subject: Five Tips to Build a Better Landing Page [print this page] Five Tips to Build a Better Landing Page Five Tips to Build a Better Landing Page
As we work with different clients to help them improve their online marketing strategies, we are often asked about landing page best practices. Our clients want to know what makes a great landing page and how they can increase their conversion rates. Here are five tips we tell them for building a better landing page:
Employ User-Centered Design It is important to design a landing page from the visitor's perspective. Make sure you research your audience and anticipate what the user expects. Studies show that making simple design changes can considerably increase conversion rates. For example, we have found that two-column design reaps better results for our clients as opposed to a 1 or 3 column design.
Remember, Continuity is Key Make sure you are sending a consistent message to your audience throughout the entire campaign. The advertisement you use to promote your page must be nearly identical to the landing page. Content, headers, fonts, colors and images should be the same across touch points. The last thing you want is for someone to click on your banner ad, and then bounce once they find a landing page they didn't expect.
Answer the Big 3, Immediately There are three main questions that your audience is looking for when they reach a landing page. You have only a few seconds to grab their attention and immediately answer the what, why, and how: What are you offering me? Why should I care about it? How do I get it? Of course, you only have one page to provide this information, so your copy needs to be precise.
Avoid the Urge to be Greedy Ok, this can be hard for your sales team to grasp, but this is not the time to collect unnecessary information. The more information you request from a prospect, the less likely they will convert. Your form should only include the minimum fields necessary to follow-up with the lead. That means don't ask questions about budget, purchase timeline, number of users, and other useless information. Save that for later in the sales cycle.
Build Trust Prospects will not give you their information if they don't trust you. Your landing page should use specific techniques to build credibility for your company, product or service. Try writing a privacy statement as a guarantee to your prospects that you won't sell their information to third-parties. Another option is to add an icon from an award you've won, or a positive quote from a client. Give your audience a reason to trust you.
At Roger West, we employ landing page best practices to reap the best results for our clients. You can improve your online marketing and increase your conversion rates by making a few simple changes in your approach. Good luck!
