Which is Better for You?
Should you force all leads from all traffic sources to complete all registration fields like full name, phone, email address, etc.? Or, should you use our SmartPath technology, which tailors the opt-in process to the different traffic sources and allows leads to NOT have to complete all fields?
The goal of this page is to help you decide. There are definitely pros & cons to each method, and we'll cover them below.
First, let's set a couple of definitions for purposes of this article:
Forced Registration - This process is what the majority of websites use. They present their traffic with some benefit for registering. In our case, "free MLS access". All visitors from all traffic sources are then asked to complete a web form to register for access (opt-in). The same format is used for all traffic. And it is an 'all-or-nothing' proposition.
In other words, forced registration forces traffic to either fill out ALL fields or leave.
SmartPath Leads Registration - This is our high-converting proprietary registration process. It smartly treats the different traffic sources uniquely with the goal of reducing form friction as much as possible. It attempts to capture as much data as possible, but it DOES NOT force all leads to complete all fields.
To help you make a logical choice, let's set some context…
It's Getting Tough! The State of Online Lead Generation...
Our Mission is to Keep Conversion Rates High
Recent 3rd party research confirms what we've seen across the board on hundreds of sites where we manage traffic: online lead conversion rates are declining!
In fact, results from studies by many reputable sources are producing summaries similar to this study by CSO Insight:
"The study's findings were based on more than 100 metrics gathered from 585 companies worldwide. CSO found that 'first-discussion conversion rates'—that is, the percentage of qualified leads—have been eroding over the past five years."
Inman recently released some survey results that also confirmed that it is particularly ugly for real estate agents:
"...7 out of 10 (agents) put their website conversion rate at 3% or less."
3%! REALLY!?
That means the typical agent gets 3 leads for every 100 visitors to their site. Although not terribly exciting, just a few years back, that number was more in the 5%-7% range. On the high end, there were some real estate platforms that were focused on lead gen, which would produce 10%-12%.
But things have changed.
One thing that really put us on the map is our industry-leading conversion rates. As such, we are still higher than the previously mentioned ranges. However, we too have felt the sting of these declining lead capture rates.
Why?
Because it drives everything - with higher conversion rates, the same amount of traffic will produce: more leads, lower costs, and ultimately more closings.
We've been actively managing traffic and providing lead generation services for years. We've spent several million dollars on live traffic. Part of this spend was budgeted to constantly test 'theories’ and to develop the best lead conversion practices.
The biggest challenge is getting maximum quality data without creating too much form friction.
Form friction?
In other words, you want to make it as enticing & easy as can be for someone to fill out a form on your site.
Because it's so important: there's literally a science dedicated to reducing form friction. Most of it has to do with testing and changing things like: the number of fields, the form's copy, the button text, the color, the layout, etc.
These form components are all continually 'tweaked' to try to get conversion rates high. But as the studies cited above show, it's not enough.
Here, we've taken reducing form friction and increasing lead conversion rates to an entirely new level.
SmartPath Registration Details
Process Map
Our cutting-edge SmartPath Lead technology increases conversions and gets you more leads at a lower cost using two main tools:
Advanced Multi-part Registration
Our lead generation process gathers information in stages, providing multiple opportunities for conversion instead of a single point of success or failure.
We obtain consumer information through a carefully designed, three-part process that encourages completion. Even if a prospect drops off at any stage of this multi-step opt-in, the data collected up to that point is processed, and a lead is still generated.
SmartPath Multi-type Registration
Instead of just focusing on a one-size-fits-all optimal opt-in design and format, we've created "SmartPaths".
These SmartPaths provide unique and separate ways (paths) that increase the response of each of the different types of traffic. This leads to high levels of conversion.
Here's a quick overview of how we treat the 3 main sources of traffic:
Path 1: Cold Traffic - For Google Adwords, Bing, and Organic Traffic, we use the detailed, elegant multi-part lead capture process detailed above.
Path 2: Facebook Traffic - in many cases, we reduce "form friction" altogether with this source of traffic by generating a lead into our platform with 2 taps, WITHOUT even leaving Facebook! (HUGE!)
Bottom line: tap. tap. lead!
Miami is a competitive market, and even on honed-in campaigns, leads normally run in the $14-$19 range.
But our new SmartPath Leads are converting at $6.58 a lead!
That's less than 1/2 of what it normally costs. And that's a whopping 37% conversion rate!
Path 3: Friends & Family - We think it's crazy to ask Friends and Family to go to your site and "register". We've made it very simple for you to upload a list. Then our platform will create an account and automatically send your friends & family engaging emails encouraging them to use your site for all of their real estate needs.
What About Forced Registration?
Forced Registration Opt-In Process
This is the normal one-size-fits-all registration process. We've always been known for our high-converting pages, and even in this case, you can see that we do multi-part registration. We break the opt-in process down into mini-steps. This helps to keep conversion as high as possible using this method. First, we engage them in what they want: to perform a home search. Then we ask for all the details. If they don't want to provide all details, they don't get access, and you don't get a lead.
Pros & Cons - Forced Registration
FORCED PROS
- All leads will have name, phone & email (we perform validation, but some fake data will get through)
- Uniformity of leads - all will look the same
- Possibly easier to work with as they've already shown that they will jump a hurdle even with form friction
FORCED CONS
- You'll lose roughly 1/2 the total possible leads by 'forcing' them to provide all data
- Cost per lead will be much higher
- Perfect data is still not possible
- Less overall opportunities bog down the lead's initial user experience
Pros & Cons - SmartPath Registration
SMARTPATH PROS
- Lead registration rates will be roughly twice as high
- More leads
- Lower cost per lead
- More opportunities
- Chance to work with valid leads that only want to provide partial data AT FIRST that you would've otherwise turned away
- Your advertising budget will go much further
- Approx. 1/3 of leads will provide email only, 1/3 will produce the same as the forced method, 1/3 will provide additional info such as: time to move?, pre-approved?, etc.
SMARTPATH CONS
- Roughly 1/3 of the leads will be 'email only' at first (not really a con because of our DataMiner Pro add-on)
Our Recommendation
Our recommendation is to use SmartPath Registration. It converts 76% more leads than forced registration. That means roughly twice the amount of leads with the same amount of traffic. Your budget will go much further, and you'll have more opportunities.
There are too many benefits with SmartPath to sacrifice by being rigid and 'forcing' all leads to fill out name, email & phone. Especially when you consider that you'll be generating a nice blend of leads. Some will be name, phone & email. Some will be name, phone, mail, and more data, such as when they're looking to move, are they're pre-approved, etc. And some will be email only.
Our system will automatically gather more data on many of the email-only leads, so the SmartPath option really is a no-brainer.