network guides

Written by Russell Brown, founder of Summit Leads.

Russell Brown, founderLinkedInHow we write and check guides

Buying or selling leads? Talk to us.

Email team@summitleads.ai. We reply by email. You can also message Summit Leads or Russell Brown on LinkedIn. Contact details.