The Perfect Landing Page

How do you make a great landing page? What’s the difference between a landing page with a high conversion rate and one that barely gets any forms filled out? We have compiled a list of the features that we believe contribute to the success of your landing pages, and we’d like to share them with you.

Nine features of high-converting landing pages:

1. A CLICK-WORTHY HEADLINE

One of the most important factors in a landing page design, the headline is the first thing that catches the user’s attention. If it fails to make an impact, the user will simply leave the site. Having a catchy headline together with an engaging sub-headline encourages visitors to continue reading. The secret to creating a click-worthy headline isn’t even that secret and usually includes the following characteristics:

• Short, simple and straightforward without being vague.
• Offers immediate benefits.
• Contains suggestive words that build up curiosity, which will get you that all-important click.

2. BENEFIT-FOCUSED CONTENT

To convert visitors into leads, you need to ensure that your content agrees with your headline. Your landing page copy should reflect what your headline promises, which is why, when creating the copy for your landing page, you need to focus more on the benefits rather than the features of a product or a service. The copy should be persuasive enough for a visitor to want to give you their email or make a purchase. Thus, if you want to keep your audience engaged, follow the tips below:

• Keep the copy of your landing page brief and on point.
• Clearly state the benefits you can offer.
• Improve readability, e.g. use bullet points instead of large paragraphs.

3. CALL-TO-ACTION (CTA)

A call-to-action button draws the audience’s attention towards the next step. “Download my free eBook”, “Start Your Free Trial”, “Sign-up now” – these compel users to take action. So, add an interesting and goal-specific CTA, when designing your landing page. Additionally, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Use a bright color to attract visitors’ attention.
• Add a brief yet an actionable text (e.g. Try it for Free, Learn More, One-time offer).
• Use large fonts to set it apart from the rest of your content.
• Lastly, place the CTA above the fold.

4. THE RIGHT COLOUR SCHEME

This is another vital criterion for designing the perfect landing page. Your landing page color scheme should match the colors of your brand. While a contrasting color scheme seems to work best, try to achieve a balance between using too much color and not enough. When designing landing page templates, the rule of thumb is to add two or fewer colors.

5. IMAGES AND OTHER MULTIMEDIA

According to research, content with images gets 94% more views than those without. Thus, include relevant images and other multimedia on your landing page (e.g. an introductory video). The images on a landing page should complement your copy. Further, personalized images work better than stock photos, when it comes to user engagement. Use real high-quality photos of your product, service, or your staff/team. Below are some benefits to using great media:

• It helps build user trust.
• It improves your brand’s credibility.
• It makes your landing page stand out from the rest of the generic landing pages.

In addition, try to avoid using too many links, unless you are referencing someone else’s work. Too many links can be distracting and make it seem like you hardly did any work yourself.

6. SOCIAL PROOF AND OTHER TRUST SYMBOLS

Social proof and trust symbols help enhance the credibility of your landing page and your business. By displaying social engagement numbers, like subscribers, social shares, followers, etc., you can win over audience that are skeptical. Plus, it helps relay the effectiveness of your product or service without too much work. Similarly, Trust symbols or Trust Seals, like MacAfee Secure, SSL, etc., assures your audience that your landing page is safe and trustworthy. The goal of trust symbols is to:

• Build trust amongst users.
• Drive more traffic.
• Boost conversion.

Testimonials are another form of social proof. By incorporating authentic testimonials on your landing page, you can display the experiences of your existing clients/customers who have used your product or service and found it useful. This, in turn, helps increase user trust and boost your brand’s credibility. If you feel like testimonials would fit your business, include descriptive statements with a name, photos, company name (if any), as this can improve trust.

7. SHORT FORM FIELDS

This is one element that you’ll find on all lead generation landing pages. When it comes to the anatomy of a great page, an optimized lead capture form is the most vital part. Make sure that the information you ask is proportionate to the value of the product or service you provide. Simply put, don’t ask pages and pages worth of information just to sell a tube of toothpaste.

8. LEAD GENERATION FORM ABOVE THE FOLD

The placement of your lead generation form plays a crucial role in the success of your landing page. Anything that is placed above the fold gets the greatest amount of attention. And in order to get the maximum out of your optimized lead generation form, make it:

• Stand out from other design elements by using contrasting colors and bold text.
• Include directional cues to increase engagement.
• Have only the required number of fields.

9. A/B TESTING

There is no one-size-fits-all, when it comes to landing page designs; the best practices that work for one business may not work for another. Thus, you need to conduct A/B testing to determine what works best for you. It is only through A/B Testing various design elements, such as contact form, CTAs, headline, eCommerce testing and others, can you create an effective landing page design that delivers results. Thus, running a test with different versions of your landing page is important in order to create that perfect, well-optimized and high-converting landing page for your business website.