Landing pages are one the most important aspects of your online marketing strategy because they are the first impression most new visitors get of your website. Through pay-per-click (PPC) ads, email campaigns, and social media promotions, you want to direct visitors to a landing page, rather than your homepage. Why not just direct them to your homepage, you may ask? Your homepage is a general entry to your business, and visitors cannot easily find your intended conversion path associated with your marketing campaign within the homepage.
Landing pages are a must for lead generation because these pages have one main purpose: converting visitors into leads. When users land on this page via PPC ads, this is due to a specific keyword search. Your landing page’s content must closely match your PPC campaign, which is associated with certain keywords. However, if your landing pages are not attractive or do not present a clear call-to-action (CTA), visitors will leave the page, and will do so rather quickly. This is why it should be optimized in a way that will increase your conversion rate. Don’t send your visitor back down the ladder of the diving board by making them press the back button. Follow these 5 steps below to ensure your visitors will leap off the diving board and dive into the water (complete your call to action).
What are the top conversion elements on a landing page?
1. Page Headline
Tell users why they are here. Your headline should closely match your campaign. They have clicked on an ad or link within an email or from your website for a reason. Use an informative headline that sums up the page’s purpose. Make the headline big! If you cannot grab the attention of the visitor with your headline, you’re doing it wrong. Really. The headline will be the first thing visitors will read, and you only have a few seconds to catch your visitor’s attention. Make them want to stay on the page; give them a reason to continue. And be specific!
2. Call to Action
One of the most important conversion elements of your landing page is the call-to-action. As the term suggests, a call-to-action prompts visitors to take an action, such as subscribe to your mailing list or newsletter, make a purchase, sign up for a consultation or event, or download your product or a whitepaper/guide. The call-to-action should be prominently placed on your landing page, with the benefits of your offer explicitly stated. The CTA is usually a button, most likely within a signup form. It should stand out with contrasting colors, and it should be the only action someone can take on that page. The message should be clear and state what the user is getting. Examples of a clear and concise CTA include:
- “Download Now”
- “Sign up!”
- “Contact Us Today!”
- “Register Today”
It is best to start your call to action text with a verb; this further prompts users to take action.
3. Landing Page Layout
The layout of the landing page is also a very important conversion element. The landing page layout should be such that people have an easy time reading through the page. The content should be relevant to what your target audience wants and you should therefore do thorough research before developing the landing page. Know the goal of your landing page before creating. Consider creating a basic layout before pursuing the design of the page.
Headlines and content should direct the visitor to the CTA. The content should be helpful, meaning it should explain such things as how the product or service solves the visitor’s problem. Present the content in a short, concise manner, using bullet points or checklists, which support the call to action. Add arrows directing a visitor to the call to action. Essentially, all eyes should be compelled to the call to action! Remove elements from your landing page, such as navigation, sidebars, widgets/modules, etc. Since you are directing your visitors from a campaign to your landing page, instead of your homepage, you don’t want them to click through your website, rather, you want them to fill out a form to sign up or download something. So remove any links that do not support your offer. You have control over what visitors see and you should, therefore, ensure that all roads lead to conversion. Don’t forget to include your logo on the layout of your landing page, letting the visitor know where they are and to which company the page is associated.
4. Visual Appearance
Use whitespace around your call to action. This will help it stand out from the rest of the page’s content. Support your call to action with a relevant image or video. However, avoid distracting your visitors from the main goal of your landing page with too much visual content. As stated earlier, use contrasting colors. For the background of your page, use one color, perhaps different tones of that color, but make your CTA stand out. The more your call to action stands out with the use of whitespace and a high contrast color, the more likely a visitor is to be drawn to fill out the form or click on the button. There’s a reason pools are often designed with white concrete around them; the contrast of the water makes you want to jump in!
5. Social Proof
Last, but not least, provide credibility of your company with elements such as testimonials, awards, endorsements, case studies, facts, some of your valued clients, etc. Providing a free download? Provide stats on how many downloads there have been and what people might be saying about the download. The type of social proof depends on the goal of your landing page. Provide just a few examples; you don’t want to overload the user with all the customer testimonies you’ve ever had. However, do not present these in a way that will distract visitors from the call to action!
Your landing page should not be like any other web page; it should stand out and have a clear message! Make sure to follow these tips to have a landing page as efficient as possible.
