An ad has to send people somewhere. For a business that wants enquiries, the two main choices are a form that opens inside Facebook or Instagram, and a page on your own website. Meta calls the first an instant form. The form is easier to send, so more of the people who tap it finish it. The website asks more of people, so those who enquire tend to mean it. Which is better depends on what you sell and how fast you follow up.
The two side by side#
| Form inside Facebook or Instagram | Your website | |
|---|---|---|
| What the person does | Taps the ad. A form opens in the app, and their name and contact details may already be filled in. They send it | Taps the ad, leaves the app, reads your page and enquires there |
| Effort for them | Very little | More |
| What you need | A Facebook Page and a privacy policy link | A page that loads fast on a phone and has a form or a number |
| Tracking | Meta counts each form itself | You need the Meta pixel on your site, or Meta has no way to count enquiries there |
| Where enquiries arrive | Inside Meta. Download them or connect them to your own system | In your inbox or booking system |
| The main risk | People send it without thinking, and some never answer | Fewer people get as far as enquiring |
What does the data say?#
Less than you would hope. You will often read that forms give cheaper leads and websites give better ones. We looked for a published measurement behind that and found one large study, from 2019.
WordStream, in a study published in February 2019, compared more than 3,000 of its clients' campaigns over 60 days, with about $9.5 million in spend. Campaigns using lead forms turned 12.54% of clicks into leads on average, against 10.47% for campaigns sending people to a landing page. The average cost per lead was higher for forms, at $17.98 against $13.26. In a separate look at WordStream's own account, landing-page campaigns had a 5.7% higher rate of turning into a qualified lead.
So in that data, forms converted more clicks and still cost more per lead. That is the opposite of the usual claim, and it is seven years old. The fair conclusion is that neither route is reliably cheaper. Test both if you can, and judge by how many enquiries become customers.
How can you make form leads better?#
Meta offers form types.
- More volume is the default. It is quick to send on a phone.
- Higher intent adds a screen where people review their details before sending. That removes many careless enquiries.
Two more things help. Add one question the person must type an answer to, such as their postcode or what they need. And call quickly. A form lead is someone who was interested for a minute.
Collect the leads often. Meta says lead data can be downloaded for up to 90 days after the form was sent. After that it can no longer be downloaded.
Do you need a website to run Facebook ads?#
No. Three kinds of ad need no website at all.
- Lead forms. Meta says they collect information from people without requiring them to leave Facebook or Instagram.
- Message ads. These open a chat with your business in Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp.
- Call ads. These show a "Call now" button that opens the phone's keypad with your number filled in.
You do need a Facebook Page, an ad account and a payment method. See What you need before your first Facebook ad and Instagram ads without a website.
Do you need a pixel?#
Only if you send people to your website and want Meta to know what they did there. Meta describes the pixel as a piece of code you put on your website to measure the actions people take on it. Forms, messages and calls happen inside Meta's apps, so they are counted without it.
If you do send people to your site, set the pixel up, or Meta has no way to count the enquiries made there. See How to track leads from Facebook ads on your website.
Which should you choose?#
- Choose a form if the job is simple to describe, you can ring back the same day, and you have no website or a weak one.
- Choose your website if the job is costly or needs explaining, your page is good, and you would sooner have five serious enquiries than fifteen mixed ones.
- Choose messages if people usually ask you a question first.
- Choose calls if the work is urgent.
What Madder does#
Madder is an AI agent that sets up and looks after Facebook and Instagram ads for a small business. Today its ads send people to your own page. You give Madder the link, it reads the page, and the ads it builds from photos you upload lead there. The campaign is set to bring visits to that page and is not yet optimised for enquiries. It does not set up forms inside Facebook, message ads or call ads today.
That makes counting important. Madder shows a lead count only after you have confirmed which recorded actions are real enquiries, and it can create the Meta pixel in your ad account. You still add the code to your site. See Deciding what counts as a lead and What is the Meta pixel?. The whole sequence is at How Madder works.
Questions people ask#
Are Facebook lead forms better than a landing page?
Neither is reliably better. Forms are easier to send, so a larger share of clicks become enquiries. A website filters for people who read first. The one large published comparison, from 2019, found forms converted more clicks and cost more per lead.
Do I need a website to run Facebook ads?
No. Lead forms, message ads and call ads all work without one. You need a Facebook Page, an ad account and a payment method.
Do I need a pixel for Facebook lead ads?
Not for forms, messages or calls, which Meta counts itself. You need the pixel when the ad sends people to your website and you want enquiries there to be counted.
Why are my lead form leads low quality?
A form with details already filled in is easy to send without thought. Use the "Higher intent" form type, add one typed question, and call back fast.