We have recently been designing landing pages for clients and thought we’d clarify what is and is not a landing page, as well as some things to keep in mind when building a landing page that brings conversions from your campaign.
What is a landing page?
This is a page where your visitors arrive after clicking on a link, typing in a link or use a QR code to get information about a service or product that you have featured in a campaign. That campaign is usually a Google Adword ad or perhaps it is an offline piece in a direct mail form.
Unless you are selling one product or service, we don’t recommend using your homepage as your landing page. This is because those viewing the campaign, ad or QR code are already engaged in the sales process. Your landing page should provide a customized sales pitch for the visitor or be that next step in the sales process. Whether that’s to try your product, buy your product or contact you.
This gets us into our next section, what makes a good landing page?
Tips to a Perfect Page
1. Content
What you need is a straightforward call-to-action. Ask yourself, where are your customers at in the buying process when they reach your landing page? Use this information to write compelling copy that is clear and precise to move the visitor to the next step: “Subscribe,” “Sign Up,” “Download,” or “Buy Now.”
Create value with your content. Yes, features are important, but value is where the sale lives. How does the product or service help you? Make sure you focus on your customers and their needs and then how your product or service can meet them.
Match your message with your ad or campaign. Your content and call-to-action must fulfill the promise of your ad with your landing page. You’ve gained a click or a visit, don’t lose it by not following through with your content.
Build trust. Are you certified in your field? Have you won awards for your service? Does your client list show experience and quality service? Do you have a Privacy Policy in place? Do you have personal testimonials you can share? (Video testimonials work the best!)
2. Compelling Design
Keep it simple. Remember your focus is to get your visitors to act on your call-to-action, so the less is more rule cannot be emphasized enough. You need to make sure that your content above flows well, that important points are emphasized and more importantly the design focuses on your call-to-action.
Personalize the experience. There are still many landing pages that feature overused stock photos.
Stray away from templates and cookie-cutter designs. This does nothing for your brand integrity or the ability for your customer to remember the brand experience. By using one impressive original image that reflects your brand, service or product in use delivers a high-impact impression.
Remove navigation and other distractions. Stay focused on your goal, by adding any features that would drive your visitors away from your goal or call-to-action will simply dilute the response you want your visitors to take.
Responsive or multi-channel design. No longer are your customers visiting your landing page on a desktop computer. The mobile web is on a steady increase. Make sure that your landing page is optimized for the experience to ensure the best conversion rate.
3. Test and Tweak
Setup a landing page testing solution with Google Analytics or other premium services you can gather statistical data that allows you to see what’s performing well. Try A/B designs, headlines, subheads, copy and call-to-actions. The best thing about landing pages is they are easy to build and manage.
4. Social Media Integration and Micro-Conversions
Didn’t get the conversion but you gained the interest of your visitor? By including social media links, “Like” options, etc. you setup secondary call-to-actions.
Visitors to your landing page may still be in the buying process and may want to do some investigation on you as a company or simply read more reviews about your products or services. By giving them the option to investigate you through other channels of the web continues that sales process. (Keep in mind though, this is where good content strategy comes into place. If your messages across your company are not consistent and maintain your brand integrity, including these extra links can cause confusion and disrupt or kill the sale.)
So there you have it, simple tips for perfect landing pages. We didn’t expand on everything, but overall if you follow the above tips you can be sure that your landing page will be a unique and quality experience for your campaigns. Just remember to keep it simple and focused.