What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a place that you are taken to when you click on an ad, a call to action on a webpage or email, or could even be your homepage. Landing pages are web pages with a specific purpose — to convert visitors into leads or customers. This exchange happens by asking visitors for their contact information and providing something valuable to them in return.
Every landing page is different and focused on a specific goal, but there are a handful of elements and practices that should be incorporated into every landing page you create to ensure a high conversion rate.
Top 10 Landing Page Best Practices
1. Be Consistent
Since your visitors will most likely be reading something and clicking a link to get to your landing page, create a fluid experience by making sure the content on the landing page is a continuation or pay off of the content that sent them there.
The purpose and offer of the page should meet the expectations for visiting the page. The imagery, messaging, and design should also be consistent with the content that drove them to the page to make for a seamless experience that positively reflects your brand.
2. Be Clear and Concise
Visitors should be able to scan the page and see the product or service, know what the features and benefits are, how to take action, and what’s in it for them.
The copy should be clear and straightforward. Cut the fluff by creating a benefit-focused headline and supporting copy that all leads to the action you want the visitor to take. Speak directly to the visitor by using “you” and “your.”
Display content in a visual way that’s easy to scan with images, bullets, icons, infographics, etc.
3. Show the Product or Service
One of the first elements on a landing page should be a visual of your product or service. This could be in the form of a static image, animation, illustration, or video. The point is to help the visitor quickly identify what you are offering them, share how it works, and create an emotional response.
4. Keep Key Items Above the Fold
“Above the fold” refers to everything you see above the fold on the front page of a newspaper. In the digital world, it refers to everything you can see on the screen before you have to scroll.
The content above the fold should include your headline, your offer, a visual, and your call to action. Don’t cram too much all in one place — the user should have the ability to take the action without having to scroll down the page.
Most landing pages will still have content underneath the fold. If your landing page does, make sure to use visual cues to indicate that there is more on the page. Visual cues can be very direct, like an actual arrow telling the visitor to keep scrolling, or can be as simple as allowing some of the content to extend past the bottom edge of the screen.
5. The Offer and Call to Action
The call to action is the most important element on the landing page. It’s how the ultimate goal is officially accomplished. Make the language on your call to action buttons simple and clear, like “Download,” “Get it Now,” or “Sign Up Today” to help visitors quickly understand what you are asking them to do and what they should expect. Make your CTA stand out by displaying it in a color that has a high contrast with the rest of the design of the page.
Visitors will be much more likely to provide you their information if you are giving them something in return. You should offer your visitors something that they would find valuable.
If you really want to capture a lot of leads in a short period of time, you could include scarcity techniques to influence the decision of your visitors. Tell visitors how many items are left, how much more of something is needed, or that your offer is only available for a limited time and won’t be available again.
6. The Form
The lead form should be above the fold, or there should be a link to it above the fold for those who are ready to take action upon landing on the page.
Forms should be quick and easy to fill out, and only ask for information that you need. The amount of information requested will depend on what you’re offering them, how much you already know about them, and how much they trust you. A name and email address will most likely be sufficient for a higher level lead. Keep in mind that shorter isn’t always better, though. If you are offering a more expensive product or service, you may want to include a longer form. The longer form may result in fewer leads, but they will be more qualified leads.
7. Remove All Distractions
In order to keep the visitor focused on the action you want them to take, remove all distractions and any links that could pull them away from the page or task at hand. All content should be focused on the call to action. Don’t include any navigation, links to other web pages, or even links back to your homepage.
8. Provide Social Proof
Marketing language alone is not going to sell your product or service. People have become familiar with all the tricks businesses have up their sleeves when it comes to trying to sell them something. They don’t want to hear what you have to say about your product or service, they want to hear what other real people just like them are saying.
Include authentic voices of real clients or customers in the form of testimonials and ratings. Humanize the testimonials by including names, companies, job titles, photos, and video.
9. Test It Out
It’s very unlikely that you will get everything on your landing page right the first time. Use A/B testing, heat maps, or other data collection methods to track what is working and what isn’t. If you are interpreting your data correctly and making adjustments as needed, you should see an improvement in results. This information can also help inform decisions that you make when building future landing pages for the same audiences.
10. Always Say Thanks
After your visitors complete your form, send them to a thank you page. The thank you page can be used to do a variety of things, including sharing a simple thank you to leave a positive impression, providing access to the offer, or providing a link to other relevant content that they may be interested in.
Need help creating a landing page that will get results? Contact us today!
