Lead generation forms are an essential part of your online conversion strategy. Optimizing your form and asking the right questions are vital to targeting and segmenting your leads. By gathering relevant information about your leads, you can more effectively market to them, thereby increasing the likelihood of converting them into customers.

Lead generation forms can make or break your conversions.

Many marketers understand the importance of their lead capture form to the performance of their website. MarketingSherpa, a marketing research firm, reports that 56% of marketers believe that optimizing form logic has a very significant impact on website performance, and 45% consider the layout of their form to have a very significant impact.

Why are lead generation forms vital to conversions?

In today’s marketing environment, your company website is one of the most effective ways to generate marketing leads. When someone visits your website and takes the time to fill out a form, they are converted from visitors into leads. Your form is your first point of contact.

Are you asking the right questions?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself and determine whether you are asking the right questions on your forms.

Do your questions qualify your leads?

It’s important to ask questions that will help you determine whether it’s worth the effort to try to convert the lead into a customer. It allows you to use your time wisely and increases ROI.

Do your questions bucket your contacts into personas?

Segmenting leads according to persona allows you to provide them with relevant content.

Do your questions inform you about your contact’s situation?

Ask questions that allow you to understand their pain points or challenges.

Other components to keep in mind…

These components can also factor into the success of your lead gen forms.

Length

The length of your form should correspond to the value of the content you offer in exchange for a visitor providing their information. In addition, the length of your form should reflect your lead generation goals. A longer form is likely to attract higher-quality leads, while a shorter form will attract higher lead volume.

Positioning

Ensure that the visitor’s attention is drawn immediately to the form by placing it near the top of your landing page. Don’t make them look for it.

Fields

In addition to contact information, ask for information that will allow you to qualify the leads. Keep in mind the length of the form when considering if a question should be included.

Privacy

Include a link to your privacy policy. It will help gain your visitor’s trust and increase your credibility to help you convert quality leads.

Submit Button

Consider using a more action-oriented word to replace “Submit” on your form’s button. Choose a word that relates to the reason your visitor is filling out the form. For example, if they are accepting an offer of free content, use the word “Download,” whereas if they are signing up for a webinar, use “Register.”

Your lead generation form is important, but to maximize its effectiveness, form optimization is critical. Carefully consider the questions and components you include so that you can gather the information you need without making your form too long or intimidating.