10 Tips For Creating A Great PPC Enquiry Form

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April 7th, 2008 by Click Consult

Everyone hates filling out a form, but, for many companies, the whole purpose of their Pay-Per-Click (PPC campaign) is to get users to complete an enquiry, registration or quotation form. If this is what constitutes a conversion for you, here are 10 helpful hints to boost your conversion rate and the number of completed forms you get from PPC:

1. The number one, golden rule is LESS IS MORE! It goes without saying that a lengthy form with several pages to complete is off-putting. The more information you obtain during the follow up call/e-mail and the less information you ask for to begin with, the better … it is all about getting the initial enquiry and not letting a paid click go to waste. Remove all fields except the ones that are 100% absolutely necessary.

2. The best forms are short, concise and can be seen in their entirety on just one webpage … without scrolling down.

3. If you do have to move onto two or three pages with a form, then the number of pages that a user has to go through to get to the end should be clearly displayed (for example, Step 1 > 2 > 3 > Done!).

4. Mention how long the form will take to complete. This is especially important if your form moves onto more than one page. For example, “To make a free, no obligation enquiry, complete our quick 60 second form!”

5. Ask for 1 main phone number, not 3 (i.e. home, work and mobile). If you need the visitor’s address, do not pad out the form with several fields (i.e. house number, address line 1, address line 2, city, county, postcode, country) when 2 two will do (first line of your address and postcode). All you are doing is making the form appear longer and more of a chore to complete. Trim the fat!

6. If there is a field that the user might not understand, have a “What is this?” link/pop-up beside this field to explain what the user needs to put here. Another good idea is to have something like “Need help with this form? Call 0800 123 4567” top right of the form.

7. Before we die, we will all fill out hundreds, possibly thousands, of forms online and on paper. Give people an incentive to fill out yours and not someone else’s. Your company’s Unique Selling Points (USPs) above the form will encourage people to take the time.

8. Clearly display what fields are mandatory and what fields are voluntary. If a field is voluntary and not “100% absolutely necessary”, then what the heck is it doing there?!

9. Drop down menu’s are better than open-ended questions. For example, rather than “Please tell us what service you are interested in …” you should have “Please select one of our services from the drop down menu.”

10. Tip number 10 is the most fundamental, cardinal sin of all. Not having a quick enquiry form in the first place. Never, ever have an e-mail link in your ‘Contact Us’ section. People need to be guided and told what information you require, field by field. Moreover, when a user clicks on your e-mail link and opens up a blank e-mail, you have no control over what kind of information they will provide you with.

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