In the age of digital marketing, traditional means of promoting goods and services has changed drastically.
In order to keep up with the shift in media consumption, marketers need to become much more tech-savvy than their predecessors.
To keep in touch with the changing times, landing pages have become the new flyers for the current generation.
What is a landing page?
A landing page, for the uninitiated, is a web page that is dedicated solely to marketing or advertising.
It’s where a visitor “lands” once they click on a link that is present in an email, or through ads on websites like Google, YouTube, Facebook, or other social media:
Landing pages are designed specifically to function as a call to action (or CTA). This dedicated focus makes them a proven method to improve conversion rates while simultaneously decreasing the cost of acquiring a new lead or sale.
Why is landing page optimization so important?
As landing pages are designed to increase a brand’s sales, optimizing them can lead to a higher return on advertising investment.
By improving conversion rates at lower costs, this method of advertisement can be extremely beneficial for businesses, especially those who have a small capital to pour into the advertising budget.
Identify potential problems:
Before you can begin your road to reaching landing page optimization, you must first need to identify any potential problems that your landing page may have.
You will need to look into potential reasons that are causing your conversion rates to dwindle and then take concrete steps to rectify these mistakes.
#1. Heat maps:
Heat maps are vital to determine where the highest click-through rates are coming from.
They work much like weather graphics, which indicate where cold or hot fronts are coming in from, but in this scenario, the higher intensity of clicks is displayed in a greater intensity shown on screen.
To illustrate, you can find an example of a heat-map below:
The areas that are receiving greater attention will show up as red-hot spots.
Once you can visually see which elements of your website are working, and which product is receiving the most clicks on its Call to Action, you can design your landing page accordingly.
#2. Scroll maps:
Scroll maps are a visual representation of where website visitors are spending time on your site.
Marketers can make use of this information to reach an optimal page length and tweak their content in a way that boosts conversion rates.
Making strategic use of this information can result in landing page optimization along with a better user experience.
The region that is the whitest-hot is where the majority of people are scrolling towards.
#3. Visual data reports:
Much like heat maps and scroll maps, there are several other data reports that are represented in a visual manner.
Confetti reports are a similar visual aid then can help you analyze your web traffic trends.
For instance, they can help you identify where most of your clicks are coming from.
By analyzing the different metrics, such as where your traffic is located, you can cater to your users in a more efficient manner.
Visual data reports are a new way to analyze your traffic. The visual aspect of the data makes it a fun way to learn about user behavior.
What should you focus on before creating a Landing page?
There are certain elements you should keep in mind for perfect landing page optimization.
These guidelines will usually be provided by a campaign manager in order to understand the target market and brand identity.
#1. What are the main objectives of your business?
The most important aspect of the landing page is what you’re trying to address.
Is your landing page providing visitors with information about an event or seminar?
Or is it meant to talk about how your business excels in management training and can provide companies with expert advice on a variety of issues?
It can even be about selling a product, especially something that you may have come up with yourself.
For instance, the above image is outlining its services in a succinct manner, and it has several Call to Action buttons.
Through a simple landing page, this business is managing to outline what services they can provide you with, and are even offering some freebies off the bat.
#2. Know your audience’s needs:
What could be motivating people to search for your products or services?
By identifying the potential needs of your target market, you could design your landing page accordingly.
Are your services aimed towards creating the perfect Instagram worthy outfit?
This Instagram landing page is designed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It clearly outlines what the product is and also includes all the various designs.
This post shows an excellent understanding of target customers and is arranged in a simple, clear manner.
#3. What do you want visitors to do?
Upon reaching your landing page, what is it exactly that you want visitors to do.
Do you want them to sign up for some classes or training sessions you are offering or do you want them to sign up for a monthly subscription for a product?
By determining what your Call to Action is about, you can emphasize it better on your landing page.
As can be seen in the example above, the CTA is outlined quite clearly.
Consumers who come to this landing page have complete information about the product and are being incentivized to become a part of this monthly subscription package.
#4. Where is the majority of your web traffic coming from?
You should carefully note where the majority of your landing page traffic is coming from.
By understanding the entry points of your web traffic, you can also optimize your landing page.
Remaining on theme and consistent throughout different campaigns for your landing page can give you a higher conversion rate.
If, for instance, your email banners have a different theme than your landing page, you may be losing some potential customers who think they’re on the wrong page.
The above image showcases a possible layout of a landing page for a business that wants to help you in email marketing.
The overarching themes of this landing page are cool colors ranging from light purple to sky blue.
If, for instance, this business was to send emails encouraging readers to join their business venture, the email would need to have the same color scheme.
By staying consistent throughout all social media, you can create a recognizable brand for consumers.
#5. What are the technical limitations of your main audience?
You should be aware of the main demographic of your audience.
Is the majority of your traffic visiting the landing page using their phones, or are they using iMacs?
By knowing the technical limitations of your audience, landing page optimization can be achieved at a faster pace.
#6. Stay on brand:
Jotting down a creative brief in a way that ties your business objectives to user needs can help you make sure that you stay on brand.
By defining the core goals of your campaign, you will be better equipped to stay on message.
You can make use of online templates to make a creative brief that fits your business perfectly.
A sample template of a creative brief is outlined below:
A creative brief is for your own usage, but it can help to solidify your message and help you stick to your core business idea.
You can even print out your creative brief and keep it in a place where you can peruse it whenever you need a refresher!
How to optimize a landing page:
There are different strategies that can be utilized to improve landing page optimization.
The first involves assessing where the majority of your traffic is coming from.
The second involves using different tips and tricks to make the on-page elements seem more appealing to visitors.
You can follow some of the steps outlined below to make sure your landing page has a high conversion rate:
#1. Optimize for different traffic sources:
When deciding on a way to optimize the landing page, there’s a chance that people who have come to the web-page using different links will react to the page differently.
For instance, if viewers are coming to your web-page via Instagram, then they may have different expectations about a product you are selling.
By understanding the different sources of web traffic like Google AdWords, which are basically clickable ads, or Pinterest, you can cater to the expectations of potential clientele.
The landing page shown above would be perfect for users who are being redirected through Pinterest.
The aesthetically pleasing image and the simple CTA really makes this page appealing to traffic originating from Pinterest.
#2. Simple is better:
By decluttering your web-page and having more white space on your landing page, you could potentially attract more clientele.
You can test out the success of this by changing your layout and seeing which has the greatest conversion rate.
A simple, minimalistic design that reduces unnecessary functionality of the page or removes excess navigation from the page can go a long way to improve your landing page’s conversion rate.
The above landing page is simple, yet it gets across the message for the usage of Dropbox.
It’s cool tones and ample white space really highlight the CTA button.
Overall, the user experience is made to be simple and easy, and consumers will be aware of what step they need to take next.
#3. Say what you mean:
Expressing yourself in a way that fits the norms of what your audience expects from you as a brand is vital.
Using pithy headings that explain what the landing page is for in an accurate manner can go a long way to improving your click-through rates.
The greater clarity you express in your CTA, the greater the likelihood of people clicking on your link.
You can also make use of long-form text to elaborate on the uniqueness of the services you offer and how you differ from the competition.
This landing page is designed specifically to sell a watch.
A concise description is added to the landing page to signify which settings the watch is suitable for.
This can be considered as an effective landing page, as it is both bold and informative.
#4. Context is key:
By reusing keywords you used in your ads, you can better track the thought process of website traffic.
By taking into account the context which made people click on the ad, you can gain a clearer idea of what is boosting your conversion rate.
If you are not seeing results with a certain set of keywords, you can simply switch to others that may exemplify your brand more.
#5. Be trustworthy:
You can boost the credibility of your brand by simply adding an element of social proof.
By adding another element to your landing page, such as a testimonial or anecdotal evidence from previous customers, you can boost your brand’s outlook.
Another simpler way to showcase credibility is by adding a phone number to the landing page, or by verification badge from Google Domains to ensure potential customers that your site is, in fact, legitimate.
This landing page includes social proof in the form of a previous client, as well as the number of the business, which adds an element of credibility to the venture.
#6. If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again:
It is possible that even despite your attempts to make your Call to Action more attractive, people still aren’t biting.
You may then need to change what you’re offering.
You can also decrease the complexity of the sign-up process and just have a simple email input.
This, coupled with an additional offer of free goodies like pertinent e-books or training manuals, can help you reel in more customers.
#7. Pick up the pace:
With an increasing number of consumers visiting websites via their mobile devices, decreasing the page load can really optimize a visitor’s experience on your landing page.
By making the page quick and easy to load, you can drastically decrease the bounce rate of your landing page.
Such a small difference can drastically improve the user experience, and result in some higher click-through rates for your landing page.
#8. Don’t forget SEO:
Landing pages that are designed keeping SEO in mind are more likely to be boosted in organic search results.
Google can be picky about boosting web-pages, especially if they seem to hold no real value for users.
It is for this reason, among others, that gated content ranks lower on SEO than un-gated content.
You can further boost your content by linking it in blogs or capture more leads by making use of exit intent software.
You can also optimize your SEO content by following specific guidelines that can really boost your ranking on search engines.
Conclusion:
Identifying the need for a landing page is only the first step towards boosting your business. In fact, 48% of marketers make a new landing page for each marketing campaign.
Optimizing your landing page can be a gateway to higher conversion rates. By making a note of your business ideals and incorporating those into a creative and enticing landing page, you can carve out your own niche in the market.
Just know that what may work for one company may not be ideal for the next. Using a method of trial and error, and through consistent monitoring, you can find out which landing page format is ideal for your company. Learn more about conversion optimization and how it can help improve your future campaigns.