By Marcus Cook
A landing page is the website page that users land on after clicking a link on a search engine results page, marketing promotion, or online advertisement. By optimizing your landing pages, you can improve the results of your PPC campaigns and maximize ROI.
There are many aspects to designing a landing page with high conversion rates. However, we will focus on the seven key elements to maximize your chances of success:
1. Keep ads and landing pages consistent
When you run ads to bring people from Facebook to your landing page, you are making sure the acquisition process is seamless. If the connection doesn’t match what the ad says it does and what the landing page shows, the customer will be turned off. Don’t offer free shipping on your ad to get people’s attention and then don’t offer it at checkout.
Also, make sure to match the aesthetic of your site. If your ad has a blue image, your landing page shouldn’t have a red background. This affects the user experience and leaves customers hesitant to evolve. Make sure that not only is your messages consistent, but the experience too.
2. Get them noticed with your headline
If 10 people see your ad, an average of eight people will read your headline, but only two people will read your copy. Hence, it is important to tweak your headline as much as possible. I do what I call “The 5 Second Rule”. The 5 second rule means if you land a page to a stranger, would they know what you’re selling in the first five seconds? If not, you’ll need to rewrite your headline so your offer is clear and compelling within the first five seconds.
3. Create a compelling call to action
So many people only have “Send” as a call-to-action (CTA). This one mistake can seriously affect the outcome of your campaign. Your CTA should entice your viewer to click on it. For example, if you’re offering a free e-book, your CTA shouldn’t read “Download Now”. It should read “Download my free e-book” instead. This simple change in wording not only makes your CTA more convincing, but also warmer and friendlier.
4. Speak as if you were speaking to a friend
Many landing pages use the “bad used car salesman” tone: “For a limited time only, you can get two bottles for the price of one …” And then a countdown timer appears at the top of the page that everyone knows is not real, try us to force you to buy.
The goal of a landing page should be to sell without sounding like a salesperson. The way to do this is by speaking the same way you would with a friend. If you wanted to recommend a product to a friend, how would you do it? You would not try to trick them or make them buy. You would just show them the benefits of your product, the reviews, and explain how the product has made a positive impact on your life.
Other items from AllBusiness.com:
5. Keep conversion forms simple
When getting someone to sign up for a webinar or download an e-book, all you should do is ask for what you need to know and nothing more. If you sign up for a webinar and all you need is an email address, all you should do is ask for it. Don’t ask for a phone number, date of birth, address, or anything else. People have short attention spans and don’t like sharing personal information. If someone just downloads a swipe file, they shouldn’t have to tell you where they live.
The only exception to this rule is when they ask for their name. This could be beneficial in future email campaigns. If you have someone’s first name, you can use their names so that you can act as a friend rather than a salesperson. However, you definitely don’t need a person’s name to market them and build a relationship.
6. Focus on benefits, not features
Why was the iPod the most successful portable music player in the early 2000s? Was it because it first hit the market? No. The portable music player was first launched in 1998. Was it because it had the most storage space? No. At the time, the iPod had a much smaller drive than other MP3 players. So what was it
When Steve Jobs launched the iPod in 2001, he did so under the motto “1,000 songs in your pocket”. At the time, every other company focused their marketing message on space, hard drive, and design. They all focused on the properties of their product; Jobs focused on the benefits.
When writing the copy for your landing page, remember to focus on the benefits of your product or service, not its features. Nobody cares that Michelob Ultra only has an ABV of 4.2%. People make sure they can drink the beer while they are still on a low-carb diet.
7. Test everything
Too often, a marketer will be running a campaign. If the results aren’t what you expected, blame the ad instead of the landing page. However, I always beg them to check how much traffic they are driving to the page because when they get clicks but no conversions, it often means that the problem is with the landing page, not the ad.
What exactly should you test? All you can
- Headlines: Try one header around scarcity and the other around social evidence.
- Call to Action: Have one CTA that says “Buy Now” and another that says “Proceed to Checkout”. Also try out different colors.
- Side length: Try a long landing page and a short landing page.
- Videos: Have a landing page with a video sales letter and one without.
- Your offer: Try one offer with free shipping and another offer with 10% off.
It is important that you test each item individually. If you test all the variations at the same time, you won’t know which change can increase or decrease sales. For now, just test the headers. Once you’ve figured out which header works best, test the CTA and work your way through the list.
CONNECTED: 10 copywriting tips to increase your website conversions
About the author
Contribution by: Marcus Cook
Marcus Cook is the founder of The Success Bug. The Success Bug is an entrepreneurship blog that covers business success stories, startup ideas, growth strategies, and more. It also has resources such as e-books and courses to help you start and grow your business.
Company: The failure of success
Website: www.thesuccessbug.com
Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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