Build A Better Landing Page

Here’s some food for thought: Companies see a 55% increase in leads when increasing their number of landing pages from just 10 to 15, according to recent reports. Even more interesting (to us) is that in terms of conversion rates, design and layout is a major factor in website performance.

Landing pages are a crucial part of a successful inbound marketing strategy. But while having more landing pages can have a huge impact on lead generation, the other takeaway here is that your landing pages also need to look good to perform well.

Well, we want to make that a little bit easier on you, since we know how challenging great design can be — particularly if you’re not a designer. So to help you build good looking and high-converting landing pages, we wanted to share some design-related best practices.

21 Quick Landing Page Tips

1. Ensure the primary headline of your landing page matches the ad visitors clicked to get there.
2. Make your call to action (CTA) big and position it above the fold.
3. Use directional cues to direct attention to your CTA (arrows or photos/videos of people looking or pointing at your button).
4. For lead generation forms where the CTA is below the fold (e.g. due to a long form) – make the directional cue point down the page to the button.
5. A landing page should have a single purpose and thus a single focused message.
6. Congruence: every element of your page should be aligned conceptually with the topic and goal of the page.
7. Show your product/service being used in context.
8. Use video. It’s been shown to improve conversion by up to 80%.
9. Edit to remove unnecessary content. Be succinct.
10. Use real testimonials for authenticity.
11. Show social proof via indicators of your social status.
12. Test new ideas using A/B testing. Let your customers decide which message works best for them.
13. Provide a free trial. Try-before-you-buy is a standard and expected feature.
14. Provide a guarantee to reduce/remove risk.
15. Include partner co-branding to increase trust by association.
16. Simplify your copy using bullets.
17. If you are selling a book, or giving away an eBook via lead gen, provide a preview to increase trust show that you are proud of your product.
18. Segment by traffic source. Send your PPC, email, social media, organic and banner traffic to separate landing pages for better message match and measurability (which channel performs best)
19. Segment by user type: don’t send offers about men’s health products to the ladies on your email list.
20. Show your phone number so people know you are real and can interact with you on a personal level.
21. Finally, don’t send inbound traffic to your homepage. Use a landing page!