The first step in establishing a connection between your business and website visitors is by converting them into leads. One of the most effective ways to do this is through your website’s landing page.
What Is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a standalone page on your site that is designed with a single purpose in mind: to convert your visitors into customers or leads. On this page, the business can offer a desired resource in exchange for the site visitor’s contact information. This can be done through a lead-capture form, which takes up a prominent place on the page.
There are two general types of landing pages: lead generation and click-through. Lead generation pages use the form as a call to action and provide a link to the resource once completed. Click-through landing pages send the visitors to the sales page to complete the transaction.
Typically, visitors are led to landing pages after they clicked a link in an e-mail or an ad from search engines and social media. This is where they “land,” which is where this type of page takes its name.
Why Is a Landing Page Important?
Because of its focus on one goal, a landing page is one of the best ways to increase your conversion rates while lowering cost acquisition.
It works by presenting a form to your site visitors, encouraging them to sign up in exchange for an offer. Once the visitor fills out the form, they are converted into leads, and the information they entered is stored in your leads database. With the data you have, you can market to them based on what you know about them.
Besides increased conversions, additional insights into your customers, and an increase in your e-mail subscriber list, landing pages also help add to your brand value when they show off the valuable services your business is offering.
What Are the Elements of a Landing Page?
Since the landing page has a singular goal, it usually doesn’t contain any elements that can potentially distract the visitor from the form. The assets it does contain are those that are needed to work together towards the end goal of lead conversion. These assets are:
- Above-the-fold content
Since this is the prime screen real estate, the elements included here are designed to catch the attention and convey information about the offer as quickly as possible. This may include the headline, the hero shot, and the benefits summary of the resource you’re offering your visitors.
- Call to action (CTA)
CTAs are an image or line of text that directs your users to complete an action. The best CTAs are easy to find, specific, and placed prominently on your landing page. Getting your site visitors may need a little more convincing, and this is where more information about the benefits comes in.
- Benefits of the offer
When your site visitors keep on scrolling to read more about the benefits of your offer, it means they’re interested and are open to being convinced to sign up for the offer. This part should be clear and concise as people want to know about the benefits as quickly as possible.
- Testimonials
Testimonials from people about your product or service are a great way to add credibility and social proof to your brand. Some of the best testimonials are detailed, come from high authority sources, and contain pictures or videos. Others use the logos of their prominent clients, which also works well in gaining the trust of your site visitors.
- Reinforcing statement
While it’s likely that visitors who are interested in your offer already clicked on your CTA before reaching the end of the page, it’s still practical to end it with a statement reinforcing the benefits of signing up. Here, you can summarize the benefits and add another CTA.
How to Improve Your Landing Page
- Make sure that your offer is valuable enough to be compelling to your visitors.
- Use bullet points since people don’t like reading blocks of text on their screen.
- Draw in people with relevant and eye-catching images.
- Add social media sharing buttons to widen your reach.
- Use online tools that allow you to test out different versions of your landing page.
- Be clear about your instructions, so your visitors are fully aware of what to expect when they fill out the form or click the CTA button.
- When adding testimonials, awards, and accolades, make sure they are relevant to the offer on your landing page.
