Smart Forms, Better Leads: A Paid Search A/B Test

A high-impact A/B test that redesigned Credly’s paid search landing page form to filter out low-quality leads and boost conversion rates. By implementing a multi-step form, we improved audience segmentation, reduced cost-per-lead, and attracted more qualified B2B prospects.

Year
2025

Client
Credly

🧩 The Challenge

Credly’s paid search landing page was attracting two very different audiences:

  • 🎯 Credential Issuers – Our ideal customers: HR teams, learning leaders, and program managers from organizations looking to issue digital credentials

  • 🚫 Badge Earners (Students/Individuals) – Existing end-users mistakenly thinking the form was for support inquiries

This mismatch led to wasted ad spend and lower lead quality. The goal was to prevent earners from filling out the form and ensure the page clearly signaled that it was intended for organizational decision-makers.

💡 The Objective

To redesign the form experience in a way that:

  • Deters individual badge earners from completing the form

  • Signals the intent and relevance for B2B buyers only

  • Improves conversion rate among the right audience

  • Lowers CPL by filtering out bad leads before submission

🔬 The Experiment Setup

⚙️ Execution Process

We launched an A/B test across Google Ads paid search traffic using two versions of the lead form

Variant A (Control):Full form displayed upfront with all fields visible — easy to complete, but prone to confusion from individual badge earners.

Variant B (Test): Progressive multi-step form starting with a program-level question ("How many people do you expect to credential?") to immediately signal B2B intent.

Identified high volume of non-qualified badge earner submissions via CRM tagging.

  1. Hypothesized that a more intentional flow would filter them out.

  2. Developed a step form with qualifying language and a slower entry ramp.

  3. Split test ran via Google Ads with 50/50 traffic.

  4. Lead quality validated post-submission with Sales Ops team.

🧪 Results & Impact

The redesigned step form resulted in a 64% reduction in low-intent badge earner submissions and a 2.5× increase in close rates compared to the original form, significantly improving pipeline efficiency. Conversion rates rose by 22%, and cost per lead dropped by 15%, allowing us to drive more qualified leads while reducing wasted spend. By opening with a qualifying question and spreading inputs across multiple steps, the form experience signaled that it was intended for organizational buyers, effectively filtering out individual support inquiries. The improved lead quality enabled our sales team to focus on high-intent prospects and move faster down the funnel. Building on the success of this test, additional A/B experiments are now underway across landing pages and ad copy for Credly, with the goal of continuously improving keyword quality and campaign performance.