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Does your online marketing strategy include things like “conversion,” “ROI” and “new customers?” If the answer is yes, then landing pages are something you’ve thought long and hard about. Landing pages broker the exchange of information between you and the interested party. Combining an eye-catching offer button with an effective landing page can turn what was once just web traffic into a steady stream of leads for your sales team.
7 Landing Page Best Practices
1. Pass the Blink Test - Visitors to your site will often make the decision of whether or not they’re going to fill out your form before the page even finishes loading. Make sure where you’re sending folks appears immediately professional and easy to fill out. In other words, make sure they can understand the offer and what you’re asking for in the time it takes them to blink.
2. Keep It Simple - A key thing to remember about your landing page is that anyone who reaches it must have clicked on something to get there - like an action button for a free trial, webinar, or whitepaper offer. So, theoretically, you will know something key about these folks immediately. If they clicked to download a whitepaper on blue widgets, for instance, then you will know they are interested in blue widgets. You should be able to plan your next move pretty well armed with that information, and not have to ask for much more. Use that to your advantage and keep everything about this page, including the amount and nature of the questions you ask, simple.
3. Keep It Short - Seeing a massive list of 15 or 20 questions will make your prospect think hard about the value of his or her time, and whether or not they feel like spending it filling out your form.
4. Graphics and Endorsements Matter - Remember, you’ll be asking people to submit information they may consider sensitive. Credibility will be key. Make sure you have your logo or client testimonial at eye-level in one of the margins or in the header - or somewhere else they can quickly see it without having to scroll.
5. Go Naked - They are a few keystrokes and a click away from becoming a bonafide, qualified lead. In other words, you’ve got them right where you want them! The last thing you would want to happen is for them to get distracted. “Going naked” refers to the practice of making your landing page deliberately sparse. Customize this page so that it has zero navigation - no menu, no link back to the homepage, no other places to click, nothing. This page needs to be devoid of any and all hyperlinked distraction. Have the form and the “submit” button be their singular point of focus, and usher them through to completion.
6. Restate Value - The landing page will be hyperlinked to the offer button on your website, but make sure the two are also logically linked. Use a simple, bulleted list near the top of the page to restate what you’re offering and why it’s valuable. Doing so will ensure your prospect knows exactly what they’re getting - and create a qualified lead for your sales team.
7. Eat Your Own Dogfood - Before publishing the page, ask yourself: would I fill this out? Would I find this page confusing? Would I feel comfortable sharing this information over the web? Use these questions to ultimately perfect the look and feel of your landing page before going live. And of course, as always, test, test, test!
What other tactics have you found to be successful in improving your landing page conversion rates?
An Introductory Guide to Building Landing Pages