Landing pages are web pages designed with only one goal – to turn visitors into conversions.
Whether that conversion is a newsletter sign-up, a direct purchase or the booking of a face-to-face appointment, a landing page should focus on that task and nothing else.
The benefits of landing pages
So why should you be using landing pages on your website? Won’t the site itself do the trick? Well although your site may well contain all the information necessary for visitors to make informed decisions and purchases, it will probably take time to navigate and won’t necessarily hit the right buttons for the right people at the right time.
Here are a few reasons why landing pages work so well:
- They allow for no distractions – once a potential customer lands on your page, you can focus your content and minimise the chance of them clicking elsewhere.
- They save time for your customers – rather than spending time searching around your site, you can deliver what they want right then, with fewer clicks.
- Gives your visitors exactly what they want – by using landing sites in conjunction with paid ads, you can ensure that when a user clicks on your ad, they are able to access exactly the information they want and make an informed decision.
To create a highly successful landing page, you will need to plan and monitor carefully and combine several important elements as discussed in our WordPress vs ClickFunnels comparison.
Here are our tips on how to do it:
Don’t force people to your homepage
If somebody clicks on one of your product ads whilst browsing the internet, they are already indicating that they’re ready to buy or take the next step. So when they click on your ad, the last thing they want is to be sent to your homepage where they may then have to search or browse to find the product all over again. Not only does this waste time and offer distraction, it also risks losing them altogether.
Far better to send them to a targeted landing page, where they can find exactly what they want straight away. Your homepage might look fancy, but it’s not vital that everyone visits it!
Brevity is your friend
Keep things short and simple with clear and concise text, compelling and relevant images and an irresistible call to action. Although you will usually need to include some explanatory text, a landing page is not the place for lengthy discussion.
Keep your headline strong and targeted
Your text needs to match what the user clicked in the first place, so that you are quite obviously giving them what they asked for – strong, prominent headlines which match closely what the user typed into the search engine tend to work best, backed up with well-crafted secondary and body text.
Use the power of images and video
A picture tells a thousand words and a video…well, you get the idea. Powerful images and well-produced, relevant videos contribute enormously to making those all-important conversions. Just make sure that you are selective and choose material that is exceptional quality, on-brand, targeted to your audience and addresses your conversion goal.
Prove your point
Since people visiting your landing page may well have never visited the rest of your site, they need to be able to trust you. This is where testimonials and social media proof rates highly.
If you can give evidence that you have plenty of happy, satisfied customers, your conversion rate will be higher. Examples might include written or video testimonials from high-profile or regular customers or statistical statements – “Last month, 1025 business signed up to our online community. Join them today!”
Explain yourself
If you’re selling a service or product, you will certainly need some explanatory text so that your readers know exactly what they’re getting for their money – make things easy for your visitors by using bullet points and concise language, and including summaries of benefits or more in-depth details where relevant.
Call to action
A call to action is probably the most important feature on a landing page, since this is what everything else has been leading up to. Think about the best placement for your call to action, make it obvious what your visitor needs to do, and choose your words carefully.
Don’t ask for too much data
If your landing page includes a form (for example, if it’s a lead-generation landing page with the intention of increasing your marketing list), it’s important that you don’t ask for too many details. Name and email address is usually sufficient, although one or two other elements might be necessary, depending upon your business. Make sure that your visitors know exactly what they’re signing up for and that their data will be safe.
Landing pages really can make a huge difference to lead generation and sales conversions, but don’t expect to get it right first time. Monitoring and testing your campaigns are vital to the success of your different pages. So once you’ve allowed a bit of time to elapse, look at what’s working and what’s not? Which landing pages are most successful? Why? Which are the least successful? Are some receiving visitors who then click away? If so, adjust and test again.
By adapting and evolving in this way, you can ensure that you create landing pages that are efficient, effective and highly successful.