The short answer
If the platform is optimising towards form submissions, it will find people who fill in forms. That is not the same as people who buy.
The fix is to define qualified separately from submitted, measure it, and feed it back so the optimisation has something better to aim at.
Why it happens
| Change | Effect on quality |
|---|---|
| Broader targeting | More reach, less intent |
| Optimising for form fills | Finds form fillers |
| Shorter form | Lower barrier for everyone |
| Generic ad copy | Attracts the unqualified |
| Prominent free offer | Attracts people wanting the free thing |
The third row is the awkward one, because shortening a form is usually good advice. It raises volume from both qualified and unqualified visitors, so quality falls as a proportion even while good enquiries increase.
Define qualified before you measure it
- Write down what makes an enquiry worth a sales conversation.
- Make it something the person handling enquiries can apply in seconds.
- Record the judgement against every enquiry, consistently.
- Report on qualified enquiries as the headline number.
- Review the definition occasionally so it stays honest.
Point two is what makes it survive. A qualification process taking five minutes per enquiry stops happening within a fortnight.
Feed it back
Ad platforms optimise towards whatever you tell them is valuable. If they only know about form submissions, that is what you get more of.
- Send qualification back to the platform where it supports it
- Distinguish qualified from unqualified explicitly
- Include value where you can estimate it
- Allow enough time for the change to take effect
- Watch volume fall and quality rise, which is the intended outcome
Expect total volume to drop. That is the point, and it is worth warning whoever reads the report before it happens.
Qualify in the ad, not just after
Copy that states who the service is for filters before the click and costs nothing. Vague copy maximises clicks and minimises relevance.
Mentioning a starting price or a minimum engagement removes a lot of unsuitable enquiries before they consume anyone's time.