The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages - HubSpot Blog

A landing page can be the designated page you're taken to when you click on an ad. It can also be the page that follows a call-to-action ... TheUltimateGuidetoLandingPages WrittenbyChristinaPerricone Learnhowtodesign,write,andtestlandingpagesthatwillconvertvisitorsintoleads. 18FREECUSTOMIZABLEEBOOKTEMPLATES Easilycreateanebooktogetmoreleadsfromyourwebsite.AvailableforPowerPoint,GoogleSlides,andAdobeIndesign. DownloadNow 21 minremaining Asyoubrowseandmaneuveraroundtheinternet,youvisitlandingpagesallthetime. Alandingpagecanbethedesignatedpageyou’retakentowhenyouclickonanad.Itcanalsobethepagethatfollowsacall-to-actionbuttonorserveasthehomepageofawebsite. Regardlessofhowyou"land"onalandingpage,itspurposeistoencourageyoutoconverttoaleadorcustomer.Forthatreason,landingpagesareuniquelypowerfulcomponentsofabusiness'sdigitalmarketingstrategy. Whatisalandingpage? Alandingpageisawebsitepagewithaspecificpurpose—theobjectiveofalandingpageistoconvertvisitorsintoleads.Whiletherearemanytypesoflandingpagestheintentthesame—getmoreleads. Landingpagescontainleadformsthataskvisitorsfortheircontactinformationinexchangeforsomethingofvalue,otherwiseknownasanoffer. Thevideobelowwillhelpdrivethatdefinitionhome. Now,thinkabouthowprotectiveyouareofyourpersonalinformation.Whatwouldmakeapersonwanttogiveuptheircontactinformationovertheinternet? Well,that’swherelandingpagebestpracticescomein.Atargeted,well-craftedlandingpagewithasolidformatandsoundcopywillgetalmostanyonetosubmittheirinformation. LandingPageBestPractices LandingPageDesign LandingPageCopy TestingYourLandingPage MetricstoTrack LandingPageTips First,whydoyouneedalandingpage? Whywouldyoucreateaspecialpagejustforpeopletofilloutaform?Whynotjustuseyourhomepageoraboutpage?Greatquestions. Afterreadingthisarticle,you’lllikelybeabletoanswerthosequestionsyourself,buttheshortansweristhis:Alandingpageeliminatesdistractionsbyremovingnavigation,competinglinks,andalternateoptionssoyoucaptureyourvisitor’sundividedattention.Andcompleteattentionmeansyoucanguideyourvisitorwhereyou’dlikethemtogo,i.e.,toyourleadform.Insum,landingpagesarespecificallydesignedtocreateconversions. Nowthatyouunderstandtheirimportance,let’scoverlandingpagebestpracticestomakesureyourpagesaresetuptoconvert. LandingPageBestPractices Craftabenefit-focusedheadline. Chooseanimagethatillustratestheoffer. Writecompellingcopy. Includetheleadformabovethefold. Addaclearandstandoutcall-to-action. Giveawayarelevantoffer. Onlyaskforwhatyouneed. Removeallnavigation. Makeyourpageresponsive. Optimizeforsearch. Remembertouseathankyoupage. Wasthatalot?We’llbreakdowntheselandingpagebestpracticesbelow. 1.Craftabenefit-focusedheadline. Forevery10peoplethatvisityourlandingpage,atleastsevenofthemwillbounceoffthepage.Tokeepthatnumberlow,yourvisitorsneedtoknow(andunderstand)what’sinitforthemwithinsecondsofarriving.Yourheadlineisthefirstthingthey’llread,anditshouldclearlyandconciselycommunicatethevalueofyourlandingpageandoffer. 2.Chooseanimagethatillustratestheoffer. Yes,animageismandatory,anditshouldrepresentyourtargetaudience.Thepurposeofyourimageistoconveyafeeling—itshouldillustratehowyourvisitorwillfeeloncetheyreceiveyouroffer.Certainimagesmayworkbetterthanothers,soyoushouldalwayssplittestyouroptions(whichwe’llcoverbelow). 3.Writecompellingcopy. Don’tspendallthattimecraftingtheperfectheadlineandfindingyouridealimagetofallflatwhenitcomestothewordsthatwillactuallysellyourcall-to-action.Yourcopyneedstobeclear,conciseandshouldguideyourvisitortotheactionyouwantthemtocomplete.Compellingcopyalsospeaksdirectlytothevisitorbyusing“you”and“your”tomakethemfeelengaged.We’llgomorein-depthoncopytipsbelow. 4.Includetheleadformabovethefold. Yourleadformneedstobereadilyaccessibleshouldyourprospectwanttoconvertrightaway—youdefinitelydon’twantthemsearchingandscanningyourlandingpagetofindyouroffer.“Abovethefold”justmeansthatvisitorsdon’thavetoscrolltogettotheform—thatit’sinviewassoonassomeonehitsthepage.Thiscouldbeaformorananchorlinktotheform.Evenbetter:Designyourformtoscrollwiththeuserastheymovedownthepage. 5.Addaclearandstandoutcall-to-action. Thecall-to-action(CTA)isarguablythemostimportantelementonyourlandingpage—it’soneofmanyelementsthatencourageconversion.TheCTAbuttonneedstostandout,meaningyoushoulduseacolorthatcontrastswithotherelementsonthepage.Beclearaboutwhatyouwantvisitorstodo,thatis,useanactionverbthatspellsitoutforthem,like“submit”,“download”,or“getitnow”.MoreonCTAbestpracticesbelow. 6.Giveawayarelevantoffer. Thinkofyourlandingpageasapartofyourlead’sjourneytoyourultimateoffer—yourproductorservice,thatis.Yourofferisthethingyougiveinexchangeforyourlead’spersonalinformation.Notonlyshoulditbecompellingenoughforyourvisitortoprovidetheircontactinfo,butitshouldalsoberelevanttoyourbusiness.Sayyousellhorseshoes. Youroffermightbesomethinglike“10SimpleWaystoSizeYourHorse’sHooves,”because,ultimately,you’regoingtoaskthatleadtobuyyourhorseshoes.Youwouldn’thookthemwithanofferaboutorganicfarmingbecausethatputsthemonacompletelydifferentpath.We’lltalkmoreabouthowcompellingoffersbelow. 7.Onlyaskforwhatyouneed. Youwanttogatherasmuchinformationaspossibleaboutyourlead,buthowmuchyouaskfordependsonseveralfactors:howwellacquaintedtheyarewithyou,wheretheyareintheirbuyer’sjourney,andhowmuchtheytrustyou.Askforaslittleinfoasyouneedinyourleadformtocreatealowbarriertoentry.Anameandanemailaremorethansufficienttonurtureanewlead. 8.Removeallnavigation. Yourlandingpagehasoneobjectiveandoneobjectiveonly:toconvertvisitorsintoleads.Anycompetinglinks—includinginternallinkstootherpagesonyourwebsite—willdistractfromthatgoal.Removeanyotherlinksonyourpagetodrawallofyourvisitors’attentiontoyourcall-to-action. 9.Makeyourpageresponsive. Justlikeeveryotherpageonyourwebsite,yourlandingpagesneedtoberesponsivetoaccommodateeveryviewingexperience.Thelastthingyouneedisforyourformtofalloutofviewonmobiledevices.Giveyourvisitorseverypossibleopportunitytoconvert,nomatterhowthey’reviewingyourpage. Youcanusetoolstohelpaccomplishthis.Forexample,HubSpot'sdrag-and-droplandingpageeditor,availableinMarketingHubStarter,makesiteasyforyoutocreatemobileoptimizedlandingpagesandformseffortlessly. 10.Optimizeforsearch. Sure,you’llbedrivingvisitorstoyourlandingpagethroughemailblasts,socialpostsandothermarketingmethods,butyourpageshouldalsobeoptimizedwithtargetkeywordsforyourpaidcampaignsandorganicsearch.Whensomeonesearchesforyourkeyphrase,theyshouldfindyourlandingpage.Similarly,whenyoutargetakeywordwithpaidads,thosewordsshouldexistonyourlandingpage. 11.Remembertouseathankyoupage. Athankyoupageiswhereyousendleadsoncethey’vecompletedyourform.Now,youcouldjustshowathankyoumessageonthesamepageorditchthethankyoualtogether,buttherearemanyreasonswhythat’snotthebestoption. Athankyoupageservesthreeimportantpurposes: Itdeliverstheofferthatyoupromised(usuallyintheformofaninstantdownload) Itgivesyouanopportunitytointerestyournewleadinadditionalrelevantcontent Itservesasachancetothankthemfortheirinterest,whichgoesalongwayinpromotingthemtoacustomerdowntheline. HowtoDesignYourLandingPage Oftentimes,designmeanscreativity,colors,andprettypictures.Forthepurposeofalandingpage,wetakedesignastepfurthertomeanfunctional,direction-oriented,andeffective.So,tocraftawell-designedlandingpage,you’llhavetotapintobothyourrightandleftbrain.Butdon’tgetmewrong—youstillneedgreatimageryandattractivecolorstoconvertyourvisitors.We’lltouchonhowtoincorporateallofthisbelow. LandingPageStructure Thegoodnewsisyoudon’tneedtogettoocreativehere.Mostlandingpagesfollowaverysimilarstructurebecauseit’sbeenproventowork.Youcaninfuseyourcreativitythroughbrandedelementsandimages,butsticktoalandingpageformatthatpeopleareusedtoseeing. Agoodlandingpagehasfiveelements(checkoutthelandingpageexamplebelowtoseetheseelementsinpractice): Headlinethatgrabsthevisitorsattention Relevantimagethatisrelevanttoyouraudience Leadformthatsitsabovethefoldtocapturevisitors’information CTAthatisaction-orientedandcompelling Copyanddescriptionthatinformsandenticesyourvisitortocompleteyourform Source Canyourlandingpageincludemorethanthis?Absolutely.(Thinksocialsharebuttonsthatvisitorscanusetospreadthewordaboutyouroffer).Thisissimplythebareminimum.Youneedtoknowyouraudience,wheretheyarecomingfromandwheretheyareintheirbuyer’sjourneytoknowhowmuchyouneedtoinclude.Theruleofthumbistoincludeasmuchinformationasyouneedtogetpeopletoconvert. LandingPageLayout Thismaycomeasasurprise,butmostpeopledon’treadeverywordofyourcleverly-craftedcopy.Instead,theyskimthroughandpulloutthemostimportanttidbits.Yourjobistomakethosetidbitsstandoutsoyourvisitordoesn’tmissanythingimportant. Thatmeansafewthings… Keepthemostimportantinformationabovethefoldsoyourvisitordoesn’tneedtoscrolltogettoit. Performablinktestonyourpage,meaningavisitorshouldbeabletogatherthemainmessageinlesstimethanittakesthemtoblink,i.e.,lessthanfiveseconds. Usewhite(ornegative)spacetokeepyourvisitorengaged,focused,andtohelpthemcomprehendyourmessage. Writewithbulletsandshortparagraphstomakeyourcopyeasytodigest. TrytoworktheimportantcopyintoanF-pattern,whichisthedirectionthatmostpeoplescanapageonline.Workwiththeflowofvisualpatternstodrivepeopletothekeypointsthatwillgetthemtoconvert. LandingPageColors Thedesignofyourlandingpage—includingthecolorsyouuse—shouldreflectthatofyourwebsite.You’reaimingtoformalong-termrelationshipwiththepeoplewhovisityourlandingpage,andthatmeanstheyneedtobecomefamiliarwithyourbrandingcolorsanduniquestyle.Themoretheyrecognizeyourbrand,themoretheytrustyou(andthemoretheytrustyou,theeasieritistogetthemtodowhatyouwantthemtodo).Theareaswhereyoushouldconsiderusingalternatecolorsareontheelementsofyourpagethatneedtostandout—ahem,yourCTAbutton.Contrastisthenameofthegamehere.Sayyourbrandedcolorsaremostlygreen…you’llwanttochooseacolorthatcandrawusersattention,saypurple. Wonderingwhatcolorsperformwell?Wedidalittleresearchforyoutodeterminewhichcolorsconvertbest. LandingPageImages Theimageonyourlandingpageisonethefirstthingspeoplesee,andsincepeopleprocessvisualsfarquickerthantheydotext,itsetsthetonefortheirentireexperience.Buthowcanyoupossiblychoosebetweenmillionsofstockphotosandthatcompanyphotoshootthat’stakingupallthespaceonyourcomputer? Let’snarrowdowntheselectionwithafewimportantquestions: Whoismytargetaudience? Whatdoesyourpersonalooklike?Howoldarethey?Howdotheydress?Whataretheyinterestedin?Theanswerstothesequestionsareimportantindeterminingwhatimageyou’regoingtoplacefrontandcenteronyourlandingpage.Ifit’sgoingtoappealtoyouraudience,thenitneedstorepresenttheminsomeway. WhereonmylandingpagedoIwantthemtolook? Thismightseemlikeanoddquestion,butreallyit’sbasedontheideathatpeoplefollowdirectionalcues,likewheresomeoneislookingorpointing.Ifyouwantvisitorstofilloutaform,consideranimagethatdrivestheirattentiontowardthatform. Willthisimagereinforcemymessage? Everyelementonyourlandingpageservesanimportantpurpose.Sinceyourimageisoneofthefirstthingsthatpeoplesee,itshouldhelpclarifywhatthevisitorcanexpectfromyourpage.Makesurethatyourimageaddsvalue. Herearesomeotherimportantthingstoconsiderwhencreatinggreatlandingpageimages. Call-to-Action(CTA) We’vediscussedyourCTAafewtimessofar,butsinceit’sthemostimportantpartofyourlandingpage,it’sworthmentioningagain.WhenitcomestothedesignofyourCTA,thereareafewtrickswillmakeitsoalluringthatvisitorsfeelcompelledtoclick.Toclarify,yourCTAincludesthebuttonandthecopyyouusetodrawattentiontoit;thesetipscoverboth. GiveyourCTAavibrantandcontrastingcolor FocusyourCTAcopyonthebenefittoyourvisitor Gettothepoint—tryusingnomorethanfivewords Tellyourvisitorwhatyouwantthemtodousingactionverbs,e.g.Get,Download,Click Makeyourbuttonlargeenoughtostandoutonthepage Giveitsomenegativespace—don’tcrowdtheareaaroundyourCTA FollowtheflowofthepageandplaceyourCTAwhereyourreaders’eyeswillgo,suchastotherightoforbelowthecopy Testyourbuttonshape,testyourcopy…asamatteroffacttesteverything(we’llcoverhowtodothisbelow) Source MobileLandingPage Morethanhalfofwebsitetrafficcomesfrommobiledevices,therefore,theuserexperienceshouldbethesamenomatterthedevicevisitorsareusing.Bymakingyourlandingpageresponsive,yougivethemeveryopportunitytoviewandconvert,whetherthey’reonadesktop,phone,tablet,orotherwise. LandingPageCopywritingTips Afterdesigncomesgreatcopy.Yourobjectiveistobecompelling,instructive,likable,concise,effective,trustworthyandinformativeallatonce.How?Keepreading. 1.Coverthemainpoints. Nomatterhowyoupositionit,thereareafewmainpointsthatyouneedtohitwithyourcopy.Thosemainpointsareyourpersona’spainpoint,thesolutiontothatpainpoint,howyoursolutionworks(features),howyoursolutionwillimprovetheirsituation(benefits),andverificationthatitworks(socialproof). Themajorityofwhatyouwriteneedstoaddresshowyoucanhelpyourprospect,nothowawesomeyouare(becausethat’simplied).Let’sgomorein-depthonthesepoints. ThePainPoint Thepainpointthatyoufocusonshouldbetheonethatyouroffersolves.Nottosoundnegative,butit’simportanttotouchontheproblemyourpersonaisfacingsotheyknowyouunderstandwhatthey’regoingthrough.Empathyisaneffectivewaytobuildtrust.Andiftheyknowyougettheirproblem,thenthey’remorelikelytotrustyoursolution. YourSolution Thesolutiontotheirpainpointiswhatyou’reofferinginexchangefortheirinformation.Illustrateaclearpathbetweentheirproblemandhowyoursolutionistheremedytheyneed. Features Justknowingwhatyoursolutionismaynotbeenoughtoconvertleads,soyouneedtomentionwhat’sincludedinthatsolution.Ifit’sanebook,whatarethesubjectsyourcover?Ifyou’repromotingawebinar,howwillitworkandwhatwillyouteach?Ifit’saservice,whatcantheyexpect?Giveyourpotentialleadalltheinformationtheyneedtomakeadecision. Benefits Yourcopyshouldbeheavywithbenefitstotheuserbecausethat’swhattheyreallycareabout—what’sinitforthem.Whilefeatureslistwhatyourofferhas,benefitstellvisitorshowtheirsituationwillbeimprovedasaresult.Itpaintsavividpictureofhowmuchbettertheirlifecouldbebyusingyoursolution. SocialProof Studiesshowthatsocialproofiseffectiveforpersuadingpeopletotakeadesiredaction.Socialproofcomesintheformoflogosofbrandsyou’veworkedwith,testimonialsfrompreviousclients,reviewsofyourproduct,orconfirmationthatothershavepurchasedyourservice.Inessence,peoplewanttoknowthatothersarehaveusedandbenefitedfromyoursolution,too.Byincludingsocialproofonyourlandingpage,you'revalidatingyourofferwithoutevensayinganything. Source Touchingoneachofthesepointswillprovideyouwithwell-roundedcopythatanswersallofyourvisitors’questions…whichbringsmetomynextpoint. 2.Preemptivelyrespondtoobjections. Akeypartofwritingpersuasivecopy(copythatgetspeopletoconvert)isdismantlingobjectionsbeforetheyevencomeup.Now,thistakessomeskill…oratleastsomehelpfromafriend. Onceyou’velaidyourfoundationbyaddressingallthemainpoints,putyourselfinthemindofyourprospectandthinkaboutwheretheymightprotestorchallengeyouastheyread.Forinstance,ifyousay“We’vehelpedFortune500companiesbringincustomers,”yourreadermightscoffordoubtitunlessyoufollowupthatstatementwithsocialproof. Dothisexerciseforeverysectionofyourpage(oraskanunbiasedfriendtohelp)untilyou’vecoveredeverypossibleobjectionyoucanthinkof.Whenyougetquestionsfrompeoplewho’vevisitedyourlandingpage,usethatasfeedbacktosharpenyourcopyevenfurther.Betteryet,seekoutconstructivecriticismfromyourfirstfewconvertedleadstoensureyourlandingpageismeetingeveryneed. 3.Buildtrustwithyourprospect. Sayyouwerereadingasalespageandthecompanywrote,“Ourproducthashelped100peopleanditmightworkforyou,too!”Meh.I’dprobablypassandfindacompanythathasasolutionthatcandefinitelyworkforme.Yourgoalistobuildtrustwithyourvisitorandthewaytodothatistocomeacrossasanauthority. Besidesusingsocialproof,someotherwaystobuildtrustare: Writeinthewaythatyouspeakandaddressyourprospectsasyouwouldalivecustomer. Citestatisticsthatsupportyourmessage. Usecasestudiesthathighlightcustomerssimilartoyourtarget. Berelatable.Showyouraudiencethatyou’rehumanbyadmittingfailures,openingupaboutdoubtsyou’vehad,andbeinghonest.Thecaveatisyoushouldonlysharewhatisrelevanttotheirstruggle;don’tjustdivulgeanything. 4.Useclicktriggers. Clicktriggersaredesignedtoeliminatethatlastbitofdoubtbeforeavisitorconverts.YoucanthinkofthemaslickProbabilityEnhancers(...yes,Imadeupthatterm).TheyareessentiallycopypositionednexttoyourCTAthatpushesyourprospectovertheedgebyeasingtheirmindandmitigatingtheriskofconverting. Belowaresomeeffectivewaystoemployclicktriggers: Money-backguarantee Easyunsubscribe Quotefromasuccessfulorhappycustomer Blurbon“whattoexpect” Priceslashing Privacypolicy Someothercreativemethod Source Whateveryouchoose,clicktriggerswillgiveyourconversionstheboosttheyneed. A/BTestingYourLandingPage Everythingwe’vediscusseduntilthispointisgreat…intheory.Butyourbusinessisdifferentfromothers,andyourtargetaudienceisunique.Howdoyouknowifthecopyyouchoseisworking?OrifyourCTAplacementisright?Orwhatcolorsperformbest?Orwhichimagetochoose?Youtestit.That’show.Splittesting(orA/Btesting)isprobablynothingnewtoyouasamarketer,andsplittestingyourlandingpageisjustonemoreexperimenttoaddtoyourlist. Let’sbrieflygooverhowtobestA/Btestyourlandingpages. WhatisA/Btesting? A/Btestingissimplysplittingyourtraffictotwo(ormore)variationsofapagetoseewhichperformsbetter.Whileyoucoulddothismanuallybylaunchingonevariationforaperiodoftime,thenanotherforthesameamountoftime,it’sfarmoreefficienttouseasoftwarethatallowsyoutosplittestandcantrackyourresults. ThemaincomponentsofanA/Btestarevariants,orthetwoversionsofthepage,thechampion,ortheoriginalpage,andthechallenger,orthepagethatyoumodifiedtotestagainsttheoriginal. HowtoA/BTest Themostimportanttricktosplittestingistomakeverysmalltweakswitheachexperiment.Forinstance,youdon’twanttosplittestyourheadlineandyourimageatthesametimebecauseyouwon’tknowwhichelementgarneredtheresults.Forthisreason,sticktotestingoneelementatatime.The“winner”becomesyourchampion,thenyoucancreateanewchallengertotestthenextelement.Yourepeatthiscycleuntilyoureachaconversionratethatyou’rehappywith(andthatfallswithinrealisticexpectations,whichwe’llcoverbelow). Whatshouldyoutest? Youcantestvirtuallyanythingonyourlandingpage.Butwhilethat’spossible,youmaywanttolimityourtesttoafewofthemostimpactfulelementsofyourpage,like: Headlinecopy Image CTAcolor Clicktriggers Copyonthepage Leadformlengthandfields Thesetestswillhavethebiggestimpactonyourconversionrates.Trystartingwiththesimplestchangefirst,likeaheadlineorCTAcolor,thenworkyourwaytothelargerundertakings,likeyourpagecopy. LandingPageMetricstoTrack Metricswilltellyoueverythingyouneedtoknowabouthowwellyourlandingpageisperformingaswellasgiveyousomeinsightonhowtoimproveit.It’shardtoknowexactlywhatwillworkwhenyoulaunchapage.Measureandtrackmeticulouslyinthebeginninguntilyoureacharelativelygoodconversionrate,thenyoucantrackyourmetricslessfrequently. PageVisits Howmanyvisitsareyougettingonyourlandingpage?Themorevisits,themoreyouincreaseyourprobabilityofconversions.Tryadjustingyourpaidstrategyorredefiningyourkeywordstodrivemoretraffictoyourpage.Youcanalsoletyourcurrentfollowersknowaboutyourofferthroughemails,socialmedia,andonyourwebsite. TrafficSource Knowingwhereyourtrafficiscomingfromwillletyouknowwhereyoushoulddoubledownonorditchyourefforts. SubmissionRate Thisisthenumberofpeoplethatcompleteyourleadformandlandonyourthankyoupage.Therearemanytweaksyoucanmaketoyourpagetoincreasethisnumber,butmakesuretoA/Btestsoyouknowwhat’sworking. Contacts Contactsrefertothenumberofleadsthatyougeneratedfromyourform.Thereasonthisisdifferentfromsubmissionsisbecauseduplicatecontactsareonlycountedonce,meaningifacurrentleadfillsoutyourformtogetyouroffer,theydon’taffectthecount. HeatMapping Thisismoreofanobservationofhowpeopleinteractwithyourpageasopposedtoametric.Heatmappingcanshowyouwherepeoplescroll,whattheyread,andhowtheyengagewithyourpage.Thisisallusefuldatawhenthinkingaboutyourpagelayoutandstructure. BounceRate Ifvisitorsarecomingtoyourpageandimmediatelyleaving,thenyouneedtoexaminewhetherthecontentisalignedwiththeoffer.Doesyourcopycapturevisitors’attentionanddovisitorsautomaticallyknowwhattodowhentheylandonyourpage?Isyourpageareflectionofthecopyyouusedtogetpeopletovisitit? FormAbandonment Thismetrictellsyouhowmanypeoplestartfillingoutyourformbutdon’tcompleteit.Ifthisnumberisparticularlyhigh,someadjustmentstoconsiderareintroducingnewclicktriggers,shorteningyourform,ormakingitmoreclearwhatyouwantyourvisitortodo. Benchmarks Youneedtojudgeyourlandingpageagainstindustrynormsandacrossasimilaraudiencetoknowifit’sperformingasexpected.Checkoutsomeindustrybenchmarkstosetasyourbaseline,butdon’tbediscouragedbyothercompany’sresults. Nomatterwhat’sgoingon,it’spossibletodiagnoseandhealyourlandingpagesifyoupayattentiontothemetrics. HowtoMakeYourLandingPagesMoreEffective Therearealwaystweaksyoucanmaketoboostlandingpageperformance.Belowareafewgreattips(ifIdosaysomyself)togetyourlandingpagesleveledup. Optimizeyourlandingpage. Optimizeissuchaconfusingword,isn’tit?Imean,arewetalkingaboutimagery,copy,keywords,orUI?Theanswerisyes—we’retalkingaboutallofit.Optimizejustmeanstomakeyourlandingpagethebestitcanbe,andthatcanincludeamyriadofmodifications.Ifyouwanttoknoweverythingyoucoulddotooptimizeyourlandingpage,you’llneedaprettyexpansiveguide.And,guesswhat,wehaveonehere. Presentareallygoodoffer. Youcouldarguethatanythingfreequalifiesas“good,”butthatisn’texactlytrue.Notonlyshouldyourofferbefree(we’renottalkingsalespageshere)butitalsohastobegoodenoughtowarrantastrangergivingyoutheirpersonalinformation.Let’sfaceit—therearealotofcompaniescompetingforyouraudience’sattention,askingfortheirinformationandsolicitingthemviaemail.So,what’sgoingtomakeyoustandoutfromthepack?Anoutstandingoffer,that’swhat. Hereareafewquestionstodetermineifyouhaveacompellingofferornot: Doesmyoffersolveapainpointformytargetaudience? Isthereaclearbenefitthataleadcangainfromthisoffer? Canmyofferrivalthecompetition? Decreasepageloadtime. Asingleseconddelayinpageloadtimemeans7%fewerconversionsand11%fewerpageviews.Slowpageloadtimescanalsoresultincustomerdissatisfactionandfrustration. Needlesstosay,landingpageloadtimeisametrictotakeseriously.Ifyouneedsometips,checkoutthisresourceondecreasingpageloadtime. Keepthebuyer’sjourneyinmind. Sinceyou’redrivingtraffictoyourlandingpage,youshouldhaveaclearideaofwhereyourvisitorsareintheirbuyer’sjourney.Thatmeansyou’llknowifthey’retryingtodiagnoseaproblem(awareness),lookingforasolutiontotheirproblem(consideration),orarereadytoclose(decision).Yourcopyandoffershouldreflectthisifyouwanttoconvert.It’snodifferentfromanyothermarketingmaterials—meetyourvisitorswheretheyare. Createaseamlessexperience. Nooneshouldbesurprisedwhentheyarriveonyourlandingpage.Itshouldbeexactlyasadvertised,meaningbeconsistentwithyourcopy.Usethesamewordsonyourlandingpagethatyouusedtogetpeopletoarrivethere,whetheritwasapaidad,socialpost,blogCTA,oremail.Youneedtoavoidthebaitandswitchatallcostsifyouwantpeopletostickaround. Createaclearpathtoconversion. Thereshouldbenoguessworkinvolvedinnavigatingyourlandingpage.Oncesomeonearrivesonyourpage,itshouldbeclearwhatyouwantthemtodo—submittheirinfotoyourleadform.Yourgoalistoguidevisitorstoyourformusingcreativedirectionalcues. Herearesomewaystopointyourvisitortoaconversion: Chooseanimageofapersonthatiseithergazinginthedirectionoforpointingtoyourform MakeyourCTAacontrastingcolortodrawattentiontoit Usearrowsthatpointtoyourleadform Insertanchortextthatbringspeoplebacktotheformwhenclicked GiveyourCTAsomenegativespaceonthepage Frameyourleadformwithaboldcolororoutline Addscarcitytoyouroffer. Fewemotionalmarketingtacticsworkaswellasfear…andthefearofmissingout(moreformallyknownasFOMO).Consumersdon’tliketolosetheirabilitytochoose,andonceyoumakeitclearthatyourofferisinhighdemandand/orshortsupply,they’regoingtoclambertogetit.(Here’sacoolstudyoncookiejarsifyouwanttogeekoutonthepsychologyofscarcitymarketing.) Theotherreasonwhythistechniqueworksisbecausepeoplewantthingsthatarehardtoobtain—thatsignifiesvalueandexclusivity. Toshowscarcity,mentionhowlittleofyourofferisleft,includeacountdowntimer,usewordslike“endssoon”or“lastchance”.Obviously,wewantyoutobegenuine,soonlyemploytacticsthataretrueforyourbusiness.Bottomline:therearemanywaystouseandbenefitfromthistechnique. Usevideo. Videomarketingisbecomingincreasinglypopularforgoodreason.Notonlydocustomersprefertoseevideofromcompanies,but88%ofvideomarketerssaythatvideogivesthempositiveROI.Thekeyistocreateaneffectivevideothatdoesn’tdistractvisitorsfromyourultimategoal:thecall-to-action. Ifyou’reonthefenceaboutusingvideo,herearesomereasonsthatmightpushyouovertheledge. Video... Increasesconversionrates Isamorepersonablewaytoshareamessageandconnectwithprospects Canbemoreengagingthananimageandwillgetvisitorsinthehabitofclicking(andconverting) Canreducethenumberofsupportcallsorticketsyoureceive Isprocessed60,000timesfasterthantext Ifyoudoplantoemploythistactic,VidYardhassomehelpfullandingpagevideoguidelinestofollow. Areyouexcitedyetaboutallthewaysyoucanimproveyourlandingpages?Sure,therearequiteafewbutthatjustmeansthatapoor-performinglandingpagedoesn’thavetostaythatway.Takeitonetacticatatimeandbuildasneeded. WhattoDoPost-Conversion:LeadNurturing So,youhaveanoptimizedlandingpagethatconvertslikeacharm.Nowwhat?Youdon’twanttoleavethoseleadshanging.Instead,youwanttonurturethemintobecomingcustomers,thennurturethemsomemore.Here’show. Optimizeyourthankyoupage. Ihopeyou’renottiredofoptimizingyet.Yourthankyoupageisthefirstthingsomeoneseesaftertheyconvert,soitservesasagreatopportunitytodelightyournewleadevenmorethanyoualreadyhave.Yourobjectiveistwofold:deliveryourpromisedofferandgettheminterestedinsomethingelseonyoursite. Yourthankyoupageshould: Thankyournewlead(gofigure) Providelinkstorelevantcontentonyoursite Inviteyourleadtofollowyouonsocialmedia Askyourleadtosubscribetoyourblog Automateafollow-upemailwiththeoffer Guidethemalongtheirbuyer'sjourney. Yournewleadisgoingtomaketheirwaytothedecisionstagewithorwithoutyou.Youwanttobetheonetohelpthemgetthere.You’vegatheredsomevaluableinformationaboutyourlead,whichmeansyoucananticipatewhattheyneednext.Providecontentorresourcestobringthemtothesubsequentstageoftheirjourney,andyoujustmightbetheiroptionforthedecisionstage.Afterall,weknowthatprospectsbuyfromcompaniesthattheyknow,like,andtrust. Formarelationship. Oncesomeonesignsuptoreceiveinformationfromyou,theybecomeapotentialcustomerwithwhomyoushouldworkhardtobuildarelationshipandconnection.Thegoodthingisyoualreadyknowwhatthey’reinterestedinandwhattheirpainpointsare,soyoucantargetthemwithadditional,helpfulcontentandpersonalizedmarketing. Ifyou’restillstuck,getsomeinspirationfromsomeofthebestlandingpageswecouldfind. GrowBetterwithLandingPages Landingpageswillaccountforamajorityofyournewleads,sotheydemandyourattention.Withthevastnumberoftweaks,additions,andvariationsyoucanimplement,there’snoreasonwhyyoucan’thavealandingpagethatconvertswell. Aslongasyou’refollowingthebestpracticeswecoveredabove,you’llbeonyourwaytoahigh-performinglandingpage...andifyouneedsomeadditionalguidance,we’realwayshereasaresource. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinAugust2019andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness.   OriginallypublishedNov11,20207:00:00AM,updatedJune102021 Topics: LandingPages FreeLandingPageBuilder RelatedArticles 19GreatLandingPageExamplesYou'llWanttoCopyin2022 Marketing  |12minread 14CopywritingExamplesFromBusinessesWithIncredibleCopywriters Marketing  |19minread 7HabitsofaHighlyEffectiveLandingPage Marketing  |4minread ExpandOffer SocialMediaContentCalendarTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater