Marketers work tremendously hard to target the correct keywords, create persuasive ad copies, and drive the prospective customers to click on their advertisements, all this is done with the positive hopes of capturing them as a lead. Sadly, in reality, the actual conversion rates do not match their expectations. To combat this loss, marketers try to further pump up their paid search spend to attract more traffic, but by doing so, they actually end up conserving their murky conversion rate.
So how can marketers convert their visitors into leads? How can they keep those consumers engaged and ensure that don’t move on to a competitors’ website? The answer is pretty simple, by concentrating on how to convert the current traffic rather than driving more of them. And the best way to do that is to focus on the landing pages.
Landing pages are one of the most crucial elements in a digital marketing strategy. Statistics say businesses that have increased their total number of landing pages from 10 to 15 see a 55% growth in their total leads. (Source)
Cutting the long story short, to make money online, businesses need to get their web visitors to convert and one of the best ways of doing that is with a – Landing Page.
Landing Pages
Considering the function, the name “Landing Page” seems quite appropriate. In the simplest form, a landing page is any web page where a visitor can “Land” or “Arrive”. Good landing pages funnel down the web visitors from links which can be through:
- Social media post
- Direct mail
- Facebook advertising campaign
- Pay-per-click ad
The main role of a Landing page is to produce leads for a business by beguiling attracted users to take specific actions, like buy a product, submit personal information, watch a video or call a business.
It is also very important to understand that website and landing pages do not serve same functions, irrespective of the fact that both drives leads for the business. The business website has several other purposes, like getting a business found online, providing detailed product information and sharing case-studies. A great business website is planned around specific actions the business wants their visitors to take, and this is exactly where business websites vary from the landing pages.
Why Are Landing Pages So Critical?
Currently, more and more businesses send their social media, email, or advertising traffic to their website homepage. But this is a huge mistake, marketers should be smart to not bring all traffic to the homepage, but align landing page to the content from which the traffic is coming.
Benefits of Landing Pages
Landing pages are very powerful marketing and lead generating tool as they accommodate specific actions. It is the specificity factor which is the real driving muscle behind landing pages. Some of the benefits of having landing pages are:
- They directly support business goals like reaching a fresh market, getting new consumers, endorsing a new product, or closing more deals.
- They set up clear Call to Action (CTA) which makes it easier for the users take. More of actions equal to more conversions which naturally leads to more consumers and more money.
- They generate valuable data and understandings when linked to specific campaigns, content or CTA. Business can easily know which channels are producing high leads, which subjects/offerings are of high interest, or which are the high performing campaigns.
- They improve the performance of paid search campaigns as these are highly depended on Click Through Rates (CTR) and CTR is highly influenced by the landing pages.
- They may contain or link to a form which prompts the users to provide personal information, like name, email address, phone number, or company details. Such details can be extremely useful for the business as it increases their contact database (email list).
Landing Page Conversion Rate- 5 Tactics To Boost It
As already mentioned Landing pages play an important role in keeping the potential customers engaged and further closing them quickly. Here are five key landing page tactics which will help you boost your Landing Page conversion rate and upsurge your business revenues:
1. Have A Killer Headline
According to Oli Gardner (Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) expert), a strong headline and copy can pay off for a poor design. It is important to know that interest, attention, and understanding – begins from the “Headline”, hence it is the first and the most serious action of a Landing Page.
The most successful headlines are the ones which make use of emotional triggers, like humor, empathy or a comforting feeling. Here are few things to keep in mind when phrasing a killer headline:
- It should be short and crisp
- It should immediately grab the reader’s attention
- And should talk about the product/service in a glimpse
2. Incentivize with a Tantalizing Offer
Giving a valuable offer to your consumers in exchange is one proven tactic to secure conversions. Incentivizing users with an irresistible offer helps in quickly closing a deal. Many businesses offer new customers with incentives to take immediate actions, some offer valuable content as rewards some throw additional benefits and some even give offer free gifts with purchases. Finally, the key takeaway here is that the offer should provide the users something they cannot resist and can use right away.
3. Simplify Your Content
The content on the landing page should not be elaborative but in bullet form. Also, the main focus of the content here should not be on the features but on the benefits of the products/services. The idea is to highlight the benefits of buying a product or services as the visitor is already interested in it. Keep the content to the point and as short as possible. Focus on adding value to your users experience and not bombarding with paragraphs and paragraphs of content.
4. Have a Clear CTA
One of the most important elements of a landing page is the Calls to Action (CTA). While they might seem to be just a button, these are the best way to get the users take desired actions. When placing CTAs here is what one should keep in mind:
- Color – CTA button should be contrasting in color to the background used. Use attractive colors like orange, green and blue, such colors never fail in grabbing the eyeballs of the users.
- Size – The size of the CTA button should not be too small that it becomes illegible for the users. Also, it should not be too huge to scare them off. The ideal size would be the one which perfectly syncs with the landing page layout.
- Message – Inculcate a sense of urgency/need in the offering, this helps in improving the conversion rate.
5. Use Right Visuals
Content is vital, but visuals play an significant role in bringing out the required emotions to make users take action. To make a message stand out, all the images used on the landing page (from the ones used in the header to the ones used on the page) should be in synchronization with the content. A Human brain is unsurprisingly attracted to images; also it processes pictures much faster than text. Hence always ensure to use the power of pictures.
Other Tactics
Well, the above- mentioned list isn’t a comprehensive one; here are other tactics which have also proved out to be worth in landing page optimization.
- Include Testimonials – These have a powerful impact on the prospects. Testimonials act like immediate reviews, hence always include multiple testimonials from past customers.
- Include Contact Information – This helps to prove that a business is legitimate. Always include a phone number, e-mail address and the times when support is available.
- Limit Navigation – Don’t distract users by allowing them to navigate. Limit their exits from the landing page so that they are focused more on filling out the form.
- Shorten The Lead Form – Shorter lead forms increase the likelihood of the customer filling the form.
- Social Proof – This strategy creates a positive influence on the prospects as they get to know that others are doing something. Social proof can be a powerful addition to the marketing strategy.
- Testing – Landing pages should always employ testing and improvement. The landing page creation tool should allow creating and testing different landing pages to know which one is working best for a business.
Final Word
Creating landing pages is a “Work of Art”; each and every detail of the landing page has a deep purpose. Landing page optimization is one tough task, and there is no proven formula for success. However, this blog would have definitely given you a fair idea on how to create the most “High-Converting” ones.