4 Ideas for Landing Page Forms (Guest Post)

Your landing page forms can make or break your online lead generation efforts. And yet, so many companies get their forms wrong. From irrelevant questions to forms that go on for a mile, online marketing is rampant with poor-converting forms. But let’s not focus on what’s wrong with forms — let’s dig into 4 new ideas for effective landing page forms.

1. Test columns
   There are many ways you can organize your forms, and testing the number of columns on your form is an easy way to grab low-hanging fruit. We’ve tested the same landing page, with the same number of form fields, but 1 page had a 1 column form, and the other had 2 column form. The results? By separating the form into two columns and bringing the CTA above the fold, conversions doubled! It was an easy test with dramatic results.
2. Test Fields
   It’s often said that a shorter form converts better than a longer form. This is generally true. But I’ve also seen cases where a longer form drives more qualified leads. If you have the bandwith on your team, test both kind of forms & try to manually gauge the quality of the leads you generate with a long form. Are the leads from the long form of higher quality? Or are they about equal?
3. Keep your forms relevant
   Me, me, me, me! Your forms are all about your visitors. Please don’t burden them with irrelevant questions like “Where did you hear about me?” or their “What is your industry”? . I get it — this is great information to have when reporting marketing metrics, but it’s also information that you can ask on a call or determine in your drip marketing. They’re not questions you need to ask on your form, and they’re not questions people answer honestly, as well.
4. Try wizards
   Imagine clicking on a PPC ad, landing on a page, and being greeted by a long form with 10 or more required fields. Eek! That can be intimidating. As you know, long forms can inhibit converions. But if 10 or more fields is essential, try breaking the questions up into a “wizard”. A form “wizard” is a multi-page form that gently guides the user through the conversion process. By breaking up longer forms into smaller chunks of digestible fields, wizards are a great way to boost engagement & lift conversions.

So remember: make you forms friendly, relevant, and streamlined, and watch your conversions soar!

About the Author: Megan Leap is Marketing Manager at ion interactive, a leading provider of advanced landing page software. As Marketing Manager, Megan manages email, webinar, and social media campaigns. She has extensive experience in conversion rate optimization and social media marketing, and when not championing high-ROI online marketing strategies, can be found running marathons across the U.S. She is also a frequent contributor to the Post-Click Marketing Blog. Follow Megan on Twitter: @MeganLeap