You may have heard us mention a number of times about landing pages, but we haven’t covered them in detail in any of our recent blogs.
Today we’re going to take a closer look at landing pages in 2016, and what you should focus on to make your landing page as successful as it can be.
What is a landing page?
It can be really easy to get confused as to what a landing page is. It’s just a page that your visitor lands on right? Not quite.
As Hubspot so eloquently put – “All landing pages are web pages, but not all web pages are landing pages”.
Simply put, a landing page is a web page with a focus on a singular purpose, without the distraction of the rest of the website.
So, for example, you may use it to get someone to sign up to the free trial of your software. Or perhaps, to download an eBook, or for a discount voucher.
These pages can rest on your regular domain, but are hyper relevant to that specific topic. So this means removing all links to other distractions, and making it simple for your reader to ingest the information.
So might you use a landing page?
Landing pages are known to greatly improve conversion rates, as they are targeted. So how can you use landing pages for your site?
- Signing up for a free account
- Signing up for a course
- Signing up for a free guide
- Get a quote
- Free review or analysis
- Schedule a consultation
If you want to see some of these in action, go to Hubspot’s Landing Page Best Examples article, for some great (and varied) examples.
What do you need to focus on?
So these can be used is a variety of ways, for a variety of different purposes. How do you even know where to start when it comes to your landing page?
Here are 5 steps that should start you off in the right direction:
A valid offer for a landing page
Landing pages massively increasing conversions sound great right? However, that doesn’t mean you should set up landing pages for everything. Your website should be doing the job as an informative tool of your services. Landing pages offer a targeted option to persuade users to complete a certain action.
In order to persuade your users, you will need a good offer that is of value to that user. For example, you may be trying to grow your contact list of those who may be interested in your inbound marketing services. You would perhaps offer a beginners guide to inbound marketing for your business. This would be downloadable in exchange for contact information, and would provide value to those users.
A clear, short and simple layout
Now you have an offer that’s valid, you begin to put together your page. It’s best practice to keep your information above the fold where possible.
This isn’t always possible, but having your main information, and your call to action as the first things on the page will increase conversion rates. This is as users don’t have to work to find the information, what they wanted is right there for them.
When designing, consider how this will look on different devices, is your call to action still prominent?
Informative, professional looking content
Once you have an idea of how you are laying out your page, you will know how much content you need to include.
Again, it is better to keep this to a minimum, as a wall of text is going to cause a barrier to your conversion. But this needs to be precise, and informative, without being too pushy. Your audience is not here for a hard sale.
You also need to pay close attention to your font. Always ensure it is clear, and professional, and follows brand where possible. The last thing you want when a user gets to your page is to not be able to read the instructions.
Contrasting call to action
Your call to action is what is actually going to get the user to click. It goes without saying it needs to obvious, and as we have already established – above the fold.
One of the most popular tips is to have your call to action button in a contrasting colour to the rest of the page, to make it stand out. You could also consider using arrows, or images that point towards your form or call to action.
Also consider the text on your call to action button. This needs to be persuasive, and clear as to what will happen when the user presses it.
Trustworthiness
When you take away the links to the rest of your website, you can remove all signs of trust for a potential customer. They don’t know if you are who you say you are.
Consider adding your accreditations to the page. Or perhaps testimonials or reviews. You could even use some snapshot into your social media accounts. Anything that will reassure a nervous user that you are trustworthy, and telling the truth.
Remember though, all landing pages are different, and will perform differently. It is always best to A/B test landing page, so that you can gain the best results for you. The above will help, but nothing will be as useful as seeing results for yourself.
Consider changing the headline, content, layout, images and call to action to see what works.
If you are in any doubt when it comes to landing pages, our friendly team can help. Just give us a call on 01543 495752 and take advantage of our free marketing consultation.