This article presents the basic algorithm of actions that you need to follow when creating and optimizing a landing page. Perhaps someone examples listed above could look quite simple but do not underestimate them. Return to this post the next time you will be creating a landing page. Simple rules will save you from mistakes and help bring the visitor to the conversion.
Meet the target audience
Do you really know your customers or just think you know them? For a better understanding of the audience before you begin to making the landing page, experts advise to conduct research and find out how your potential consumers live.
Here are some possible research questions:
Create a compelling headline to draw visitors in
To capture visitors’ attention immediately and keep them engaged on your page long enough to evaluate your offer, you need a compelling headline. Speak directly to the benefits of your product or service and how it fulfills an essential need for your prospect.
One technique to use is the focusing effect.
The focusing effect is the tendency of people to place too much emphasis on one thing at the expense of others. When it comes to your landing page headline, though, you can use this to your advantage.
Your product or service likely has many benefits, but highlighting your unique value proposition (UVP) in your headline helps prospects focus strongly on that one feature. In turn, your UVP encourages them to click your CTA button.
Another way to craft a compelling headline is via message matching. Message matching provides a consistent message from ad to landing page to make prospects more comfortable in converting on your landing page offer. It is most common in headlines, but it can also be demonstrated through images, copy, and colors.
Include engaging media to keep visitors engaged
In the list of landing page best practices, video and images both play a critical role in persuading visitors to take action. For example, on average, a visitor will stay on a web page with video (5 minutes and 50 seconds) longer versus a page with only text and images (43 seconds). So it’s no surprise that videos have proven to increase conversion rates by as much as 80%.
Landing page images often employ the “deictic gaze” — a visual cue to draw the viewer’s attention toward an intended object. The most common example of this is a person looking towards the CTA button, drawing the visitor’s attention to it so they click it.
Write ultra persuasive copy
Not only should your copy be readable, it should also be easy to understand. Stay away from jargon and write in a way that a 6th grader would understand. For example, if your solution saves people money, don’t say “closefisted.” Instead, say cost-effective. Also, loss aversion can be an effective psychological tactic. It’s based on the idea that people value not losing something more than gaining something. So telling your prospects what they’ll be losing if they don’t convert is a surefire way to get them to take action — especially when you combine this with a free offer.
Urgency is another effective strategy to incorporate in your landing page copy. By letting prospects know they must act quickly to redeem the offer, you’re persuading them to convert. This is often done in conjunction with a countdown timer, like a webinar landing page or event registration page.
Next is the decoy effect. It involves at least three choices packaged smartly together using persuasive copy to convince prospects to select the option you want them to choose. Sales pages (like a pricing page) in particular use this tactic in which adding a decoy option (a third option) to a set of original options tends to increase the prospect’s preference for one option over the other original option. Meaning, one option is inferior to another, but in the middle ground compared to the least favorable option.
Utilize white space to focus their attention
White space and various color combinations are great for providing visitors with a pleasing visual experience, but they also play a vital role in persuading visitors to click your CTA button.
White space (aka empty space) helps isolate certain elements on your landing page, like forms and CTA buttons, so they can draw maximum attention. By surrounding important elements with white space, you effectively tell visitors what you want them to focus on.
When it comes to color, consider the Von Restorff Effect, which states that people tend to remember things that stand out to them most. With landing pages design your CTA button in a contrasting color (preferably a color that hasn’t been used anywhere) so it’s very obvious where they must go to redeem your offer. If you’re unsure of which color to choose, look at the color wheel and choose the opposite color of your page’s dominant color. For example, if your page is mostly blue, select orange for the CTA button.
Add trust indicators to make visitors feel safe
Trust indicators come in many forms: customer badges or testimonials, awards, industry ratings, and a privacy policy link. All of these can help make prospects feel confident enough to convert on your offer, or at least stay on your page long enough to consider it.
Social proof is one of the best ways to gain prospect’s trust. Displaying customer testimonials and prominent publications that your brand has been featured establishes credibility for your offer. It makes people more comfortable knowing other people trust you.
Design an attractive form and CTA button to seal the deal
The lead capture form and CTA button are the two most important elements for conversions. After all, the form collects leads’ information and clicking the CTA button is how a prospect finalizes their conversion.
Since these are the most important elements on your page, they need to stand out.
Encapsulation, or creating an enclosed window of focus, is a great way to highlight your form and draw attention to it. You can do this with outlines and/or contrasting colors.
Wrap up
Simply creating a landing page and generating traffic to it is not sufficient to increase your conversions. You must design the page with the right elements while implementing some psychological principles. Only then will your visitors be persuaded to take action and your marketing funnel start to collect more and more leads.
Article written by Ann
(Photo by williamhook via Flickr)
Do you really know your customers or just think you know them? For a better understanding of the audience before you begin to making the landing page, experts advise to conduct research and find out how your potential consumers live.
Here are some possible research questions:
- Tell about your age, job, position, etc.
- What are you using our product for?
- What advantages of the product could you highlight?
- Are you considering any alternatives to our product? Why?
Create a compelling headline to draw visitors in
To capture visitors’ attention immediately and keep them engaged on your page long enough to evaluate your offer, you need a compelling headline. Speak directly to the benefits of your product or service and how it fulfills an essential need for your prospect.
One technique to use is the focusing effect.
The focusing effect is the tendency of people to place too much emphasis on one thing at the expense of others. When it comes to your landing page headline, though, you can use this to your advantage.
Your product or service likely has many benefits, but highlighting your unique value proposition (UVP) in your headline helps prospects focus strongly on that one feature. In turn, your UVP encourages them to click your CTA button.
Another way to craft a compelling headline is via message matching. Message matching provides a consistent message from ad to landing page to make prospects more comfortable in converting on your landing page offer. It is most common in headlines, but it can also be demonstrated through images, copy, and colors.
Include engaging media to keep visitors engaged
In the list of landing page best practices, video and images both play a critical role in persuading visitors to take action. For example, on average, a visitor will stay on a web page with video (5 minutes and 50 seconds) longer versus a page with only text and images (43 seconds). So it’s no surprise that videos have proven to increase conversion rates by as much as 80%.
Landing page images often employ the “deictic gaze” — a visual cue to draw the viewer’s attention toward an intended object. The most common example of this is a person looking towards the CTA button, drawing the visitor’s attention to it so they click it.
Write ultra persuasive copy
Not only should your copy be readable, it should also be easy to understand. Stay away from jargon and write in a way that a 6th grader would understand. For example, if your solution saves people money, don’t say “closefisted.” Instead, say cost-effective. Also, loss aversion can be an effective psychological tactic. It’s based on the idea that people value not losing something more than gaining something. So telling your prospects what they’ll be losing if they don’t convert is a surefire way to get them to take action — especially when you combine this with a free offer.
Urgency is another effective strategy to incorporate in your landing page copy. By letting prospects know they must act quickly to redeem the offer, you’re persuading them to convert. This is often done in conjunction with a countdown timer, like a webinar landing page or event registration page.
Next is the decoy effect. It involves at least three choices packaged smartly together using persuasive copy to convince prospects to select the option you want them to choose. Sales pages (like a pricing page) in particular use this tactic in which adding a decoy option (a third option) to a set of original options tends to increase the prospect’s preference for one option over the other original option. Meaning, one option is inferior to another, but in the middle ground compared to the least favorable option.
Utilize white space to focus their attention
White space and various color combinations are great for providing visitors with a pleasing visual experience, but they also play a vital role in persuading visitors to click your CTA button.
White space (aka empty space) helps isolate certain elements on your landing page, like forms and CTA buttons, so they can draw maximum attention. By surrounding important elements with white space, you effectively tell visitors what you want them to focus on.
When it comes to color, consider the Von Restorff Effect, which states that people tend to remember things that stand out to them most. With landing pages design your CTA button in a contrasting color (preferably a color that hasn’t been used anywhere) so it’s very obvious where they must go to redeem your offer. If you’re unsure of which color to choose, look at the color wheel and choose the opposite color of your page’s dominant color. For example, if your page is mostly blue, select orange for the CTA button.
Add trust indicators to make visitors feel safe
Trust indicators come in many forms: customer badges or testimonials, awards, industry ratings, and a privacy policy link. All of these can help make prospects feel confident enough to convert on your offer, or at least stay on your page long enough to consider it.
Social proof is one of the best ways to gain prospect’s trust. Displaying customer testimonials and prominent publications that your brand has been featured establishes credibility for your offer. It makes people more comfortable knowing other people trust you.
Design an attractive form and CTA button to seal the deal
The lead capture form and CTA button are the two most important elements for conversions. After all, the form collects leads’ information and clicking the CTA button is how a prospect finalizes their conversion.
Since these are the most important elements on your page, they need to stand out.
Encapsulation, or creating an enclosed window of focus, is a great way to highlight your form and draw attention to it. You can do this with outlines and/or contrasting colors.
Wrap up
Simply creating a landing page and generating traffic to it is not sufficient to increase your conversions. You must design the page with the right elements while implementing some psychological principles. Only then will your visitors be persuaded to take action and your marketing funnel start to collect more and more leads.
Article written by Ann
(Photo by williamhook via Flickr)
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