When it comes to creating successful landing pages in 2019, there’s a number of best practices that savvy brands and businesses use for optimization. The best landing pages help grow leads and sales for brands. They do this by making it easy for consumers to buy from companies and learn more about what’s on offer. Effective landing pages take people step-by-step through the sales cycle.
A website’s landing page is where an ad or link takes consumers when they click on it. If you’ve ever clicked on a brand’s Google ad, for example, it took you to the landing page on that brand’s website.
Why Are Landing Pages Important?
A landing page is the most important page on a brand’s website. It’s where consumers decide whether or not to take an important action. This might be buying your product or getting more information about it or your brand.
First Impressions
Landing pages are important because they’re the first thing your audience sees when they click on the link to your site that delivers them there. These pages then form consumers’ first impressions of your brand. If that first impression is confusing or sloppy, they’re less likely to linger.
Lead Generation
Landing pages give brands the opportunity to capture information about consumers. Your landing page can encourage them sign up for things like newsletters or to get more information about products or services. Consumers who’ve expressed interest in your brand’s products become qualified leads.
Sales Boost
Landing pages can boost conversions. They’re where consumers who are interested in a product can take the next step towards purchasing it.
Creating an Optimized Landing Page in 2019
What should you include on a landing page? Think of times you’ve clicked on a link or an ad for a website and been disappointed with what you found when you got there. Maybe the information you were looking for was missing, or you had no idea what the brand was offering and what you’d get in return. When it comes to best practices, landing pages should have the following features:
- Ensure Ease of Navigation. Your brand’s landing page should be easy to get to, understand and navigate.
- Make a Clear Offer. Your landing page should include an offer that’s easy to understand. Keep the copy to a minimum.
- Use a Compelling Headline. Your landing page should include a headline that grabs your audience’s attention and makes them want to stay on your site. It should quickly and clearly let them know what the benefit of your product or service is.
- Provide a Call to Action. Landing pages should include CTAs that are clearly written so consumers understand how to take action. That action might be asking for more information about your product, signing up for a newsletter or buying your product. Make sure consumers know exactly what they’ll get in return for doing so. Think about setting off the CTA with a color that’s not used anywhere else on the landing page. If your landing page is a long one, repeat your CTA and your primary message so they’re easy to find.
- Stay Focused. Your landing page should have both a clear purpose and clear focus that lead viewers to the CTA and don’t distract from it.
- Maintain a Consistent, Reader-Friendly Design. Your landing page should have a design that’s uncluttered and appealing to your market. Keep it simple so a lot of bells and whistles don’t overwhelm your audience. A hard-to-decipher site can make them decide to go somewhere else — like your competitors’ pages.
- Keep Your Copy Relevant. Your landing page’s copy should be purposeful, succinct and to the point. Keep your copy smart. Don’t talk down to your market, and don’t make things too wordy either. Make the copy about your audience, their needs and how you solve their problems.
- Keep It Authentic. Include the experiences of real users of your product on your landing page. When your target market sees someone just like them singing the praises of your product, it builds trust and a desire to follow their lead.
- Don’t Forget to Include Contact Information. Put your brand’s contact information on your website’s landing page. This is useful in case your target audience has questions or needs help.
- Put Search First. Put a search function at the top of your landing page if it’s relevant to your products, like it is for airlines. It gives consumers the ability to find exactly what they’re looking for right away.
- Build Your Page for the Market. If you’re targeting different types of markets, one landing page might not do the job when to comes to tracking. Build a different landing page for each target so you can track data separately.
- Keep the Important Elements Above the Fold. “Above the fold” means that features like the CTA and your critical messaging should be at the top of your landing page. Don’t leave them forgotten at the bottom of the screen.
- Make It Easy to Share on Social Media. If a consumer really loves what they find on your landing page, make it easy for them to spread the word on social media platforms.