Landing pages are a core component of lead generation and are used to convince a visitor to take an action, such as filling out a form in exchange for something of value. The ‘something of value’ could be a whitepaper, case study, newsletter subscription or demonstration of a product. To increase the likelihood of a conversion, landing pages should be targeted toward a specific audience and expand upon the offer presented in the advertisement, link or email.
Too many companies make the mistake of sending traffic from their campaigns to their homepage rather than a relevant landing page—you will lose many leads this way. However, be aware not all landing pages are created equal—a poorly strategized page will also produce a low conversion rate.
Here are 5 tips to help you increase your landing page conversions in the New Year.
The job of the landing page to is tell people exactly what you want them to do and why. You only have a moment to capture the attention of a visitor; therefore, it is essential that you have a compelling headline that speaks to the visitor. Compare these two headlines: “Sign up for our Newsletter” versus “Receive Exclusive Discounts as a Newsletter Subscriber. Sign up Now.” While the first option tells the visitor what to do, it fails to tell them why. Remember, the headline should convey a benefit or address a pain point.
Capturing a visitor’s attention is only half the battle. You still need to convince them that your offer is worth the personal information you are requesting. Use bullet points rather than paragraphs to highlight the benefits of your offer. Bullet points are an easy way for the reader to quickly digest your message.
Also, provide enough information to build curiosity but not too much information that you lose the visitor’s attention.
Chances are good you know where a visitor was before arriving on your landing page. Be sure the language used within your email or advertisement is consistent with the language on your landing page. If your call to action in an email was ‘Download our 10 Tips to Generating More Leads,’ use the same title on your landing page.
You worked hard to bring prospects to your page, so the last thing you want to do is provide them with multiple ways to leave your page. Your primary goal is for the visitor to take one specific action. Therefore, limit or, if at all possible, remove extra navigation. Links to additional offers, your website or other resources can be added to confirmation pages or confirmation emails.
Similar to dating, you should get to know your lead over time. Asking too many questions upfront or something too personal during the first encounter is a sure way to scare your date or, in our case, your lead away. Most people today are willing to provide some of their information in exchange for valuable content. However, there are limitations to their ‘generosity.’ As tempting as it may be to ask a lead for their phone number in exchange for a top-of-the-funnel piece of content, I advise my clients against this practice. Providing a phone number is often an indication that someone is ready to talk with as sales rep. Early on in the sales process, visitors are often looking for a solution to a problem, not a sales pitch.
Through testing, we have found that the number of form fields can also impact conversion rate. As an A/B test for one client, we reduced the number of form fields from 5 to 3 and saw a 28 percent increase in conversions. Remember to collect data over time; if the field is not essential at that particular stage of the process, don’t include it on your form.
From headlines to form fields, landing pages are loaded with testing opportunities. While a 100 percent conversion rate is not realistic, there are plenty of opportunities to improve. Start with simple A/B tests of the headline or an image before moving to more advanced, multi-variant tests. Also, remember what works for one company may not work for yours. I have read many blogs that recommend including social share links on landing pages. At Kuno, we found including these links on our landing page actually reduced our conversion rate by 11 percent.
Do you have any landing page success stories you would like to share? Please post your story to the comment section.
Shannon Fuldauer has a B2B and B2C eCommerce Marketing background including roles as Vice President of Marketing & Sales Support, and subsequently Vice President of Public Relations & SEO Services, for CareerBoard.com. She has expertise in digital marketing and advanced email communications.
