The Ultimate Guide to Creating Effective Landing Pages
Do you want to get more conversions from your website?
A conversion is when a visitor to your website completes your desired goal, whether it’s to sign up to your email list, register for your webinar, book an appointment, purchase a product, etc. As a new business owner, boosting conversions on your website should be one of your top priorities.
And, one of the best ways to get more conversions and grow your business is by creating landing pages on your site.
So today, our goal is to give you all of the tips and tools you need to get out there and start building your own landing pages.
And don’t worry; creating effective landing pages isn’t difficult.
Let’s get started!
What is a Landing Page?
First, we know you’re probably wondering, “What is a landing page?”
Simply put, a landing page is a special page of your website designed to convince users to take a specific action.
Unlike the homepage of your website that has lots of different information on it, a landing page is focused on one specific goal. Because of this, it increases the likelihood of visitors taking action, because they’re not distracted by any other information or offers on the page.
For example, a software company can use a landing page to get more free trial sign ups, like in this example from Salesforce:
A landing page like this provides website visitors with the important information they need, and there’s nothing else on the page to distract them from the ultimate goal of signing up for a free trial of the product.
Now that you know what a landing page is and how it works, here are some tips for creating high-converting landing pages.
Determine Your Goals
The first step to creating effective landing pages is to think about why you need a landing page. What is your main goal? This will help you keep your landing page focused.
In the example above, we showed that you can create a landing page to get more free trial sign ups, but landing pages can be used for a number of different goals.
You can build a landing page to:
- Get more email newsletter subscribers
- Increase sign ups to a webinar
- Promote an exciting giveaway
- Get more sales for a particular product/service
And that’s just a start.
The goal you choose will determine the information and elements you need to have on your landing page.
Keep in mind that it’s okay to have multiple landing pages. So, you could build one that’s designed to pull in more subscribers by offering a lead magnet (like a PDF guide or ebook) based on your blog content.
At the same time, you could have several landing pages made for your top-selling products or services.
Your goals won’t necessarily affect the need for specific tools. However, they can impact things such as the type of web forms you use. So, before you can move ahead to the next step, you need to determine your first landing page’s intent.
Use the Right Tools
Now that you know your next move, it’s time to start building. Luckily, you don’t need to hire a web designer to create a landing page; you can use a landing page builder tool to create your own.
There are plenty of landing page builders out there, but we prefer using SeedProd. SeedProd is a powerful landing page builder for WordPress and it’s super easy to use.
SeedProd offers numerous pre-built landing page templates, designed specifically for sales, webinars, growing your email list, and more. Plus, the drag-and-drop builder makes it simple to add all of the information and elements you need for your landing page.
For example, you can just drag and drop elements like headlines, buttons, email opt-in forms, contact forms, countdown timers, and more into your landing page template.
Here’s a quick landing page put together in just a couple of clicks using the premium version of SeedProd:
It’s worth noting that there’s also a free version if you’re interested in trying out this software yourself. This is another benefit if you’re new to owning an online business and want to find a tool that fits your needs without breaking the bank.
You can easily design a beautiful and effective landing page using a tool like SeedProd. That said, keep reading to learn some more tips that will help you create a high-converting landing page.
Use Consistent Messaging
All good landing pages use consistent messaging throughout the headline, a call-to-action (I’ll get to this in a minute), and page copy.
Headlines draw in consumers, and should let people know exactly what your offer is about.
The copy within your landing page should clearly explain the benefits of your product, service, email list, or online event. Let users know in simple terms what you offer, and what they stand to gain by aligning with your business.
Imagine you’re trying to grow email subscribers for your gardening blog. You could create a landing page with a headline that reads, “Get the Best Gardening Tips Delivered to Your Inbox.” If someone is genuinely interested in your content or what you offer, this headline should draw them in.
Next, explain the benefits of joining your email list. Highlight some of your most popular blog posts and give consumers a taste of what to expect if they sign up.
The last part of your messaging you need to line up is your call-to-action (CTA). CTAs are messaging at the bottom of your landing page — usually in the for of a button — that encourage users to take a next step. So, in our gardening example, the subheading might read, “Ready to take your gardening to the next level?” followed by a vibrant button that reads “Sign Up Now.”
Aligning your messaging means users will have expectations for your brand moving forward. While this may sound stressful at first, it’s essential for your success. All great brands can clearly convey their message to customers, and then deliver on their promise.
Master Your Opt-in Forms
Most landing pages use email opt-in forms to get new leads and sales. When a customer lands on your site and decides to take advantage of an offer, they will need to fill in information like their name and email address to complete the process.
You can then use this information to nurture your prospects through email marketing campaigns later on.
There are several things you should keep in mind when developing opt-in forms for your landing page.
First, convenience is everything. Avoid asking unnecessary questions or making your form appear more bloated than it actually is. Some people will get impatient and back out from your site before signing up.
I suggest keeping your form limited to 3 fields or less. Research shows that forms with less than 3 fields see a 25% completion rate, which is impressive when you consider that those with 6 or more fields only have a 15% success rate.
So, just ask for the necessary information in your opt-in forms.
Like in the example above, the form only asks for the visitor’s name and email address. The easier it is for users to opt in, the more leads you’ll generate.
Also, be creative with the opt-in form button text. Instead of having your button label only say “Submit,” a label that says something like “Send Me The Plan” or “Get Your Free eBook Now” is more attention-grabbing.
Showcase Social Proof
You can dramatically increase conversions on your landing page by using social proof. Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people are more likely to buy a product if they see other people enjoying the same item.
In most cases, social proof consists of testimonials or reviews from existing customers. So, if you’re trying to sell something through your landing page, you may want to consider adding customer reviews from email, social media, or your product catalog to the page.
Research shows that adding reviews to a product page can increase conversions by an impressive 270%. People are simply more likely to take advantage of an offer if they see others having a positive experience.
If your product is more “hands-on,” you should also consider adding videos that show customers using their purchase. This type of social proof is more concrete, which can lead to more sales and conversions.
There are other types of social proof you can use on your landing page. Here in this example from OptinMonster, they display well-known clients to build trust with new users:
When consumers see that high-profile names trust your brand, they will approach your business with a built-in level of trust. Notice how this example from OptinMonster also boasts that they’ve optimized over 1 million websites.
You may not have the power to show off your clients or big numbers when it comes to the people using your website yet, but you do have user reviews. Including reviews strategically throughout your landing page will result in more people converting.
Once you start accumulating reputable clients and building up your engagement numbers, you can include additional information on future pages.
Test and Revise
The last tip we have for you today is about split testing, which is also known as A/B testing. Essentially, split testing is the process of testing different elements on your landing page and seeing which of them works best.
Then, you can make small changes to get more positive results. This practice is prevalent in email and social media marketing, but it’s also an excellent way to fine-tune landing page performance.
Let’s say you notice that everyone’s signing up for one landing page that features a distinct call-to-action. You can edit your other landing pages to match that same CTA. If your test positively impacts conversions and engagement, you can finalize the change across your various campaigns.
To track your landing page activity and perform split testing, you can use a tool like MonsterInsights, which is a Google Analytics plugin for WordPress.
We suggest running split tests for at least two weeks so you can gather factual data on the various changes you’ve made and determine how it affected the success of your landing page.
Final Thoughts
There’s no question that landing pages are one of the most effective ways to grow your business. Marketing teams across the globe use this strategy to increase subscribers and secure more sales. Regardless of your company’s size or scale, you can grow your brand through targeted landing pages.
Now, you have all of the tools you need to get started. It may take time before you start seeing meaningful results from your landing pages, but it’s a marketing effort worth pursuing!
Originally published at https://thrive.tailorbrands.com by Syed Balkhi
