T H E F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

2 0 1 4

An inside look at conversion benchmarks across more than

400,000 online form users.

2

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

About This Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Form Conversion Data by Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Fields per Form & Conversion Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chart: Average Fields per Form

Chart: Form Conversion Rate (%)

Conversion Rates by Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Do “Smart” Forms Impact Conversion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chart: Use of Form Logic by Industry (%)

Peak Form Submission Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When is Your Audience Online? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Optimal Social Media Engagement Times

AnalyticsforOptimizedTraffic

Email Marketing and New Customer Acquisition

Chart:ConfirmationEmailsSentbyIndustry(%)

Submit Button Conversion Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Account Demographic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

External Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

4

5

7

8

9

10

12

13

14

15

Table of Contents

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

3

It started with a question. One you might have asked yourself or your colleagues, and one that the Formstack team receives quite often:

“How do I increase my conversion rate?”

Turning to the Internet to help find the answer, we noticed a lack of research on this topic. We also noticed a goldmine of data answering this very question within our own form building app.

Our team dug into over 450,000 accounts to establish benchmarks across industries and form uses. This report analyzed conversion rates from total traffic, including both paid and organic. We also included external research and an internal survey of 250 Formstack customers.

Why do form conversions matter?

A “conversion rate” measures the percent of people who visited a form against the total submission count. But why is this magic number so powerful? Well, the more people who fill out your form, the more leads your sales team has to nurture. So, your online forms can actually be a major source of revenue for your company. A poorly optimized form results in lost responses and a low ROI on your marketing initiatives.

This report aims to provide a benchmark look at a variety of form marketing metrics, from form length to optimal submission times. We hope that through this data, you can discover new marketing goals and ways to jumpstart your digital conversion rates.

About This Report

4

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

Form Conversion Data by Country

Over 31% of the forms built in the US are contact forms, which may attribute to the country’s low overall conversion rate. On average, contact forms convert at only 3%.

Forms created in Great Britain average 20 fields per form, the lowest of the four countries. According to Quick Sprout, eliminating just 7 fields on your form can result in a conversion lift of up to 120%.

Holy form fields, mate! Australians average 29 fields per form, the most of any country. However, 63% of their accounts leverage form logic, meaning they can hide certain fields on their form.

Canada’s second most common form button is “Soumettre” - French for “Submit.” Catering to multiple languages might attribute to Canada’s 9% conversion rate, the highest of the four countries.

Average Fields per Form & Conversion RateWhen reviewing your form’s conversion rates, remember that form types impact conversions. For example, if users click a link to enter a contest, they are probably ready to complete an entry form. But not everyone who visits your “Contact Us” page will need to submit a form; some might just be looking for your street address.

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

55

Average Fields Per Form: the average number of fields (name, email, etc.) that each type of form contains

Form Conversion Rate: the percentage of visitors who successfully submit the form

6

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

Average Fields per Form & Conversion Rate (Cont.)

Event RegistrationSurvey DonationContestOrder/Payment Contact

0

5

10

15

20

25

19

4

910

14

21

Average Fields per Form

Event RegistrationSurvey DonationContestOrder/Payment Contact

0

6

12

18

24

30

6%

3% 4%

28%

11%

21%

Form Conversion Rate (%)

Be as concise as possible. Many people are hesitant to share personal or sensitive information. If your form feels too invasive, users may not want to complete it.

Try changing form lengths or field content on your form. Test different form lengths, question types, or submit-button copy. See how your customers respond. Every industry (and every form!) is different; explore your options and see what works best.

Capture more responses with these 3 quick tips:

Give your form a clear value prop. Include a strong call to action with your form to communicate the benefit of filling it out. Your users will be much more likely to submit their information when they know they are getting something in return.

Conversion Rates by IndustryEver wonder how your conversion rates compare to other sectors? We calculated the percentage of successfully submitted forms for the top industries that use Formstack. We’ve aggregated that data so you can review industry-wide conversion rates.

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

7

A 2012 Marketing Sherpa report listed nonprofits as having a 2%

website conversion rate. Formstack nonprofits may be leveraging more

survey forms, which convert at 21 percent.

Take your conversions past industry standards.

Want to increase response rates, no matter what your industry? Here are some tips to reduce friction in the conversion process:

1. Customize your form to match your brand. Don’t confuse your users with a plain form.

2. Embed your forms on the top half of your website. Expose web traffic to your form without scrolling down the page.

3. Create targeted landing pages to generate qualified leads. Research industry keywords and build content to drive your audience.

4. Include a clear call to action. Avoid indecisive visitors by stating one clear benefit to completing the form.

8

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

Do “Smart” Forms Impact Conversion?Online forms can automatically show or hide questions based on how users respond. Formstack calls this feature “conditional logic.” When it’s in use, visitors only see the questions that are relevant to their previous answers. Dynamic forms translate into higher conversion rates because users aren’t intimidated by a long form with unnecessary questions.

42%62%

The Role of Branding in Form ConversionWe all know branding is important, but sometimes digital marketers fail to deliver online forms that are consistent with the rest of their messaging. Online forms that are embedded or branded can increase a customer’s trust—and their willingness to click “submit.” When our surveyed Formstack users create a branded experience for their customers, they can achieve stronger conversion rates.

62% said they get more conversions when they embed their form on their site.

42% say creating a custom theme maximizes their conversion rate.

“Keeping forms as short as possible is a best practice, but sometimes you really need extra

data in particular circumstances. That’s where conditional form logic is very handy.”

- Jay Baer, renowned marketer and founder of Convince and Convert

Use of Form Logic by Industry (%)

Peak Form Submission TimesIt’s form o’clock somewhere! (Yes, we went there.) The most active times of day for form submissions are displayed below. Spoiler alert: not many people are filling out surveys at 2 a.m. - sorry, night owls.

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

9

10

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

It’s good to know the popular submission times for your online forms, but it’s also good to know the participation habits of your audience. We thought these social engagement metrics were pretty interesting:

When Is Your Audience Online?

Pay Attention to Analytics for Optimized TrafficAll the form conversions in the world won’t matter if you are not connecting with your target audience. Leverage a tool like Google Analytics to understand where your customers live online. Test and analyze your form metrics, like traffic and referral sources, to create the perfect connection with your audience. You will win every time!

Optimal Social Media Engagement Times

Studies show that Facebook engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays, with the most sharing happening on Saturday. The highest Twitter engagement is midweek through the weekend. (Source: Buffer)

LinkedIn’s professional users are most active right before and right after work hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the biggest days for activity. (Source: Media Bistro)

Does mobile matter in form conversion? The short answer: yes! Each day, the average smartphone user reaches for his or her mobile device around

150 times. (Source: Mary Meeker)

Email Marketing Leads the Pack in New Customer AcquisitionEmail marketing is still one of the best ways to gain and engage customers. No matter how many billions of emails are sent each day, people are still opening, clicking, and engaging with marketing emails.

To maximize opens, send your promotional emails during the workday. On both desktop and mobile, most people are opening emails between 10am and 4pm.(Source: Harland Clarke)

According to a report from Custora, email marketing is the second best channel, next to organic search, for customer acquisition, with 6.8% customers acquired via email campaigns.

Are You Leveraging Confirmation E-mails?While confirmation emails are one step after the conversion, they can be an essential step in new customer engagement and retention. Is your industry using confirmation emails toconnect post-conversion?

In a survey of 250 Formstack

customers, 61% said email

marketing platforms drove the

most traffic to their forms.

61%

11

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

55% - Sports

44% - Religious

42% - Technology

37% - Nonprofit

30% - Government

20% - Higher Education

19% - Small Business

18% - Marketing/Consulting

18% - Media

0% 15% 30% 45% 60%

ConfirmationEmailsSentbyIndustry(%)

12

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

Submit Button Conversion MetricsThink about the moment when your user is hovering over the submit button. It’s the last opportunity to convince them to click, and it’s important. Don’t believe us? Check out these two lists below: the most popular Formstack submit buttons and the highest converting. As you can see, changing just one word on your website can result in 2.5 times the conversions.

Register

Submit Order

Subscribe

Send

Submit

Submit Form

Register

Submit Request

Envoyer*

Register Now!

Submit Application

Submit Registration5.33%

1.34%

7.78%

3.01%

7.75%

10.66%

18.72%

16.66%

15.67%

15.47%

10.66%

12.4%

Most Popular Highest Conversions

*”Envoyer” is French for “Send”

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

13

ConclusionWe’ve crunched a lot of numbers. We’ve analyzed the data sets. And we’ve discussed the tips and tricks that will make your form shine. It’s a lot to digest. So here’s where we recommend you start:

1. Do you know your own conversion rate? If not, go run the numbers and come back. Don’t worry. We’ll wait for you.

2. How does your conversion rate stack up within your industry? Maybe you thought a 15% completion rate was absolutely abysmal. But now that you see how it compares to other Higher Ed forms, you recognize you’re crushing it. Give yourself a pat! And then try to boost your overachievement.

3. Glance back through the form characteristics we discussed, such as number of fields, branding, mobile responsiveness, or submit button text. Which ones can you improve on your own forms? Dive in and make the changes. Test your forms to see which tweaks improve your conversion rate.

4. Analyze your promotion strategies. Have you done some research to make sure you’re targeting the best audience? How are you capitalizing on social media? Check out that clock graphic on page 9 and adjust your promotion schedule.

We all want to connect with our target audience and capture the highest conversion rates possible. Leverage the benchmark data in this report to optimize your form for this vital step in your sales process. Now go out there and convert some web traffic!

The Team Behind this ReportThe 2014 Form Conversions Report was compiled and analyzed by Formstack, a robust online form building solution. With an intuitive drag and drop interface, the platform makes it easy for marketers to create branded, mobile-ready web forms without writing code. With features like social media plugins, custom themes, and analytics, marketers can see an immediate lift in their conversion rates.

14

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

Total Accounts: 452,763Order/Payment Contact

Survey Donation

14.3% 66.8%

5.6% 5.9%

Contest

2.1%

Event Registration

5.3%

Number of Accounts by Form Type

Total Accounts: 452,763

Number of Accounts by Industry

Higher Ed Nonproft

Religious Sports

3.5% 11.4%

1.8% 4.9%

Small Business

15%

Government

2%

Media

5.4%

Technology

7%

Marketing/Consulting

49.1%

15

T H E 2 0 1 4 F O R M C O N V E R S I O N R E P O R T

External ResearchForm Conversion Data by Country

“Eliminating 7 fields on your form can result in a conversion lift of up to 120%.”

Source: Quick Sprout. “How to Optimize Contact Forms for Conversions.” Jan. 31, 2013.

Conversion Rates by Industry

“A 2012 Marketing Sherpa report listed nonprofits as having a 2% website conversion rate.”

Source: Marketing Sherpa. “2012 Website Optimization Research Report.” Oct. 2012.

Do “Smart” Forms Impact Conversions?

“Keeping forms as short as possible is a best practice, but sometimes you really need extra data in particular

circumstances. That’s where conditional form logic is very handy.”

Quote: Jay Baer, Convince and Convert. “11 Massively Doable Ways to Increase Conversions with Better

Forms.” May 23, 2014.

When Is Your Audience Online?

“Studies show that Facebook engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays, with the most

sharing happening on Saturday. The highest Twitter engagement is midweek through the weekend.”

Source: Buffer. “A Scientific Guide to Posting Tweets, Facebook Posts, Emails, and Blog Posts at the Best Time.”

Aug. 29, 2013.

“LinkedIn professional users are most active right before and right after work hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays

are the biggest days for activity.”

Source: Media Bistro. “The Best Times To Post On Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn And Pinterest.” Sept.

20, 2013.

“Each day, the average smartphone user reaches for his or her mobile device around 150 times.”

Source: Mary Meeker. “Internet Trends D11 Conference.” May 29, 2013.

“On both desktop and mobile, most people are opening emails between 10am and 4pm.”

Source: Harland Clarke; Exact Target Blog. “50 Email Marketing Tips and Stats for 2014.” Aug. 14, 2013.

“Email marketing is the second best channel next to organic search for customer acquisition, with 6.8%

customers acquired via email campaigns.”

Source: Custora; Marketingprofs.com. “Email and Search Deliver More Customers Than Social Media.” July 15,

2013.