How to achieve desired conversion? Through quality ads and strategically placed campaigns, aimed at the optimal target group. Is this answer incorrect? Not at all, but it can still be supplemented. On the way from advertising to conversion, landing pages play a very important role. Wisely worded copies and creative visuals can even be seen as a lure that brings social media and Google users to the landing page, where the magic actually takes place. Landing page has one (and not so simple) task – conversion.
Why Is the Landing Page So Important?
Landing page is a kind of a runway for visitors. The visitor “lands” on this page, after clicking on the link in the ad or received by email, or arrives on the page thanks to a previously designed sales funnel. The site itself offers the most important information about the subject of the promotion and allows the visitor to get acquainted with the product or service. It is a standalone page that was created for the needs of the campaign, but can also be found within the website.
The primary task of a landing page is conversion – whether we want to achieve a sale or registration. Although many confuse them, homepage and landing page are not synonyms. On the home page, we will mostly find general information about the company or the products, while the landing page usually offers specific information about one product or promotion.
The quality of the landing page can affect the outcome of the entire campaign. A quality landing page will increase the number of conversions and maximize ROI (Return on Investment). Landing pages can be the basis for PPC campaigns (Google ads and similar platforms), while SEO optimization will attract organic traffic.
The Important Elements of the Landing Page
As we mentioned, the landing page has one important task – conversion. Since this task is concrete and measurable, we must pay special attention to creating a landing page and there is no room for omissions.
When designing a landing page, we have to consider 6 important elements:
1. Highlighting the Value of the Offer
If a visitor comes to your landing page, views it, and it is still not clear to him how good the offer really is, you must have made a big mistake. It must be crystal clear to the target audience what is being offered to them and how and why they can benefit from the offer.
2. CTA – Call to Action
The call to action must also be clear. Visitors shouldn’t guess what their next step should be. Make it clear what you expect them to do: “Buy”, “Log in”, “Register”, “Start tutorial”, “Make an appointment” … CTA buttons must be strategically placed on the landing page, so the visitor doesn’t have to scroll from the bottom of the page to the beginning, looking for a button.
3. Maintaining Attention
The attention span of internet users is not the greatest. You yourself have certainly noticed that your attention is easily distracted while you are online. The reason is simple and comes from psychology: when we are surrounded by a bunch of stimuli, it is very difficult to focus on just one thing. When we are at work or doing an important task, we try to control our focus. However, at leisure, we allow attention to wander. Well, that’s exactly what a quality landing page has to prevent.
It is very easy to overdo the details (especially if we want to emphasize the quality of the offer). However, that way we will be in danger of losing the attention of visitors. The content of the landing page must be concrete, with a clear offer and an unambiguous message.
4. The Visual Presentation
An interesting visual will certainly help keep the visitors’ attention. Visuals on the landing page (including videos) must follow the style of the page, provide more information about the offer you are promoting and become its visual identity. The ultimate goal is to provoke emotions, because it is the easiest way to “catch” the visitor and lead him to action.
5. “Social Proof”
If a product has already managed to help people, it is easier for us to believe that it can help us as well. Highlighting the percentage or number of people who have benefited from a product or service so far, popular testimonials (user impressions) in various formats, customer logos, survey results – those are “social proofs” we can use in our campaign. In fact, we are persuading the visitor to follow in the footsteps of those who had a similar problem and successfully solved it thanks to the solution we offer.
6. FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
We stated that landing pages must be clear and specific. What about all the details we think are important? The solution is the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section. This way you will save yours and visitors’ time. For example, the question “Are payments from abroad possible?” will not be interesting to all visitors to the landing page, so the information does not have to be placed in the main content. However, the question is certainly interesting to everyone from abroad who is interested in your offer. The answer can be found among the FAQs. You, on the other hand, save time, because you will not have to answer each query individually. There would probably be a lot of the same inquiries – after all, these are the “frequently asked questions”.
Anatomy of a Landing Page
A landing page that does not perform its task only takes up space, and creating such a page is a waste of time. So, we have to make sure that the page contains all the necessary elements, but also that these elements are arranged correctly:
1. Highlighting the Value of the Offer – In the Header
It is important to emphasize the value of the offer, but it is equally important to emphasize the value of the offer right at the beginning. We have already said that the attention of internet users is very fragile. If we don’t “catch” them in the first few seconds – we have lost them forever. Research shows that 8 out of 10 people will read the header, while only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the content on the page. Devastating data, we know, but also the reason more to try to attract visitors’ attention right at the beginning.
2. Visual Focus – Below the Header
What will hold visitors’ attention after the tempting title – creative visuals! A visual can be a photo of a person, a product, a symbolic representation of a service – it all depends on what you are promoting. If the content of the landing page consists of text only, it will probably convert less.
3. Features and Benefits – The Central Part
Then it’s time to highlight the features and benefits of the product or service you offer. Benefit is actually the solution to a problem with the product you are promoting. If you clearly explain how a product can solve someone’s burning problem – there is no better advertisement. The problem does not have to be tangible – saving money or time is the solution to the “problem” we are all looking for. The characteristics of the product are stated in order to further emphasize the benefits and to inform about the deadlines, the way the product works, all the rights and obligations…
4. CTA – When the Story Is Completed
The story is complete – you have attracted an audience with an enticing title, kept their attention with a creative visual and discovered the characteristics and benefits of the product – it’s time for CTA. When we listed the important elements of the landing page, we stated that it is not enough to set just one CTA button. However, the first CTA button should not be set before you complete the story. Let the visitor get acquainted with the offer, let the story intrigue him and then call him to action! This will be a key call to action, with few more calls to follow, to the very end of the page. Someone would probably click on the CTA button that is placed earlier on the landing page, but our goal is not to collect clicks, but to fill in as many forms as possible. If someone clicks a button and immediately returns to the landing page, we have achieved nothing. To prevent such a scenario – first inform and then call for action.
5. User Impressions – At the Bottom of the Page
If the visitor needs a little more persuasion, the impressions of other users or testimonials will take over that role. After key information and a call to action, it’s time for this important element of the landing page. You no longer have to convince the visitor of the product’s quality yourself – satisfied customers will help you with that, by sharing personal experience. If you want to give a guarantee on your product, you can do so at the very end of the page. “If you are not satisfied within 6 months, we will refund your money”.
Mistakes to Avoid
To create a landing page that converts, it is not enough to just check all the items from the “to do” list. It is equally important to avoid errors, which can jeopardize the success of the conversion:
1. Load Speed
A crucial error that could do irreparable damage is a low page load speed. As fantastic as your landing page is, visitors won’t wait longer than a few seconds for it to load.
2. Distraction
We have already mentioned that the attention of internet users is very fragile. For that reason, we must not occupy them with different distractors at the same time. If CTA, popup and quiz appear on your landing page at the same time, visitors will simply not know what to do and will most likely not act as you planned. You need to be a guide through the landing page and you need to protect visitors from anything that might distract them from the CTA.
3. Unrelated Ad and Landing Page
Visitors mostly arrive at the landing page through advertisements. If the ads do not comply with the information on the landing page, disconnection occurs and visitors are disappointed. A handful of page views means nothing to you if only a small number of visits turn into a conversion. Ads on social networks should stylistically and in every other way correspond to the landing page.
4. Mobile Version
Don’t forget to always check the look of the landing page on your mobile phone (and other mobile devices, such as tablets). Most social media visits and Google searches today are done via mobile phones. In this regard, the landing page must look perfect and be functional on both desktop and mobile devices.
5. Complicated Procedure
Try not to complicate the procedure. As tempting as your offer may seem, most will give up if they have to fill out 5 application forms with 20 different questions. Find out what is really important to you, what data you want to collect and how. You will not benefit from excess information, and you risk the visitor giving up filling out the form because it takes too much time.
The advantages and disadvantages of landing pages are one and the same – there is only one task and that is conversion. If the site does not perform this task perfectly, there is no result that could “pull it out”. The page must not be complicated, but all the necessary information must be provided. The conversion must be clearly defined, and the page accurately linked to the analytics, so you can track the results.
If you have decided to design a landing page yourself, our tips will surely be useful to you. If you still want someone else to take on this important task, the InDigital team is always at your disposal.