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Landing pages on your Web site can be effective tools for encouraging users to take action. A landing page is a single page focused on a single idea and a specific action you want the visitor to take. Its purpose is to convert a visitor into a lead or sale.
E-mail campaigns and search engine ad campaigns often link to landing pages. If you're getting good click-through rates on your campaigns but low conversion rates (users taking the specified action), it's a good indication your landing pages need tweaking.
Industry statistics show 50% of your visitors will abandon your page within eight seconds. More leave when your page does not prove compelling upon closer examination or when visitors attempting to convert fail for one reason or another. So there's room for improvement. Marketers who regularly test and tweak their landing pages see an average lift of 40% in conversions, according to MarketingSherpa.
How to Increase Conversion Rates
That marketing e-mail or search engine ad you carefully crafted offers readers a promise. It could be a new product, a special offer, a white paper, an invitation to a seminar, etc. The job of the landing page is to deliver on that promise.
Here are three things you can do right away to "keep your promises" and increase conversions on your landing pages:
1. Match Landing Pages to the Creative
If you use a photograph of a smiling face in an e-mail campaign, use that
same smiling face on your landing page. If you have a keyword ad driving people
to a landing page, the keywords in your ad should also appear prominently on
your landing page.
The idea is to provide consistency, which lets visitors know they've
arrived in the right place — the promised land, so to speak. Conversion
rates for landing pages that exactly match keywords are 25% higher than pages
that only match the theme or idea behind the keyword. (See Trends section.)
Creating consistency in look and language helps you pass the first glance test, the eight seconds or less most people will give your page before bailing out. If someone doesn't see what they expect or at least something familiar, they're gone.
2. Focus on the Task at Hand
People clicked on your ad with a task at hand. They are trying to get something done and your landing page must help them do it. Make your call to action obvious and attractive. Put it "above the fold" which is the area on the screen a user can see without having to scroll.
Also, pay attention to how you use buttons. "Buy now" on a button might be intimidating because it implies a point of no return. "Add to Cart" is better. "Submit" can come off as cold. "Go" is vague. Try wording your buttons with language that tells visitors what they are getting: "Click to Get Your Best Practices Report" or "Download Application Notes."
3. Make Friendly Forms
Visitors are often required to fill out a form on landing pages in order to
have the promise fulfilled. Make sure your form is a doorway easy-to-open, not
a brick wall. Keep forms as simple, friendly and as short as possible. Collect
only the data you must have right now. Do you really need to know their fax number
right now? Make clear which fields are required and which are optional.
You can gather other data later as your prospect moves through the sales cycle, but you won't gather any data or even have a prospect if they abandon your form because it's too difficult to fill out. Every question you ask lowers your conversion rate.
One thing to remember is that some people will not fill out forms, no matter what. Be sure to provide alternative ways on your landing page for these visitors to convert: a readily-apparent phone number to call or e-mail address to send a request or inquiry. It will increase your opportunities for conversions.
Simple Pages are Best
When designing landing pages, keep in mind people scan pages in a consistent manner. The eye lands on the top left part of a page and moves right. It's where your headline (repeating keywords) and main image (repeating what was in the creative) should appear. Your call-to-action also should be near the top.
Keep your landing pages simple and straightforward. Too much clutter, too many options on where to look or too many links and you'll lose your audience.
Follow these tips to tweak your landing pages, and you should see your conversion rates start to rise.
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