What Is a Landing Page?
A landing page provides a specific destination for consumers from which they can obtain information or resources relevant to their current search or need. Digital marketers commonly use landing pages to establish a strong first impression with consumers who are most likely to convert into customers. Traffic is directed to landing pages from social media marketing, email campaigns, and other advertising or content channels.
Why Should You Use Landing Pages?
Landing pages help your brand to connect with consumers by providing meaningful, relevant information or resources. Unlike your website’s homepage, a landing page focuses on a single purpose. It might be promoting a free trial, new product or webinar with a goal of obtaining visitors’ email addresses and other contact information for whatever is being promoted on the page.
Specifically targeted towards segments of your audience, landing pages are an effective means of capturing leads. Visitors to a landing page have already shown some level of interest in what you are offering simply by clicking to get to that page. Those people are more likely to download or purchase or take whatever the next step is to convert. You are also building consumer trust by bringing consumers to a landing page that delivers the resource promised in the original ad or post.
How Do You Create a Strong Landing Page?
Each brand is unique, therefore, creating a strong landing page isn’t as simple as following a generic formula. It takes time and a bit of experimentation to build a landing page framework that speaks to your target audience. That being said, there are some key elements you can start with as you look to create an optimized landing page that will encourage conversions.
A Compelling Headline will reduce your bounce rate and encourage site visitors to take a look at what you are offering. Your headline should clearly explain the service or product. It should be relevant to the copy that was on the original ad or post the visitor is clicking from. Your headline should also speak directly to the pain point that your product or service provides a solution for.
You can craft your headline in a variety of ways to engage your target audience. Ask a burning question that is answered by the rest of the copy on the page. Begin the headline with “How to…” When appropriate, use humor to address the issue at hand. Regardless of your approach, be sure to provide the unique value proposition offered by your product or service.
You can also utilize subheadlines to reinforce your primary statement. Subheadlines provide context for your claim by answering a headline question or emphasizing the benefits offered by your product or service.
Effective Copy will successfully convey your point and persuade prospective customers to convert. Discerning the proper amount of copy is a delicate balancing act. Too little information may not convince visitors to pursue your product or service. Too much information can be overwhelming to the point that visitors simply leave the page.
Use a voice or writing style that speaks to your target audience. Center your copy on your customers by using words like “you” and “your” to maintain a complete focus on addressing and solving the consumer’s pain point. Be sure to include why your brand’s solution is better than any offered by your competition.
Be concise in the presentation of your copy. Make the content scannable by using bullet points and other list formats. Use bold copy, capital letters, and font sizes to help important pieces of information stand out.
Engaging media will grab visitors’ attention and keep them on your page. Vibrant, relevant images can showcase your products, tell your brand story, and appeal to the emotional side of viewers. Videos are even more engaging than images and will encourage visitors to stay even longer on your site. GIFs are a fun alternative to videos and a bit more interactive than plain images.
Include on your landing pages Trust Indicators to add a level of credibility to your brand and the products or services you are offering. Prospective clients will want to know they can trust you before they make the final decision to convert. To help this process, you can incorporate (accurate) statistics and satisfied customer testimonials to encourage prospective customers to convert on your offer. Feature authority badges or third-party seals to let consumers know that their information is safe with your business. Logos from companies like McAfee and PayPal go a long way to build consumer trust. You should also provide access to your privacy policy. This is often included in the page footer.
A properly designed Lead Capture Form will allow you to efficiently collect visitors’ information. Only ask for the minimal amount of information needed to complete the conversion. Ensure that your form is well organized and clearly asks for the information you’d like. Set up your form to retain non-payment information if a visitor backs out of the form to return to the landing page. Nothing is more annoying (and likely to increase bounce rates) than to be required to retype email addresses and such.
The Call to Action (CTA) on the landing page should stand out from the rest of the page content. Placement of the CTA button is important. Introduce the product or service being offered before providing the first button. Use ample white space around a well-sized, brightly colored CTA button to help it stand out even more. Use concise, persuasive language that clearly tells the site visitor what he will gain by clicking through the call to action.
There should be No Exit Links on your landing pages with the exception of the privacy policy we mentioned earlier. Keep the information in the footer to a minimum and don’t include navigational options. You want to keep your visitors on your landing page until they convert, then they can go elsewhere on your site.
To make your landing page as successful as possible, don’t try to make it be all things to all people. Keep the message focused on a particular segment of your target audience. Craft persuasive headlines and write captivating, concise copy to encourage your site visitors to convert. Acknowledge that we humans are visual creatures and engage your audience with images, videos or gifs to increase the time they spend on your site.
Use the opportunity of visitors on your landing page to build your brand-client relationship by including trusts factors such as client testimonials and other trusts indicators. Build a solid yet unimposing lead capture form and feature a compelling and attention-grabbing call to action. And make sure that your landing pages as well as all of your website have a responsive design and are mobile friendly. (For more on keeping your website fresh, see our article HERE.)
Remember, there is no single recipe for a landing page framework. A/B testing of your pages will always be the most effective way to determine how you will most successfully present your brand content. The “best” design will work for your brand and your target audience. Speak directly to the needs and wants of your visitors and let them know in clear and concise language how your services or products will fulfill those needs.
The team at Strategy Driven Marketing has years of experience designing websites and landing pages for businesses of all sizes and across multiple industries. Trust us to understand your business goals and to utilize our talents to deliver web content that is exciting, compelling, and encourages conversions. Contact us today to get started!
Cover photo by Terje Sollie from Pexels