How to Create an Effective Landing Page
For success with online marketing, your website needs to be effective – particularly the landing page. The landing page is the first thing people see when they visit your site, so it’s important to get it right. An effective landing page will draw potential clients into your website and encourage them to have a look around. With the right marketing elements and stellar design, they’re more likely to go through the motions and make a purchase. So, what makes a landing page great? In this article, we explore exactly how to create an effective landing page.
Effective Design
The overall design of your landing page will have a huge effect on how well it drives conversions. Essentially, an effective landing page should make it easy for a visitor to convert, so all the elements of your site must work towards the conversation objective. Some of these elements include signing up to a newsletter, filling out a form, downloading an ebook or making a purchase.
A great landing page will include eye-catching images and make clever use of colour. Studies have shown that certain colours, such as red or green, can increase landing page conversions when used for buttons. For best results, these colours should be used against a contrasting background to help them stand out. Button colour and design are particularly important, as they’re key factors that influence conversion. The best button design for your site will depend on your product, service, and target audience. To figure out what works best, take time to play around with different button attributes such as placement, colour, and size.
Clean and Minimalist
For best results, your landing page should be clean with obvious navigation and minimal distractions. A great landing page offers all the necessary information needed for visitors to convert, but nothing more. Many people assume they should provide as much information as possible to give visitors the best chance of conversation; however, this can actually have a negative effect. A cluttered landing page can overwhelm visitors and cause them to visit a different site, instead. The best thing to do is to keep your page minimalist and provide only the essential information. To make the information easily scannable, consider using bullet points. Sum up the point in larger text and use a smaller font to provide more information underneath if necessary.
Use Header to Show Off Offer
An effective landing page should have a strong offer. This should be placed in the header so it’s the first thing that visitors see when they visit your site. For best results, use clear and concise terms to explain why the offer is valuable. Using a strong headline and subheading will help promote the value of the offer, and encourage customers to find out more. The most effective landing pages use a headline to confirm the offer and then provide more information in the subheading. On average, you have about 8 seconds to convince visitors that your offer is valuable, so it’s essential to use clear and concise copy. Using a button on your header is a great way to encourage visitors to find out more. This should direct them to a page with more information and a call to action explaining what to do next.
Trust Signals
Trust signals show visitors that your brand is trustworthy. There are several forms of trust signal, but one of the most popular is testimonials. Positive feedback from your customers will reassure visitors that your brand is trustworthy. The same thing can be achieved with “like” counters, which provide a subtle form of endorsement through your “likes” on social media.
Trust badges are another powerful trust signal. Trust badges often refer to certain endorsements you’ve received, logos of well-known brands you’ve worked with and groups that you’re a member of. They act as endorsements of both skill and trustworthiness.
Make Your Page Mobile Friendly
Today, almost 30% of web activity comes from mobile. With this in mind, your landing page must be easy to navigate from a mobile. Research has shown that having a mobile-friendly website can double your conversions, so it’s worth investing in. Your website should look great and work effectively on mobile devices; this means that it’s well designed, fast loading and easy to navigate.
Keep Your Forms Short
As an online marketer, you naturally want to collect as much data as possible from your visitors. However, to create an effective landing page, less is more. To keep customers happy, it’s important to keep your forms short and sweet. The more fields there are, the less chance you have of visitors completing the form and getting the conversation. If your conversion requires a form, only include the essential questions. If you want to ask for more info, create a thank you page with an additional, optional form.
Match Landing Page Copy with PPC Ads
For best results, match the copy used on your landing page with the text used in your PPC ads. Repeating the same phrases shows consistency and reassures visitors that they’re on the right path. You also need to deliver visitors directly to the content they’re looking for. For instance, if a visitor clicks on a PPC ad about customised Christmas cards, don’t drop them in the generic cards section – you want to deliver them to the exact product that they’ve clicked on. Conversions happen by matching a user’s need as closely as possible.
If you’re wondering how to create a good landing page, the information above is a great starting point. Ultimately, an effective landing page cannot be created without a good amount of testing. Use the tips above to create your page and then test and track the results. This will show you what’s working with your page and what isn’t, allowing you to make any necessary changes to increase conversion rate.