Proper landing page optimization can generate the leads you need to keep your business flush in even the hardest of times. 

Designing and redesigning your landing pages using best practices can fetch you the results you seek. Leave them less than well-designed, and you’ll lose potential customers.

Why is Landing Page Optimization so Important?

Landing Page Optimization has to be done in a way that motivates visitors to continue the conversion process. That alone is important. Now, consider that you most likely pay for the ads that drive people to your landing pages. Don’t you want to get the full benefit out of every click you pay for?

Of course, you do! Now, check out these five landing page optimization best practices.

1. Aesthetics Matter

To someone who has never visited your website, seeing your landing page is their first introduction to your online ‘storefront’. You should want to leave a good impression. There are other reasons for doing this as well. For one, an attractive, professional-looking landing page builds trust. Not only that, but your landing page should also be consistent with the look and feel of your branding. Here are some things to consider while optimizing landing page.

Carefully Select Your Color Theme

The right color scheme pleases to the eye. Specific colors may also have a very subtle psychological effect. Your choice of colors can also create a sense of familiarity if you repeat hues commonly used in your branding. Finally, don’t forget that color can make your CTA button pop and improve the optimization of landing page. 

Use High-Quality Images And Graphics

Photographs, videos, infographics, and other visuals can help your target customers see your products in a flattering light. They can also further serve to prove the points you made in your advertising and landing page content. Don’t forget that relevance and authenticity matter. Using real pictures of people, places, and products, not the ones you’ve sourced from other places can also improve the performance of landing page.

White Spaces Adds Readability And a Better Look

Make sure that your landing pages are not crammed with visuals and walls of text as it can distract the user from achieving the goals you have set.  It becomes hard for the users to skim through the page if the content is difficult to read and look disorganized. Add white space to create a clean look, and to help visitors understand what you are selling to them. Don’t forget to use lists or bullet points to make important points stand out as it has been tested as one of the effective landing page optimization best practices

Create a Visual Hierarchy

The rule of primacy states that the first thing people see tends to have the most influence. Take advantage of this when you structure your landing page. Further, remember that what people see in headings will also stick with them. Finally, remember basic web design:

• The top left of the page gets the most focus.
• Heat maps show that people read in F-patterns.
• Users only spend a few seconds on a page before moving on.

2. Keep Things Focused

Whether you are creating one from scratch or redesigning an old landing page, keep your scope limited. Your goal is to sell the particular product or service you are featuring, not to sell everything you have to offer. Maintain a close relationship between your ad and your landing page, and avoid cluttering with too much extra information. Your visitor has already shown an interest in your offer. Don’t distract them with other information. Keep text to a minimum, so visitors focus on the right thing.

By taking a minimalist approach, you can create high-performing streamlined pages. This is great because performance matters as well. The faster your page loads, and the easier it is for visitors to process visually, the lower your bounce rates will be. Obviously, fewer bounces mean more conversions you get from the landing page.

One thing you can do is remove navigation elements from your landing page. Don’t add links to other content. Don’t force them to go off the page for any explanations. Your landing page should contain the images and content you want them to read, and your call to action.

3. Pay Special Care to Content

You need to minimize the content on your page to make it convert, but that doesn’t mean your content isn’t essential. It’s one of the most important elements of your landing page. To generate more leads from your landing pages, implement the following tips:

Lead With a Great Headline

A compelling headline starts by grabbing attention. Then, it gives a brief explanation or the product or service. Keep your headlines short. Twenty words is the absolute longest, and in reality, your headline should be closer to ten words.

Keep in mind that if your landing page has visuals or other content that provide details, your headline doesn’t have to be as specific. 

Here’s a quick example. A search for ‘grocery delivery’ brings up a Google Ad from Mercato touting their grocery delivery. While the rest of their landing page leads much to be desired, their headline is spot on. It’s short, simple, and clarifies the offer.

Use a Subheading to Sell The Benefit

Since you want your headline to be short and concise, follow that up with a subheading to further show the value proposition of the offer. Check out this heading with the subheading that came from a search for heirloom seeds.

The headline shares the ‘what’. The subheading follows by giving a clear value proposition. Most seeds are as low as 99 cents. At a glance, readers know they can get GMO, heirloom seeds for a low price.

Provide a Short And Concise Explanation

Of course, a heading and subheading probably won’t tell your visitor everything they need to know. It’s up to you to use content to fill in the blanks. Remember the rules above about being concise, and formatting for scanning and readability. 

The purpose of the explanation is to ensure that anyone who is unfamiliar understands your product or service, and the relevant offer. Charles Buchanan is a head copywriter for the essay writing service, Studicus. When asked about his thoughts on landing page content, he says, “It’s best to start with a goal in mind for the whole page. Next, consider how the headline and subheading have contributed to accomplishing that goal. Think of what the visual elements have contributed as well. Finally, write the landing page content to fill in whatever gaps are left.”

With that advice in mind, your headline and subheading could be all the detail you need to include on your landing page. Conversely, your page could require a paragraph of detail to make things clear.

Talk About Pain And Pleasure

People want to avoid pain and will seek pleasure when they can. That’s why effective marketing means addressing pain and pleasure points.

When you’re talking about pain, speak in terms of what people stand to lose if they miss out. This could be an opportunity to save money or continuing to pay too much for a particular product or service. For example, you could point out that by not taking your webinar, your potential customers will lag behind technical knowledge.

Pleasure is the benefit the customer gains as a result of buying your product or service. Think about selling an in-home cleaning service. What you’re really selling is the ability to have guests over without worrying about the cleanliness of your home. You’re selling more time to spend on pleasurable activities instead of cleaning.

4. Always Build Trust

Customers are savvier than ever. From the moment they arrive on your landing page, they understand that you are trying to sell something. Skepticism is the norm. By including sincere, relevant trust indicators, you can make your audience feel more confident about answering your call to action. There are several items you can include to build that trust:

Testimonials

Testimonials let people know that others have used your products and services, and are happy with the results. A relevant, believable testimony is precious in terms of building trust. Unfortunately, many sites choose to use gushing testimonials that are full of vague superlatives.

A good testimonial is brief but detailed enough to be informative. Avoid testimonials like this:

‘Acme Widgets changed my life! They are the best ever!’

Instead, use something that’s more similar to this:

‘The Acme widget we ordered arrived in plenty of time. It was priced reasonably and easy to use. Will definitely order in the future!’

Trust Badges

A legitimate, earned trust badge is proof that your brand is well-regarded in your industry, and that your website is safe. Trust badges can include antivirus certifications, endorsements that show you use secured payment methods, licenses, or certifications awarded by your industry, or endorsements from consumer protection agencies.

Well-Written Copy

Janine Wilcox works with a well-known writing service, Trust my Paper. She notes that quality and accuracy in and of itself is an important trust element. She says, “When readers see spelling and grammatical errors, factual inaccuracies, or just poor phrasing, that indicates a lack of care. People can’t help but assume this might apply to your products or services as well.”

5. Create a Meaningful Call to Action

The call to action button and surrounding text may only take up a small part of your landing page. In spite of this, they are certainly the most important. Your call to action should be clear. Visitors should know exactly what you want them to do, and what will happen when they click that button. More importantly, your call to action button should be designed to ensure that they want to take that action.

Final Thoughts

Your landing pages have a real impact on the leads you generate, and your conversions as well. Now is the perfect time to revisit your landing pages to implement changes to include these best practices. Don’t forget to use these steps in your new landing pages as well.

 

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