As simple as it may sound, landing pages can be quite confusing a topic for anyone new to it, especially site owners.
An effective landing page can be the cornerstone of your success online – the perfect use of which can convert new leads and dramatically improve your marketing ROI today.
And at the core of it, a great landing page is one – that’s persuasive, grabs the attention of visitors and compels them to complete a conversion. Learn how you can create a winning landing page with these 8 simple landing page tips.
Before we proceed, first let’s take a look into what a landing page is, how it works and why it is so important to create an effective landing page.
So let’s get started!
What is a landing page and how does it work
A landing page is a page on your site that is designed to convert visitors into leads.
The basic definition of a landing page is a dedicated page on a website that you land on directly from an external source such as a paid ad or email.
It is a standalone web page, created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign, that provides you with the means for capturing a potential customer and their information.
Generating leads for your business is a necessary part of your marketing campaign. And in digital marketing, a landing page is a page designed for one ultimate purpose: to make a visitor convert into a lead. Whether it’s signing up for an event, subscribing to a newsletter, or filling out a query form; a landing page aims to do just that.
However, unlike web pages, which typically have many goals and encourage exploration, landing pages are designed with a single focus or goal, which is CTA.
Landing pages can be constructed for SEO purposes to capture organic search traffic. They can also be used with paid advertising through search engines or social media. The two channels of discovery to a landing page are:
- Organic search: When a user finds the page from an organic SERP listing.
- Marketing campaign: When the landing pages are accessed by a link from a paid ad or email.
Now, in case you’re wondering – “Can a home page be a landing page?”, the answer is – usually, no.
But there are always exceptions. For example, take a one-page website created specifically as a squeeze page to capture email or gain sign-ups. For a website that is more than 4 or 5 pages, the home page usually exists as the portal to enable a user to navigate to other pages. While the home page has too many functions and distraction, a landing page is very focused on conversion.
And the landing page works with a pretty straight forward concept. If people click on a campaign link in your newsletter or social media post, you’ve already managed to spark their interest in your event, business or whatever you’re promoting. Since they’ve clicked on the content, they probably already have a bit of context on the topic. And they’re likely to be further in a user journey as someone landing on your site from an informational search query in Google. Now your job would be to make sure this action as easy as possible!
Why is it important to create an effective landing page?
Landing pages are a great way to drive traffic, improve your SEO and build your brand. They can also form part of an effective PPC strategy. It exists after visitors at the top of the funnel click a link in an ad, email, or anywhere else on the web. And it’s where the conversion (like a purchase, signup, or registration) will take place.
Approximately 68% of B2B businesses use strategic landing pages for new sales leads.
They create the first impression and lure the customer in and to the next stop of the lead generation funnel. Great content is what attracts most customers, converting them into leads. So this is your opportunity to create conversions and build your customer base.
8 steps to a great landing page
Making a good landing page isn’t rocket science—but it does take some time and work.
Building an effective landing page is less about flashiness and more about getting the consumer what they’re after.That means going beyond simply designing something that “looks good.”
So how can you make it happen and create an outstanding landing page?
Keep reading, and we’ll lay it out for you.
1. Define your goal
As landing pages can be used for a number of purposes, start by determining your goals for your landing page. It is vital to the planning process, as it will influence your landing page’s design.
Landing pages exist to drive conversions. So, you need to ask yourself what type of conversion are you hoping to drive? The most common conversion goals include:
- Building brand awareness
- Lead generation
- Sales
Besides, whatever you want your customers to do should be the singular focus of your landing page.
2. Choose a template
Templates are the ultimate time-saver when creating high-converting landing pages on a time-crunch. They’re designed for specific conversion goals and they’ve got all the essential elements – just waiting for your finishing touch.
So you need to plan your layout and have a template ready. And regardless of the goal, a good landing page should have the following five elements:
- A headline
- A brief description of your offering
- Relevant imagery
- A lead-capture form
- A call-to-action
3. Pick a compelling CTA
Spend time crafting a compelling CTA.
The Call To Action is one of the most important parts of a landing page form. A compelling CTA should be convincing, straight to the point, and powerful; think of your call to action as the “final push” in getting your visitors to convert.
Without a strong CTA, your prospects may wonder why the hell they’re handing over all this personal information in the first place. So you need to convince them why it’s worth their while, providing them with an incentive.
Use persuasive language, focus on the benefits. You need to reinforce their desire to get their hands on whatever you’re offering and make sure they cross the line and ultimately – convert.
4. Write catchy headlines that will get conversions
As soon as a visitor lands on your page, they should know what your company or the specific ad is offering. And the headline is what comes first.
A headline is where everything begins — interest, attention, and understanding. It’s what compels a visitor to stay and learn more about what you’re offering — or not.
Here’s what it needs to accomplish:
- The headline should grab the reader’s attention.
- The headline should tell the reader what the product or service is all about.
- The headline should be short. Never make it more than 20 words, and preferably limit it to 10.
Also note, if your headline complements an image that explains the product or service, then you won’t have to go into quite as much detail in the copy.
The next element you need to create an effective landing page is the subheadline.
If the headline makes the visitor look, then the subheadline should make them stay. Here’s what to keep in mind as you create yours:
- Normally, the persuasive sub-headline is positioned directly underneath the main headline.
- The sub-headline should have some element of persuasiveness.
- The sub-headline can go into slightly more depth and detail than the main headline.
5. Use supporting media
Use high-quality media to make your landing page more eye-catching.
Visual content is an essential component of landing pages that has an immediate effect on the visitor. Not to mention, the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
These can be images that further your ad’s marketing efforts, or even videos that give a short explanation of what your ad is about.
So as you select and place your images, remember that
- Your landing page represents your brand. Think of how your visuals work with your branding and use only high-quality media
- They should be large
- They should be relevant to your product or service
After all, if your images are the first thing a visitor processes, they have the potential to shape that visitor’s impression of your brand before they even read your copy — and you need that impression to be a good one.
6. Stay on brand with color and typography
Your choice of words matters. At the same time, your font choice matters just as much. And this applies to any marketing asset, including your landing page.
It links to your brand design that has a lot more to consider.
Here, the main consideration of colors is the way certain colors evoke certain emotions. People have psychological ties to different colors, and using branding colors and logo colors strategically can have a serious impact on how your brand is perceived by your audience. Also repetition of the same color can strengthen your brand awareness.
On the other hand, the typography is intentionally designed to showcase a brand’s style and character. It commands attention, works as the visual interpretation of the brand’s voice and power to reveal it’s personality.
Here, the fonts you choose for your landing page will significantly impact the visitors’ understanding of your copy. And for that you need to consider a few nitty gritty of typography and design specs:
- Fonts should match the theme and tone of your landing page.
- Keep your font’s reputation in mind and how it’ll affect your landing page. You want to keep a network of fonts with good reputations and no conflicts of interest.
- Consider kerning (the amount of spacing between letters), leading (the amount of spacing between lines of text), size (body, text input, secondary text)
- It’s recommended to stick to about four different font sizes throughout your page
- Use colors to create contrast, draw attention
7. Use a simple contact form
When it comes to a website or a blog, there’s no communication tool as good as the contact form. A good contact form can offer a number of benefits for your landing page and overall marketing effort, such as –
- Offers your potential customers/visitors an easy way to contact you
- Helps you convert visitors into customers and generate leads
- And of course, allows you to learn more about your customers
While setting up the contact form there are a few visual aspects and elements that you want to consider, like –
- The placement of the contact page – depending on the website and audience – on the main menu or at the bottom
- Only ask for information you MUST have
- Don’t ask for sensitive information
- Spend time crafting a compelling CTA
- Try to ditch the “required” fields and CAPTCHA
- Help your users complete the forms, provide additional information along the way
- Adjust the surrounding space
- And of course, design mobile-friendly landing page forms
8. Link your landing page to your ads and promote
And finally you need to promote your landing page.
After you publish your landing page, there’s a lot you can do to drive traffic to your page and make it stand out online. For instance, consider
- Copy and share your URL. The easiest way to promote your landing page is to copy the URL and share it in email campaigns or social media platforms.
- Promote with Facebook ads (including Messenger and Instagram)
- Use Google search ads – choose right keywords, create ad groups and boost your ad rank
- Consider some other landing page advertising channels that can generate traffic and conversions, like – LinkedIn, YouTube, Quora, Twitter
A high converting landing page is a place where all your efforts come to fruition. This is the place where customers click, people buy, and you earn revenue.As you build your digital marketing toolbox, including landing pages is a smart move, and both you and your customers will reap the benefits.
Good luck, and go get those conversions!
