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According to psychologists, you have 7 seconds to make a first impression when introducing yourself to someone new. In the world of e-commerce, businesses often introduce themselves to potential clients through landing pages that offer a resource or service like an ebook, special event, product, exclusive information, or webinar in exchange for their contact information.
Landing pages are stand-alone web pages that someone accesses after seeing your online advertising or marketing. To convert those visitors into clients or customers, it’s essential to create a landing page that quickly grabs their attention and lets them know exactly what you have to offer them.
What’s the secret to landing pages that convert? The guide below outlines several elements you need to work together to optimize your landing pages for maximum impact and higher conversion rates. You’ll also find actionable tips and best practices to implement those elements and some real-world examples to consider.
Whether you do it in-house or hire an outside expert, such as the web developers at InnoVision Marketing Group, incorporating the following information can help you craft better landing pages that convert.
Start With a Compelling Design
The first consideration should always be the design and layout of the page since that gives visitors their first impression of your company and determines whether they make a quick pit stop and leave or take the next step with your business.
Cut Through the Clutter
Keep the design simple, clean, and uncluttered. Because your landing page might be the only exposure someone has to your company, crowding as much information as possible into a small space can be tempting. However, clients will be better able to focus on your message without a lot of unnecessary text, competing colors and images, or funny animations.
A simple design will also ensure your landing page is mobile-friendly. Decoding website traffic reveals that much of today’s online visitors come through mobile devices, so you don’t want a landing page bogged down with extra images, animations, and design elements that will slow down the loading speed.
One company that does a great job of keeping the design clean and straightforward is Uber. Short sentences that are easy to digest, crisp black-and-white design, and simple images combine to give users the information they need quickly and easily.
Guide the Eye
What is the most critical information on your landing page? Usually, it’s your call to action (CTA). You can establish a visual hierarchy using font size, color, and text placement to guide visitors’ eyes toward your CTA.
For instance, Canva highlights its CTA (i.e., signing up for a free trial of an upgraded account) by using a solid color for the button against a lighter background and making the text white instead of black. In addition, the eye is naturally led down the page by using larger font sizes at the top and gradually getting smaller the lower you read.
Persuade With Your Copy
Think about your landing page like a one-minute elevator pitch. Your copy should clearly and concisely articulate how your product or service will benefit the user. Don’t just list the features of your business. Instead, your headline should immediately communicate what the user will gain, how your product will improve their life, or what problem your business solves.
If appropriate, you can also provide evidence like short testimonials or reviews, which will help establish credibility and build trust. Offering money-back guarantees, trial periods, or free consultations helps reduce the perceived risk for visitors and can be a powerful tool in persuasion. Also, any security certificates, trust badges, or privacy assurances you offer your users should be displayed prominently on your landing page to boost confidence in the security of your page.
The subscription cat litter service Pretty Litter, for instance, uses all the above components on its landing page. First, they clearly state how they can improve your life by eliminating litter box odor and helping you monitor your cat’s health. Then, they offer a 30-day, risk-free guarantee. Further down the page, they include reviews from current customers. They also include a Better Business Bureau badge indicating they have an A+ rating as an accredited business.
Develop an Effective CTA
A compelling CTA encourages users to take immediate action. Use strong verbs and short phrases that are clear and action-oriented, such as “Download Now,” “Enroll Today,” and “Get Started.” You might even be able to combine your CTA with a benefit that the user will enjoy, such as Spotify’s “Try free for one month” CTA that lets them know what to do as well as what they will receive in return.
Ensure your CTA is strategically located to stand out from the surrounding elements. Placing the CTA above the fold, in the middle of the page, or at the end is usually a good choice. Some landing pages include the CTA in more than one location. Use contrasting text or button colors to make sure the CTA is highly visible (see “Guide the Eye” above).
Always Optimize Your Forms
In order to convert visitors into clients, you need their contact information, which usually involves them filling out a form. Here are two best practices to optimize those forms:
- Minimize fields: Keep it short and sweet. Only ask for the information you truly need since too many fields can sometimes lead to users quitting and leaving your page.
- Inline validation: When you implement inline validation on your forms, users receive immediate feedback on their form entries and are able to correct mistakes instantly, which reduces frustration and improves their experience.
Test, Test, and Test Again
As with many other things in life, sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. Regularly testing different versions of your landing pages (e.g., A/B testing), using alternate CTAs, headlines, and images, or playing around with the placement of elements, can give you meaningful insights that will help you dramatically improve your results. The process of testing, making adjustments, and measuring results is one essential area where it can be a good idea to hire outside experts.Your landing page plays an important role in moving visitors toward becoming customers. By keeping the above tips in mind, you can create landing pages that convert and introduce a wider audience to your business.
FAQs
How to make a landing page that converts?
Focus on a clear value proposition, strong CTA (call-to-action), engaging visuals, and social proof to guide visitors toward a specific action.
How do you improvise a landing page for conversions?
Analyze user behavior, A/B test different elements, simplify the design, and optimize for speed and mobile responsiveness to improve conversion rates.
How do you write a landing page copy that converts?
Use concise, persuasive language, highlight benefits over features, address pain points, and include a compelling CTA that speaks directly to the target audience.
How to build a high-converting sales page?
Structure it with an attention-grabbing headline, emotional triggers, clear product benefits, testimonials, and a powerful CTA to drive conversions.
