They have to land somewhere. When your audience first gets to your website, you want them to take a specific action. That action might be becoming a lead or converting to a customer. Either way, you need a great landing page.
That’s easier said than done. Not just any landing page will do. Instead, it pays to follow a few tips designed to drive your users towards the conversion. Consider this your complete guide to creating a killer landing page.
Step 1: Communicate the Value
The best landing pages know exactly what they offer. Better, they can communicate that value with any visitors. Before you even start building, make sure you understand just what your visitors actually get out of the offer. Then, make sure every decision you make follows and communicates that value.
Step 2: Share the Benefits, not the Features
It’s tempting to focus on features. For an eBook, you might want to outline what the content will present. Instead, marketing always functions better when turning attention to your audience. Rather than sharing chapter titles, focus on the takeaways for your audience – the reason they’d want to read those chapters.
Step 3: Stick With a Singular Purpose
Don’t go into multiple directions. You might have heard about the Attention Ratio – ideally, if you have one conversion goal, everything on your page should go towards that one goal. That means limiting your language only to your audience filling out that sign up form.
Step 4: Keep it Short and Skimmable
Don’t write a novel. As much as you can, limit your paragraphs to 50 words or less. Better yet, take advantage of bulleted lists and subheaders. If you’ve focusing on a singular purpose, you shouldn’t have to write long paragraphs to get to the point.
Step 5: Remove Your On-Site Navigation
This one might seem counter-intuitive. In reality, it’s directly connected to step 3 above. Data shows that navigation on landing pages actually decreases your conversion rate. Instead, take out the navigation to make sure your audience only has one logical step – the lead generation form.
Step 6: Incorporate Graphs and Images
You can never go wrong with visuals. Images and graphics can increase your conversion rates by as much as 80%. They communicate your value and benefits without requiring close attention, reinforcing your message as you drive your audience towards becoming leads.
Step 7: Share Credible and Relevant Testimonials
Testimonials from current customers should be a part of any landing page. Your audience trust their peers, perhaps more than they trust you. To make sure that’s the case, make sure your testimonials are credible and believable, and relevant to the specific offer you’re sharing.
Step 8: Build in Social Proof
Testimonials aren’t the only social proof you can leverage. Other content opportunities might include expert reviews, or even average reviews on a related product. Again, though, make sure that you only include third-party content that’s relevant to the specific landing page and value.
Step 9: Consider Using an Explainer Video
Trouble explaining exactly what your audience gets? Consider turning to videos. One survey found that 72% of businesses have experienced better conversion rates because of explainer videos. These short, animated videos offer another form of social proof that keeps your audience on your page and convinces them to sign up.
Step 10: Limit Your Form Fields
Sure, you want as much information as possible from your new leads. Just don’t go overboard. Limit your form fields to only the information you really need – you can always get more later. Research shows that 4-7 fields are the sweet spot.
Step 11: Test a 2-Step Opt-In Form
If you do have to ask for more fields, or even if you are trying to keep it short, consider a two-step form. This alternative doesn’t show all fields at once, making it less daunting for your audience to start filling out. Once they’ve started, they’ll be likely to complete it.
Step 12: Use Auto-Focused Fields to Direct Attention
The key to conversions is making it as easy on your users as possible. When they’re filling out a form, you can leverage autofocus, which highlights the fields they’re currently focusing on. That directs their attention, and makes them more likely to finish the step.
Step 13: Optimize Your CTA Placement
At the end of your form comes the call to action button. Does it, though? You might want to experiment with just where that CTA button lives. Eye tracking studies have shown that the more uncluttered the space around your form and button is, the more conversions you’ll get.
Step 14: Mention Your Offer in Your CTA
It’s easy to stick with submit. You shouldn’t take the easy way out, though. CTA buttons that are specific to your offer will outperform others. Rather than simply saying download, consider Download the Conversion eBook. That reinforces what your audience gets, making them more likely to work towards it.
Step 15: Optimize For Mobile Users
Mobile-first indexing is here. The majority of internet users now browse on mobile devices. Your landing pages absolutely need to account for that fact. Make it responsive, dynamically adjusting to the right screen size. When that happens, be sure that the form appears in the right spot, after some of the initial content convinces your users to sign up.
Step 16: Create Urgency With a Timer When Appropriate
Consumer psychology suggests that your audience is more likely to take option if something seems scarce. On your landing page, you can use that to your advantage. Set a dynamic timer on your landing page that counts down as your audience visits it. Just be sure that the timer is applicable, and the special offer actually does expire after it’s finished.
Step 17: Streamline the User Journey
Your thank you/redirect page should actually be a part of your landing page. Make sure that, once your audience converts, you give them exactly what they need and tell them what comes next. That way, you streamline the user journey to make sure that your new leads actually become customers.
Get Started in Creating Killer Landing Pages
You don’t know what you have until you build it. A killer landing page can only be possible once you start building it. So what are you waiting for?
Your marketing will benefit significantly from this effort. From PPC campaigns to SEO, landing pages can optimize your web performance, lead generation, and business growth. Contact us to get started on the process, get advice on better landing pages, and build a marketing strategy designed to help you succeed.
