Your landing pages are meant to capture leads and sales. But what if they aren’t pulling their weight? The consequences could be costly. Poor landing page design accounts for millions of dollars in lost revenue every year.
Why? Every time you lose a customer due to a cluttered, confusing landing page, you’re losing more than just a sale. You're losing future leads, sales and referrals.
Optimizing your landing pages for better conversion rates is all about sticking to the principles of Landing Page Design 101:
1. Know your audience. Who are your customers? The content and design of your landing pages should speak directly to them. Only by focusing on their specific needs—and how your products and services can address these needs—will you be able to convert them from visitors into customers.
2. State your value proposition. Why should people choose you? What can you do for them? Your landing pages are an ideal place to let them know why they should take further action. After all, if they don’t see any value in giving you their information, clicking on the submit button or downloading your ebook, why would they do it?
3. Have a clear call to action. People coming to your site don’t necessarily know what you want them to do. Make it crystal clear. Use action words to tell them to download that ebook, fill out that form or click on that “Buy It Now” button.
See some examples of good Call to Action buttons here.
4. Don’t ask for too much. Getting contact information is a vital first step to a conversion. But, it can also be a sticking point. When planning your landing page design, remember that asking for too much personal information up front can put a halt to the process. A phone number, for example, can come later— when your visitor is further down the sales funnel.
5. Remove visual clutter. Visually, your landing page design should be simple and easy to navigate. Remove distractions such as streaming video, banner ads and flash media. Leave out navigation bars and links to other pages to discourage visitors from wandering away.
6. Offer testimonials. Let your visitors know that others are happy with you. This will set their expectations and give them the confidence to take the desired action.
Optimizing your site for better conversion rates starts with effective landing pages. Stick to the basics of good landing page design and you’ll get the results you're after.
