How To Create High-Converting Landing Pages
A landing page is important because it is your product’s first impression or introduction to your customers.
It has to be a good one.
If a customer sees a well-designed landing page, he will be eager to find out what you have to offer. The main purpose of the landing page is to persuade a potential customer to opt into your marketing list.
To do this well, the page should present your product in the best possible light. It should convince the customer that he will benefit by learning more about the product.
What are the best practices in creating a landing page?
You can consider following practices to optimize your landing page and generate more leads.
1. An eye-catching headline
The average attention span is not high, especially with all this awesome technology we now have.
You only have a few seconds to convince someone that the page they have just landed on is worth their time and lacks cute animal pictures.
The headline is where the journey begins; grab their attention and let them know just how special your offer is.
Make the headline
2. Descriptive subheading and explanation
Now that you have their attention, it’s time to explain the value you will bring to their lives.
The headline alludes to your services, but your subheading and explanation go further.
Lay out the USP.
3. A form to capture those oh-so-precious leads
Some landing pages that are considered to be the best just cut straight to the chase.
Asking for your details immediately with a big eye-watering great headline and subheading gives you the USP.
The key to a great form is ensuring it is long enough to collect the right information.
But short enough that it isn’t a daunting experience.
4. A powerful call to action
The last you need to add is a chance to tell your customers what to do.
If you want them to call you, put your number in bold, and make it visible.
If you want to get emails, put a field for it in the form, and follow up with a button that says “start today.”
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What are the biggest landing page mistakes?
We all seem to focus too much on what we should do for our landing pages that we tend to overlook the most common mistakes marketers make.
Let’s start with these 5:
1. You link to too many things
Marketers try to cram as many links on a landing page, thinking it’s a great way to drive traffic to specific pages. Common examples include links to the website, a product, a testimonial, a video, or even social media buttons. This leads to too many buttons competing for visitor attention. If this doesn’t serve to confuse your prospects, it leads them to bounce off your landing page out of sheer frustration.
It’s the Attention Ratio: with 50 links on your homepage, your attention ratio is 2% – compared to 100% with a single CTA.
2. You don’t choose your CTA button colors strategically
The rule of thumb when it comes to CTA buttons on a landing page? Make the color stand out. As beautiful as an all-neutral landing page may be visually and aesthetically, it won’t catch your visitor’s eye. CTA buttons should contrast with the rest of your page, so they get noticed. For example, choose red for your CTA button if your landing page follows a blue color palette.
3. You don’t think about where your CTA should go on the landing page
Sure, people do scroll and read below the fold, but 80% of visitors’ time is usually spent looking at information above the fold. Be careful not to place your CTA too early on the page. You have to provide context and a compelling reason for your audience to click. On the other hand, placing your CTA at the bottom of a long-winded block of text won’t work either.
A catchy headline, followed by a brief copy explaining the benefits of your offer, and a strategically placed CTA should do the trick.
4. You don’t take into consideration your fonts
Fonts can help set the tone and vibe of your landing page. Imagine, for example, if you chose to use the infamously hated Comic Sans font for a landing page meant for a bank. Would that communicate trustworthiness and credibility? If you’re a children’s party planning company and used Times New Roman as a font for your landing page, would that communicate fun and spontaneity?
In addition, your choice of typography will lend itself to your landing page’s readability. If your fonts are too small, it will likely turn your prospects off and make them bounce off the page. Be sure to pay attention to these small details. They make a world of difference.
5. You’re not smart about the images you choose
Adding pictures helps create visual interest on your landing page. Images of people, especially those smiling, help establish trust among visitors. Some studies also show that using photos with people whose eyes are gazing toward your CTA helps draw visitor attention to the button.
Choose images strategically. Make sure they are relevant to what your company does and your service or product.
How to find inspiration to design your landing page?
How can you increase the ROI of your landing pages? How to find landing page copy and images for inspiration? How to know your competitors’ advertising strategies?
Well, it is time to dig deep into the landing pages of top companies and look at the common elements that make them what they are.
Spying on your competitor’s landing pages will help you to:
- Improve your sales pitch
- Improve your product design
- Reveal new acquisition opportunities
Conclusion
Creating high-performing landing pages is both an art and a science.
Some techniques might work well in one scenario. And then they might backfire in another.
No single formula will always work 100% of the time.
The good news is that there are a few foundational principles and tactics that have worked for others are on your fingerprints.
Further reading