Doesn’t it seem that landing pages have taken on a life of their own?  There are websites and cloud services that offer only landing pages.  Whole articles (like the one you’re reading!) have been written on the subject.  That’s a lot of attention being paid to a single-purpose page with limited data on it.

Web pages

Is the attention warranted?  The answer is yes!  It’s likely the case that landing pages are the most important link in the entire lead capture chain.  Paying some attention to them will pay off quickly.  Take a look at these ideas to create great landing pages:

  1.  Keep it uni-focused.  Your landing page should be designed for one purpose; capturing the lead from whomever lands on it.  It’s not the time to reinforce the message or education the audience.  Stick to the focus.  Land here, sign up, thanks very much. You will also want to limit the potential navigation off the landing page.  Once you have them on a landing page, you want to complete the deal.
  2.  Clear, easy to read copy and headlines.  This is the time to be pithy and to the point.  All headlines and copy should be oriented toward the call to action on your landing page. Be persuasive, but not verbose. This is the time to close the deal!
  3.  Make the form simple and bold.  There’s always that age-old discussion about asking for information on a registration form.  One view is that you should ask 12-15 questions and make them all mandatory and others think name and email is enough.  In general, ask for the least information you can get by with. Make the form short and bold.
  4.  Strong call to action.  The goal of a landing page is to get the prospect to take action and to provide little other alternatives. The call to action should be prominent and repeated throughout a landing page.  Often a large button with the call to action on it, e.g. “order now,” is the center of the page.
  5.  It’s all about the layout.  Landing pages have a limited number of components but how they are presented on the page can influence the response.  You will want to try different layout and test them.  Keep things above the fold when possible. It’s not just about which page looks best to the team, it’s about which returns the most.  Use all the tools that you have and certainly the visual layout is an important one.
  6.  Testing.  Landing pages just cry out for testing.  The only real way to know if the changes you’ve made are actually an improvement or not is to test it with real prospects.  Running a constant A/B test environment will allow you to always be improving the look and the response from your landing pages.

Landing pages are a bit of an art and a lot of trial and error.  Since it is really the last mile of your marketing process, make sure it’s everything it can be and helps you close the deal with your prospects!

What are your tricks for creating landing pages?  Do you do A/B testing on a regular basis?

 

You can connect with Eric on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ericlundbohm/

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