There is more to lead generation than just coming up with promotions. The landing page has to be just right with the layout, design, content, and form appealing to the maximum number of users. Getting qualified leads greatly diminishes with poorly designed web page forms that do not visually appeal to users and certainly do not encourage them to fill out the form. With ineffective forms, chances of securing leads decrease, so does the prospect of lead scoring and nurturing to convert them into actual sales.

1. SIMPLE WEBPAGE FORM RULES
FOR MAXIMUM LEAD GENERATION

2. INTRODUCTION
There is more to lead generation than just coming up with promotions. The landing
page has to be just right with the layout, design, content, and form appealing to the
maximum number of users. Getting qualified leads greatly diminishes with poorly
designed web page forms that do not visually appeal to users and certainly do not
encourage them to fill out the form. With ineffective forms, chances of securing
leads decrease, so does the prospect of lead scoring and nurturing to convert them
into actual sales.

3. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
As with any prime estate, you must ensure total visibility. The layout of the sign-up
form should preferably be entirely above the fold, so that it is noticeable at a glance.
With responsive web design it may no longer important to place content above the
fold as it once was, but your form should definitely be placed high on your page
which requires as little scrolling as possible. It is easier to convince the user to fill
out the form when he/she can see how little effort is needed in giving the little
information. But the user will lose interest if he somehow foresees that further
information will be requested further down the page.

4. IDEAL LENGTH OF THE FORM
The form is the heart of the landing page because it is the key to providing leads.
It is a thin line when deciding on the form length, with too little information, it may
not be enough to help segment your leads and fill your CRM data. Initiating
contact with a prospect in the right time with complete information may help close
the sale. But it is riskier to ask for more information on lead generation forms. A
long form will most likely turn off a user from filling it out, while including a longer
form may result in a higher quality of lead generation with more information. So
there is no one ideal length of the form, you should design your form length on
where your potential sign-ups are placed in the lead nurturing process. When it
comes to generating new leads, four to seven fields should suffice but when leads
are close to being sales qualified, they will be willing to give more information in
exchange for more content.

5. LESS IS MORE, WITH FORM FIELDS
When it comes to lead capturing, including less form fields work better in prompting
users to fill it out. A good lead generation form will have a variant of the following
fields such as first name, last name, email address, company and job function.
Besides contact info, you can include a question that allows you to typify whether
the user is a strong lead, and another question which helps you assess the user’s
actual need for your product. Conversion rates seem to go up with shorter forms.
Marketo, the marketing software company did an A/B test of short forms vs. long
forms, wherein the shorter forms performed significantly better than the long forms.
With self submitted data, studies have found that people tend to lie when asked for
more information. A lead with some truthful information is better than having no
leads. You can nurture the initial lead with useful content in the future, to gradually
get qualified information needed.

6. DESIGN APPEAL
When it comes to sign-up forms, design can be a crucial factor in encouraging the
visitor to fill it up. Try and jazz up your page with the use of contrasting colors, make
it easy to navigate, and most importantly, the form easy to fill in. Do not overdo it as
visual clutter can be off-putting for users. Additionally, with clutter or too many large
images the page will take longer to load up and make users impatient. Studies have
shown that a single second of added page-load time leads to a 16 percent reduction
in customer satisfaction, over 11 percent fewer page views, and a 7 percent
decrease in conversions.

7. EASE SECURITY CONCERNS
You may find sales resistance among many users when prompted for any kind of
personal information, so it may be wise to adopt different ways of allaying their
security fears on your lead generation form. You may include a link to your privacy
policy to assure users that sensitive information will be protected and handled with
care. If you have space do include the testimonials of your current customers,
which can work as social proof of the value of your website and is very effectual in
increasing your conversions. Good standing endorsements from third party security
organizations are a good way of easing the security concerns of users and bringing
them closer to clicking that sign-up button.

8. RIGHT CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTON
Using the correct call-to-action button at the bottom of the form is central in making
users feel comfortable sharing their personal information using the form. Bin the
form submission pushbutton ‘Submit’ for the less threatening button with the label
‘Click Here’. The call-to action buttons should describe the action a lead is taking,
such as ‘register’ for a podcast, or ‘sign up’ for a newsletter, etc.

9. Global Directive recommends using these simple rules when
it comes to designing forms for lead generation. But it is also
important to continuously evaluate your landing page
performance and also opt for an occasional A/B test to back
up your form choices, for increasing your customer base.