A landing page is a great lead generator for businesses. This standalone web page should be seen as a way to communicate with users and let them know of your new offer or service. Landing pages should never be your homepage! While it might seem simple to create a landing page, creating a high-converting landing page is the struggle of most marketers.
To help you create a landing page that actually converts, I’m going to show you what you need to do and what you must avoid at all costs to build a high-converting landing page that generates more than the average 2.35% leads.
The main elements of a high-converting landing page:
- Headline: This is a no-brainer, of course. Every landing page should have a headline that catches users’ attention.
- Subheading: Since the headline doesn’t say much about what you are offering, a subtitle can help the user understand more.
- Visuals: This is another element you can’t forget about. Photos have more power than words. In fact, people process photos 60,000 faster than text.
- Explanation: Provide an explanation to convince the user why they should choose your product or service.
- Contact Information: It gives the user the feeling that you are available anytime they need your expertise.
- Call-to-action: There is no landing page without a call-to-action. This is your chance to gather leads.
- Landing page form: Make sure to create a simple form that contains only the most essential data.
Every marketer knows that these are a must-have in every landing page they design. However, some of these elements are underestimated, and many people forget their real power. One of the main reason landing pages don’t perform as expected is that marketers don’t test or optimize their landing pages. Actually, using A/B testing can be an effective way to see what works for your landing page and what needs to be cut off.
Since I know how essential leads are and how disappointing a non-performing landing page can be, I’ve decided to dig deeper and see why some landing pages have a conversion rate of 12%. I found some great insights backed by data, of course, and I want to share it with you.
10 Tips and Tricks for a High-Converting Landing Page
1. Always focus on one offer!
Statistics show that having more than one offer can decrease your conversion rate by 266%. While you might want to make the landing page as appealing as you can and add as many offers and services, I strongly suggest sticking to ONE offer. And make it a great one!
2. Have a long landing page
I’m coming back with the hard data on this one. I was a bit shocked to see that a long landing page is more likely to convert. Actually, a long landing page can bring up to 220% more leads compared to a short landing page. Why? Because people trust brands that have more to offer. Shorter pages also work, but they are designed for leads who know precisely what they want.
3. Do not include a navigation bar
Navigation bars are great for the homepage. However, they seem to distract a lead from closing the deal in a landing page. In an A/B testing case study, it was observed that doing a simple thing like removing the navigation bar, can increase conversion rate by 100%. This one comes with a pretty straightforward explanation: If the lead has a “way out” like a link to another website or a navigation bar, they are more likely to click on it and forget about your offer. Removing all distractions can help potential clients focus on the landing page and act.
4. Focus on the headline
Although you were used to focussing on the whole copy of the landing page and make the offer as amazing as possible, a high-converting landing page focuses on the headline. As David Ogilvy said:
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy”
This shows you that the main interest is the headline. Statistics also show that 90% of people who read your headline also read your call-to-action. From reading to converting is only one step, right?
5. Eye-catching visuals
All landing pages use visuals, that’s for sure. However, there is a difference between using Stock Photos and creating new eye-catching visuals yourself. Videos are a great idea when it comes to landing pages. Stats show that using videos on your landing page can increase conversion by 86%.
6. Pain and pleasure factors
Everybody wants to avoid pain and find pleasure. This is true in real life but it also applies in the way we shop, the products we use, and what call-to-action we act on. If your landing page doesn’t address the user’s main problem and doesn’t offer a quick and simple solution, potential customers will just close the page.
Make the user feel a bit of pain when they read your landing page. After that, come up with the only solution: your offer. Do a bit of digging and see what the main problem of your target audience is.
7. Use testimonials
Testimonials build trust and trust converts people! Testimonials can be seen just like reviews except for the fact that they review a brand and their services instead of a product on a shop. Potential customers appreciate former customers’ opinion. Statistics show us that 66% of people trust customers opinions posted online. A testimonial should contain the name of the customer/brand, a photo, and the review. A video testimonial is even better if you can insert it.
8. A warranty
Everybody needs a warranty. Just like when you purchase a product online, and you have 14 days to return it for a full refund. A landing page should show that people can get their money back, can get a discount or any other type of guarantee that works for your type of business.
9. Personalized call-to-action
Apparently, we need to change the way we look at CTAs. I found that a personalized call-to-action performs 202% better than the regular CTA “submit” or “get it now”. Creating a smart CTA means personalizing your call-to-action for leads. It should be different than the one simple visitors see. Build your CTA to attract the attention of leads and show them how to solve their problem.
10. Avoid too many personal information in the landing page form
If people liked the call-to-action and ended up here, all they have to do is complete the form. However, it was observed that the landing page form also has an impact on conversion. Even though people might like your offer, the form can make them run away. While some people think that the length of the form is the one that drives people away, this is not a big problem.
Asking for too many unnecessary information is the one that can affect the performance of the landing page. Also, people don’t like contact forms that want their entire address and their phone number. Make the phone number an optional field in the form because it decreases abandonment from 39 percent to just 4 percent. Also, you might want to turn captcha off to increase the conversion rate.
Every business is different which means you need to test every type of landing page and see what works for you. A/B testing is crucial when it comes to high-converting landing pages. Have you tried any of these tactics? Write the results in the comment section because I am curious to see how your landing page performed.