Lead Generators: A Checklist for Reporters

Private marketing firms have developed more advanced targeting products to identify potential college applicants for institutions, and the business motives behind some of these products are not always transparent to users.

When websites promise new rankings on a particular sector of higher ed, or perhaps the entire postsecondary community, the information may simply be a screen for companies that deliver information about Web users to the colleges who hire them. Therefore, journalists have an obligation to scrutinize websites promising a "best of" list or a college-related infograph.

What is a lead generator?

Lead generators, as defined by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), are third-parties in the recruitment process that "specialize in gathering contact information and selling those contacts to schools." For some institutions, these leads are critical pieces of their recruitment process, underscored by the fees they pay private lead generators. Colleges can pay between $10 to $150 per individual lead.  

In its investigation of for-profit colleges, the Senate HELP Committee finds that "lead generators advertise themselves on websites, billboards, and on TV as a free, safe, and reliable way to get information about college. But lead generator sites generally direct students only to schools and programs that pay them."
(Josh Keller describes these tactics on the Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus blog.) 

A typical lead generator functions as follows:

  1. A marketing company builds a web depot for college-related information. These websites often contain college rankings or tips on getting in to college.
  2. The company agrees to emphasize particular institutions on the site for a fee.
  3. Visitors to the website are lured by the "free" information, only to be prompted with requests for personal information. 
  4. Thus, the website becomes a gatekeeper. Prospective students give up their privacy in return for information that is often found on government and non-profit websites.
  5. Furthermore, students do not see the dozens of attached third party marketing sites that also now have access to the data
By comparison, the College Scorecard website from the White House has only four sites attached, most of which are recognized social media connections. The data below comes from Lightbeam for Firefox, and shows the websites attached to an undisclosed lead generator and College Scorecard.
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How to Identify a Lead Generator Website

 
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Who is listed as the owner of the site under the Privacy Policy
The owner of the site is typically listed under the Privacy Policy section of the Web site, which is often buried at the bottom of the first page as a small hyperlink. Taking a look at the privacy policy allows you to understand (a) who owns the site, and (b) what they do with the data that you generate by visiting and interacting with the site. Before using or writing a story on a college information web resource, pay close attention to the source.

CheckSmall.gifDoes the website require mandatory or optional personal contact information before revealing the information?
Lead generators ask users to enter contact information before or after divulging information about selected colleges. It is not clear how the leads are going to be used. 

CheckSmall.gifIs there an exclusive focus on online schools?
Lead generation companies have capitalized on the interest in online education, offering a questionable ranking of the “top” online schools or simply providing enrollment information about online colleges.

CheckSmall.gifAre there fields on the site advertised as “degree finders?”
The “degree finder” has proliferated all corners of the Internet. These “tools” are usually just smokescreens for lead generation services. Students enter terms into the search box, and are rewarded with a list of sponsored schools and prompts to enter more personal information.

CheckSmall.gifWhat is the rankings methodology? Does the website use ambiguous terms like “government data” and “student feedback?”
A rankings methodology is the backbone of any rankings list. Don’t be fooled by vague descriptions of where the data comes from.

CheckSmall.gifHas a company offered you an infographic? What terms must you follow to post it to your page? When you reply, is there an answer from a real person?
A popular strategy among lead generators is to create an infographic that may or may not contain valid data. The infographics are accompanied by a hyperlink to a lead generation site.
 

More Information

 
FTC Staff Report: Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising
The FTC decided to increase scrutiny of lead generators, concluding that, "When behavioral advertising involves the sharing of data with ad networks or other third parties, the consumer may not understand why he has received ads from unknown marketers based on his activities at an assortment of previously visited websites." The report cites 23 examples of FTC actions against companies betraying consumer trust (p. 5).

Online Profiling: A Report to Congress
This FTC report issued in 2000 to congress encouraged the passage of new legislation to regulate behavioral advertising practices like lead genearation. Congress has since decided not to act on the issue..

Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change
A Proposed Framework for Business and Policymakers: A 2010 follow-up to the FTC's earlier staff report.