In order to create a high-converting landing page that brings in leads and more business, a number of components must be in alignment.
This article is all about generating conversions for a PPC campaign but there’s no reason why you can’t apply the principles here to other channels.
Key elements of a high-converting landing page
You can create unique products or services. You can also research markets to ensure your audience will like and buy your product or service.
You can also spend thousands on an online advertising strategy. But if your website doesn’t convert visitors into leads or sales, then your business has ever potential to end disastrously.
That’s where landing pages come in. Generally speaking, a landing page is a one-page ‘mini-site’ that sits usually separately from your main website, sometimes on a sub-domain.
A great landing page comprises a number of key elements, including:
- Landing page copy
- Landing page design
- Value proposition
- Landing page optimization
More specifically, precise elements of your landing page that you will need to consider will be:
- A hero image
- A call to action button
- A unique selling point
- Form placement
- Colour scheme
- You may even require to include a short video to entice our customers
- It can help to consider your customers’ pain points
Landing page software
The first part of the puzzle is using landing page software. There are quite a few on the market, however, the ones I am most familiar with are Unbounce and Zoho Landing Pages.
I used Unbounce for many years and to be honest, in over five years, I haven’t really seen many changes or improvements that one may expect in this time.
That’s why I’ve switched to Zoho Landing pages.
My main bugbear with Unbounce is that for every page you build with Unbounce, you have to double your work by also formatting a mobile page. On top of this, there is no middle-ground view. It’s either desktop or mobile, so tablet users are not catered for.
Zoho’s solution is a fully responsive solution which automatically resizes your original design. Meaning you only need to build your page once.
Asides from these key points, Zoho’s landing page software is currently a beta version which means that it is free. Unbounce prices start at around $70 per month although there is a free 30-day trial.
Building the landing page
One of the best ways I’ve heard a landing page lead magnet described is to make your offer sound so incredibly good that the user would be crazy not to take it.
In the case of this landing page, I’ve created a downloadable PDF that is free for the user to download.
Here are some key components that I have found work well on landing pages.
Call to action
A simple call to action with an effective message can be the difference between your landing page being a success or failing miserably. Try out different text on your CTA. Here are some examples that you may want to test:
- Download My eBook
- Download eBook Instantly
- Get My Free eBook
- Yes I Want My Free eBook
As you can see from this shortlist, the possibilities are almost endless. What’s important is that you create a great CTA that is just right for the product or service you are promoting.
Form Placement
Make sure the form is ‘above the fold’ on the desktop view. In these days of multiple device views, there is still some credence going to the form being visible right away on desktop view.
Keep copy short and to the point. Your landing page should only have one action for the user to complete. Tell them what to do, preferably right next to your form, above the fold. Just a few words can make all the difference. Keep in mind what your target audience is after
Hero Image
Your hero image should be striking and instantly recognisable. If you are providing an e-Book download, it can help to show an illustration of how the e-book or brochure may look in real life. Show a visual representation of what the user will receive when they submit their details and access the download. Do this by generating a mock-up image of your download. Envato Events provides a free 7-day trial which will allow you to download mock-ups of downloadable PDFs. This can really bring your download to life.
Experiment with different types of mock-ups. Maybe a representation of an actual booklet will work for you. Or perhaps a visual of a person reading your booklet on a tablet or laptop will cover better for you. There’s only one way to find out and that’s what leads to the next essential component required to build your high-converting landing page.
Split testing
In order to succeed and build your successful landing page, testing components of your page is essential. Luckily Google provides a free piece of nifty software called Google Optimize.
Using Google Optimize you can test blocks of text, imagery, button colours, button text and more. In fact, anything you can think of on your page, you can test the effect that providing an alternative as part of an ab split test can make.
Setting up testing using Google Optimize is quick, relatively easy and best of all totally free.
Search Intent
Lastly, in order for your landing page to successfully convert, you need to be sure of precisely what intentions your customer or users have.
In the case of a PPC ad, the keywords you target and the ad copy you use must align with the landing page. As soon as the visitor lands on your page you really want to grab the reader’s attention.
There is no point throwing your keywords against the wall to see which ones stick. Keep your target keyphrases laser focused and you will see better results.
What is the average conversion rate of a landing page?
It can be tough to say what a good landing page conversion rate may be but in my experience creating landing pages specifically for lead generation, anything above 8% conversion rate I would be happy with. Get above 10% and you’re doing really well.
Anything below 5% and personally, I would be going back to the landing page and looking at what I could change.
Don’t trash your entire landing page even if it isn’t converting though. The first items to look at should be your page heading, and your copy, particularly focusing on that unique selling point and your hero image.
Remember you can always improve your conversion rates by using split testing (See Google Optimize).
Value proposition
Working with the right value proposition is the key to creating the highest quality landing page. The value prop should continue from the ad to the headline on the landing page, as well as the text and submit buttons. The best quote I ever heard about building landing pages is ‘Make the offer so good that your customer would be mad not to take it.’
The Psychology of colours
Can colour effective landing page conversions? Well yes in so much as they play a key part in your landing page design. However, will different colours have a psychological effect on your customers and make them more inclined to convert? In my opinion, it’s highly unlikely.
But if you wanted to test this out, a great way of doing this is to test the colour of your call to action button. This can easily be done again with split testing software. Google Optimize allows you to test up to four different colours as part of a multivariate test.
Why do landing pages convert better?
A landing page has one purpose alone – and that is to convert visitors into sales prospects. A great landing page may have a similar design or theme to your main website, but it behaves differently. On a regular website, messages and call-to-action buttons can get lost in the noise.
A landing page exists only to drive visitors into the sales funnel. More often than not, the simpler the landing page design, the better it will perform. Keep that in mind. And only have one action that you want your visitors to take. More than one is too confusing for the purposes of a landing page.