Google Ads · QUICK HIT
Google Ads lead forms can flag qualified leads
Google's help page describes qualifying responses for lead forms on Search campaigns. You pick which multiple-choice answers count, and a matching submission is tagged as a qualified lead.
Jerry Quin2 min read1 source
Illustration: The Keywordless.
The short answer
What changed
In a lead form on a Search campaign, you can pick which multiple-choice answers count as qualifying. When someone submits one of those answers, Google tags the lead as qualified.
Who has it
Lead form assets on Search campaigns. Google says qualifying responses are available for Search campaigns only.
What I'd do this week
Pick your best lead-gen Search campaign and decide what one qualifying answer would look like, such as budget range or timeline. Then add the question to a lead form.
How it works
When you create a lead form or edit an existing one for a Search campaign, you can add a multiple-choice question from Google's list or suggest your own custom question. Google's example is "Which model are you interested in?" You then pick one or more of the answers to act as the qualifying response.
Google says a submission with a qualifying answer is tagged as a qualified lead automatically.
What shows up in your data
Each lead submission gets a Lead stage in the data that goes to your CSV, webhook and API. Google also says that once a qualifying question is in an active campaign, a conversion called "Lead form - Response qualified (Google-hosted)" is automatically added to the Qualified lead goal.
Two things to know before you edit
Qualifying questions are required and can't be marked optional. If you want to use qualifying responses and your current form has no qualifying questions, you'll need to add them. Google says that may require creating a new form in some cases.
What I'd do this week
These are my suggestions, not steps from Google.
- Pick the answer that separates a real lead from a casual one. A clear question is easier to act on than several vague ones.
- You may see fewer submissions, since the question is required. Judge the form on qualified leads, not total leads.
- Check your goal settings. The conversion lands in the Qualified lead goal, so look at how that goal is used before you change bidding around it.
- Wait before swapping forms. If you need a new form, run it next to the old one long enough to compare lead quality.
Jerry Quin
Jerry Quin is the pen name of a paid media practitioner who has managed Google Ads accounts at an agency for 10 years. He writes about Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, ChatGPT Ads, and the rest of paid media and digital marketing, from what's rolling out to what he'd actually do about it.