Filter non-relevant leads to improve conversion quality in Marketo and Google Ads
Challenge
DHL Express Americas faced a persistent issue in their business account request journey. A form intended for business inquiries was receiving a high volume of submissions from non-business visitors. Google Ads campaigns amplified the problem by sending broad traffic to the form and counting every submission as a conversion. The result was inflated conversion reporting that did not reflect real business intent. Performance metrics became harder to trust, ad spend was more difficult to optimize, and sales follow-up was diluted by low-fit requests. Non-business submissions also introduced noise into lead data, making it harder to assess true campaign effectiveness and make confident budget decisions. Before intervention, there was no mechanism to qualify or redirect non-business visitors. All submissions were treated the same, regardless of relevance to the intended business audience.
Solution
We introduced conditional submission logic directly within the Adobe Marketo Engage form to solve the qualification issue at the source. The submit button is now hidden by default and only appears when a visitor confirms they represent a business. If a visitor is identified as a non-relevant lead, the form cannot be submitted. Instead, they are guided to an alternative journey designed for non-business users, including a small discount voucher as an incentive to engage with a more relevant offer. This was implemented using custom CSS and JavaScript on the Marketo landing page. The CSS keeps the submit button hidden until the condition is met, preventing flicker or accidental access during page load. The JavaScript monitors the business field in real time and updates the form’s behavior immediately as the visitor interacts. We chose this approach because it solves the problem without requiring a redesign of the existing form or landing page. It also maintains a positive experience for non-business visitors by offering a clear next step, rather than simply blocking progress. The solution is modular and can be adapted to other forms and qualification scenarios, including both dropdown and radio-button fields.
Impact
The new qualification logic improves lead quality by ensuring only relevant business account requests reach the sales pipeline. It also makes Google Ads conversions more representative of genuine business intent, which improves the reliability of campaign reporting. With cleaner conversion data, marketing spend can be aligned more closely with real business outcomes, reducing wasted budget on irrelevant leads. Operationally, sales and marketing teams spend less time filtering unsuitable requests and more time on high-potential opportunities. Data quality improves, supporting clearer reporting and future optimization. Post-launch metrics are not yet available. The expected impact is a cleaner lead process, improved campaign ROI, and a better experience for both business and non-business visitors.