We’ve helped our clients put together many marketing campaigns over the years, from banner ads to email blasts and what we’ve found is that the most successful of these campaigns make good use of landing pages. These pages take the user to a particular section of your site that highlights the message in the campaign with a clear-cut call to action.
A good example of a landing page
For example, if you want your users to look at a specific, new product or sign-up for a service, you don’t take the user to your home page. Instead, you create a specific page (landing page) that showcases the product or contains the sign-up form. This landing page should serve only one purpose – to complement your marketing campaign. Studies have shown that otherwise successful marketing campaigns can fail due to ill-conceived landing pages. And that’s not good news as you’ve already captured the attention of the user, only to have them take their conversions and wallets elsewhere because they were bored or confused with the landing page.
The question then becomes how you design a landing page that will convert users to customers. Here are some tips that we use to develop a landing page that converts:
- Use of copy – The text should be as clear and concise as possible. Don’t use bloated sentences or complicated words. Try to talk one-on-one with your customers. They’ll feel more welcomed as it’ll give your landing page a more personal feel. Your landing page is a direct marketing piece and direct marketers talk in the second person – “You will…” or “Your…” Also, if you are using a multi-tiered marketing strategy – sending people to landing pages from more than one source – cater that landing page headline to the source it is coming from. It is a vital tool that will help keep your visitors engaged in the message. And finally, don’t forget to proofread and spellcheck.Â
- Repetition of email copy or ad – repeat the copy used in the email blast or ad. This will help ensure the reader that they have come to the right place.
- Call-to-action placement - the Buy, Sign-Up button or whatever you use as your call-to-action should be placed above the fold, meaning the area of the site that is visible without scrolling. If you do have copy that needs to scroll, place the call-to-action at the top and bottom.
- Landing page design – a good landing page is simple to use and either matches the marketing campaign look and feel or the look and feel of the website as a whole. Graphics and photos should be of high quality and should appropriately add to the call-to-action. In other words, don’t over do the design and muddy the message.
- Use simple forms – a form should be as short as possible. If it’s important to get detailed information, get it later. Ask for the essential information first and send a follow-up with the more detailed information. Many users get turned off by lengthy forms (I sure do), so a simple form as the first step is the best approach.
- Keep links to a minimum – try not to add too many links outside of the landing page. Many times, landing pages are created specifically for the marketing campaign and aren’t linked from other pages. So if you have links that take users away from that page, they may find it difficult to find their way back.
- Video – Not enough data here yet to show whether video works in place if copy. People tend to read faster than they watch or listen. However, complementing copy with video can be successful as long as the video is relevant, of good quality, and to the point. It can put a face behind the copy for a more personal feel.
- Analyze the data – After the development of the landing page, it’s time to analyze the success of that page. Are your conversions (turning users to customers) giving you a positive ROI in relation to the dollars spent on the campaign? Can you reuse the landing page design for other campaigns (this will bring the overall cost down)? What is the landing page abandonment rate? Statistically, nearly 80% of your traffic will abandon your landing page without converting. Where are you in relation to that statistic?
I hope this discussion of landing pages has given you a better understanding of their importance. Don’t skimp on the landing page – too many companies do. It really could mean the difference of getting that conversion or giving it to someone else.
Comments