Your website’s landing page has one absolute goal: Get customers, or at least get leads that you can convert into customers. The most integral part of making this happen is including a form in which your visitor can provide contact information.

That sounds like a simple enough affair, but how effective your lead generation is actually can depend heavily on how this form is designed. According to recent surveys, most marketers consider the lead-capture form to have a very significant impact on website performance.

You have a very short window of time to capture anyone’s attention when that person visits your page — many experts put this window at a mere six seconds. This rule is something to consider when designing your lead generation form. If the form seems too arduous or time-consuming to fill out, most visitors won’t even bother.

The key is finding a balance between getting the information you need and keeping the form simple enough that it won’t scare off your visitor. At Ring Ring Marketing, we can help you determine what the best balance is for your particular site.

A recent study indicated that the optimal number of fields to include in your form is seven. Whether that’s the best for you depends on your site and your needs, but it’s a pretty good number. Include more, and you’ll likely see a significant drop-off in conversions. Include less, and you’re in danger of missing out on valuable information you might need.

Whatever you do, don’t get into the double digits: That’s as good as telling visitors you don’t consider their time valuable. They’re providing you information, not taking the SAT.

Keep in mind that there’s a big difference between what information you’d like to have and what you need to have. Name and email address are the two requirements, obviously. Depending on your type of business, you might ask for at least one phone number, zip code and/or and some other demographic information, such as household income or age range.

There are many other aspects to consider, but those are the basics. Ultimately, one of the best things you can do is review your landing page as if you were simply a visitor: Would you want to fill out that form? What advantage will you get from providing your contact info? If your responses aren’t overwhelmingly positive, you’ll want to make some changes.