Are your landing pages really doing their job? Do they convince web users to find out more about what you’re offering? Is there a clear, persuasive call to action? In other words, are they optimized for maximum conversion rates?
According to Hubspot data, companies who use between 31 and 40 landing pages generate on average 7 times more leads than those with 1 to 5 pages. Landing pages capture the attention of a web visitor and invite them to take action. This means converting them from a visitor to a lead by proposing a product or service of interest. And, with time, help to mature the lead into a client.
Landing pages help you present your offering in response to web users’ needs. They can be changed and optimized quickly and easily, and you can choose from a myriad of intuitive, attractive designs. The key is getting the most out of their flexibility.
Before creating your first landing page, get together with your sales, marketing and design teams and plan your page. Remember: the goal is to optimize your company’s conversion funnel – by providing a clear solution to someone’s pain.
Want to boost conversions with your landing pages? Read on for a host of practical tips.
Clarify your offering
- Make a value proposition. Offer a solution that solves your target’s problems. Web visitors who click to a landing page will stay there if they can see a benefit, e.g. an eBook, discounts, or a free version of your service. Forget the technical features of your product and focus instead on communicating the value you offer. This is where your customer conversion takes place.
- Make sure it’s easy to read. Follow a logical order: title, subtitle, content, call to action, registration form. And be brief: try to sum up the main features of your offer in bullet points.
- Navigation should be as simple as possible. Avoid readers having to scroll down. Make sure you relegate corporate information to the background, and don’t distract users with too many different fonts or colours.
Simplify the registration form
- The quality of people who sign up to your services depends on the number of fields they have to complete in the registration form. The more fields you include, the more information you’ll have on your lead… However, people are reluctant to provide a lot of details. If you use a simpler form you’ll have more sign-ups – but they’ll be less qualified. We recommend creating a concise form that asks for all the relevant information.
- Aim to present your content and sign-up form in blocks to make them easier to understand. Placing the form on the right increases the chances of conversion.
Include a clear call to action
- The call to action (CTA) is the step you want your web visitor to take: Download our free eBook, Watch the video, Please send me more information, Buy now… Test different versions of your page to see which CTA format (copy, colour, size and location) converts more effectively. The CTA button is what drives your user to take action.
- The CTA is the most important element of your landing page. If your visitor clicks here, you’ve converted them. Get rid of any surplus information that distracts from the CTA and check ACTIVELY AND PASSIVELY THAT it can be seen clearly on tablets and smartphones.
Test, test and test again
- Test different versions to find out which landing page gets the most conversions. Analyse the results of each change. Use heatmaps to follow web behaviour. Scroll maps provide information on where your visitor is spending most time on your site, and at what point they leave. Use technology such as Crazy Egg to analyze the data.
- Check your hyperlinks work. Links that don’t go anywhere annoy the user and result in lost leads.
- And finally, a landing page needs to be flexible and easy to modify. You’re going to do plenty of testing to find the optimum page for conversions. Depending on test results you might need to change the colour of the CTA, the message or other elements. You can update the pages according to user needs. Find the system best adapted to making changes – and that allows you to create attractive designs.
Here are some more secrets for an outstanding landing page
Craft convincing copy
- Start with an attention grabbing title. The title eBook: the 10 secrets of social selling is much more appealing than How to improve your social selling.
- The content is also important. Remember: you’re not trying to advertise – you want to communicate a benefit to your target customer. Include photos or a video to complete your offering. According to a study by Eye view digital, the use of video on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%. A fantastic reason to build one into your next page.
Showcase your credibility
- Before entering personal information in a sign-up form, users like to check the reputation of the company that’s asking for them. Use the space to prove your professionalism and showcase recognition in your sector: who your clients are, press coverage, testimonials, awards, privacy policy etc.
Refer visitors to your social media profiles
- Include links to your social networking profiles for greater transparency. Your web visitor can then access your pages and check out the relationship you have with your communities, your online reputation, and the opinions of fans and followers.
Say thank you!
- Last but definitely not least: include a thank you page. If you’ve gained the trust of your visitor and turned them into a valuable lead… thank them! Your prospect has given you information; show them it’s important to you to stay in touch, and provide them with regular, relevant content.
Here’s an example of one of our recent landing pages, inviting users to sign up for a free eBook compiling our top blog posts on selling and sales management. Check it out for a practical guide – applicable to any sales environment – on how to sell more effectively.
What’s your experience with landing pages? Feel free to share your comments with us.
