As all you inbound marketers know, the landing page is a big part of the “pull” at the core of today's smart marketing strategies. Optimized landing pages could make the difference between a site that converts leads into sales and one that just isn’t pulling its weight.
So, to get you headed in the direction of more leads, more sales and general marketing happiness, here are 10 tips for creating the ultimate landing page:
1. Tweak the content.
Include action verbs in both your headlines and content that clearly tell people exactly what they need to do. Are you offering them something? Set their expectations about exactly what they will get.
This is the place for clear, concise and compelling text, crafted specifically to lead the reader to one specific action.
2. Add visuals.
An image that represents the offer, and even a short demo video go a long way on a landing page. Remember—people aren’t going to give you a lot of time to explain yourself, so make the time they give you count. Interesting visuals and a well-crafted video are good ways to do this.
3. Optimize your forms.
Smart inbound marketers know that asking for too much, too soon, is not good for any relationship. Keep your forms short, few and “above the fold”. Only ask for basic information at first and make these fields required. Include a privacy policy link.
4. Make it valuable.
Your landing page should gently lead customers into the sales funnel, not drag them kicking and screaming! So, focus your landing pages on the value that you offer, not the offers themselves. Rather than urge people to contact you, give them something of value like a free trial or a product demo.
Offering real value nurtures leads over time, and establishes trust with your market.
5. Don’t make them scroll.
Design your landing pages in such a way that readers don’t have to scroll down to catch all the information. In other words, keep your content “above the fold”. A three-column layout and concise copy makes this easier to achieve.
6. Use lists and bullet points.
Why? Because they catch the eye and summarize your points. Remember—you have less than 5 seconds to make visitors see that you are the solution. Put it in bullet points!
7. Use value-focused calls to action.
It’s the difference between “Submit” and “Get Your Free Guide!” And, yes, it matters. One clearly tells visitors that they are getting something of value while the other says, “Commit to something that may or may not help you!”
8. Remove unnecessary site navigation.
Each landing page should be focused on one thing—getting the visitor to take a specific action. Navigation makes it easy for them to leave, possibly before performing this action. So, remove main site navigation from your page to prevent people from wandering away.
9. Remove the search box.
Same idea. A search box encourages wandering by giving the visitor an opportunity to navigate away. A search box can become the shiny object that distracts, so save it for a page that requires less focus.
10. Get more out of the email
Did someone opt-in on your landing page? The email that delivers the offer is a great opportunity to not only thank them, but to include more calls to action and links to valuable information and offers.
Other tips for smart inbound marketers: Bold text to highlight important features, add social sharing buttons, include testimonials to show credibility and above all—create quality, value-added content that your visitors will find useful!
What other advice do you have for creating landing pages? What's been working for you?
