In the world of online marketing, a landing page is a vital component for driving conversions and achieving business goals. Simply put, a landing page is a standalone web page that is specifically designed to capture leads, generate sales, or promote a particular product or service. The main objective of successful landing pages is to encourage visitors to take a specific action, such as filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase.
However, creating high-converting landing pages that convert visitors into customers requires careful planning, thoughtful design, and strategic execution. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about landing page conversion, including the key elements of a high-converting landing page. Whether you are an experienced marketer or a newcomer to the world of online marketing, understanding the fundamentals of landing page conversion is essential for achieving your business goals and maximising your ROI.
The top elements of a high-converting landing page that will help marketers achieve conversion goals:
A captivating headline
The headline is the first impression that visitors will get when they land on your page, and it is crucial to get it right. Your headline should be attention-grabbing, contain just a few words, and clearly communicate the value proposition of your offer. It should also be relevant to the ad or other marketing material that brought visitors to your landing page in the first place. If your headline is weak or irrelevant, visitors may quickly lose interest and leave the page, resulting in a low conversion rate.
To create a compelling headline, you should consider the pain points or desires of your target audience and emphasise how your offer can help solve their problems or fulfil their needs. You can also use strong action verbs, power words, or numbers to make your headline more engaging and memorable. Additionally, you should avoid using industry jargon, confusing language, or ambiguous phrases that may confuse or alienate your landing page visitor.
Another important element of your landing page is the subheadline, which should support and expand on the main headline. The subheadline can provide more detail about the offer or highlight its unique selling points. It can also address any potential objections or concerns that visitors may have about your offer. The subheadline should be concise, informative, and complement the main headline to reinforce the value proposition of your offer.
An irresistible call-to-action (CTA)
The call-to-action (CTA) is the most critical element on good landing pages because it is the ultimate motivator for visitors to take action. It is the final step that you want your visitors to take after reading your content and considering your offer.
The first step in creating an effective CTA is to make it clear and concise. Your CTA should highlight a unique selling proposition and communicate exactly what you want your visitors to do, whether it is to fill out a form, make a purchase, or sign up for a newsletter. It should also be aesthetically appealing and stand out from the rest of the page. Using contrasting colours, bold text, or strategically placed graphics can help draw the reader’s attention to your CTA and increase conversions.
A good CTA drives the desired action
In addition to the design, the placement of your CTA is also crucial. It should be located above the fold, which means it should be visible without the need to scroll down. Placing your CTA at the bottom of the page may require visitors to work too hard to find it, and they may lose interest or become distracted before taking action.
Consider one of the best landing page examples from the Dutch watch brand Cluse, which was able to improve its landing page performance by addressing a high bounce rate and low visitor engagement. They identified a lack of clarity in their call-to-action (CTA) as the main issue and decided to align it with best practices.
The results were impressive, with a significant increase in both click-through rates and transactions. Specifically, the new CTA design increased the click-through rate to the product display page by 2.39% and led to a 1.12% uplift in transactions. This landing page example shows that by paying attention to key performance metrics and implementing effective solutions, Cluse was able to optimise its effective landing pages and drive better results.
Persuasive language is key to a high converting CTA
Another important factor in creating an effective CTA is to use persuasive language that encourages visitors to take action. Using action-oriented verbs like “buy,” “Subscribe,” or “download” can persuade visitors to click your CTA button. You can also create a sense of urgency by using phrases like “limited time offer” or “act now” to increase the likelihood of converting visitors into loyal customers.
Finally, you should ensure that your CTA is aligned with the rest of your landing page copy. For instance, if your lead magnet is a free eBook, for example, your CTA button should reflect that by saying “Download a comprehensive FREE eBook Now.”
A high converting form design
If your landing page includes a form, the design of the form can play a significant role in conversion rates. Site visitors are often reluctant to fill out forms, especially if they appear lengthy or confusing. Therefore, optimising your form design for ease of use and simplicity is crucial to achieving landing page conversion.
One key aspect of form design is to keep the number of fields as low as possible. The more fields you include, the more time and effort it takes for visitors to complete the form. Therefore, ask for only the essential information that ultimately converts visitors into a lead or customers.
Keep it simple!
Another important aspect of form design is the layout and format of the form. The form should be easy to read, with labels and instructions that are clear and concise. Using visual cues such as asterisks, bullets, or bold text can help highlight required fields and make the form less daunting. Additionally, using a single-column layout can help make the form more aesthetically appealing and less overwhelming to visitors.
The placement of the form is also important for the landing page conversion rate. Placing the form above the fold, or at least in a visible and prominent location, can help increase the likelihood of visitors filling out the form. Additionally, using contrasting colours or other visual elements to make the form stand out can help draw attention to it and encourage visitors to take action.
Make it easy
Finally, when creating landing pages, ensure that the form submission process is smooth and easy. Using auto-fill or auto-complete features can save visitors time and effort, making it more likely that they will complete the form. Additionally, providing clear feedback after the form has been submitted, such as a thank-you message or a redirect to a confirmation page, can help build trust and increase the likelihood of future conversions.
Offer
Your offer should be clear, valuable, and relevant to your target audience. Visitors should immediately understand what they stand to gain by converting, and the value of your offer should be compelling enough to motivate them to take action.
To create an effective offer, it’s important to consider the needs and interests of your target audience. Your offer should have a brief description that aligns with their search intent, pain points, desires, or goals, and offer a solution or benefit that they find valuable. This could be a free trial, a discount, a free e-book, or a limited-time offer, depending on your business and industry.
Another important aspect of an effective offer is its presentation. Your offer should be clearly stated and visible on your landing page, with a headline and subhead that clearly communicate its value. Additionally, using visual elements such as images or videos can help reinforce the benefits of your offer and make it more compelling to visitors.
Besides that, it’s crucial to tailor your offer to the specific stage of the marketing funnel. If a visitor lands at your landing page after clicking on a specific ad or link, your offer should be related to that specific topic or interest. If your offer is similar to what other businesses in your industry are offering, visitors may not see the value in converting to your business specifically.
Therefore, it’s important to identify your unique value proposition and communicate that in your offer.
Visual design
Visual design is an essential element of an effective landing page. A good landing page design should be aesthetically pleasing, consistent with your brand, and visually appealing to visitors. For example, using a visually striking hero image on your landing page can captivate your audience and effectively communicate your brand message, resulting in higher conversion rates. Moreover, the use of colour, typography, and imagery can create a visual hierarchy that guides visitors through the page and highlights the most valuable information.
Use plenty of white space
One important aspect of visual design is the use of whitespace and negative space. Whitespace refers to the empty space between elements on a page and is used to create a sense of balance and clarity. A page with too many elements and not enough whitespace can be overwhelming to visitors and reduce the effectiveness of the landing page.
Don’t forget negative space
On the other hand, negative space refers to the area around and between objects or subjects in an image or design. It can be any colour, not just white. Negative space is a broader term that encompasses all the empty or unoccupied areas in a composition, regardless of their colour. Furthermore, optimising your landing page’s scroll depth can ensure that your most important information is visible and engaging enough to keep web visitors scrolling.
Loading speed
The loading speed of your entire landing page is an often-overlooked element that can significantly impact user experience and ultimately landing page conversions. Several factors can impact the loading speed of your landing page, including the size of the page, the number of elements on the page, and the quality of your hosting provider.
Moreover, several companies have achieved higher conversion rates by improving their website load times. For instance, Walmart experienced a 2% increase in conversion rates for each second of enhanced load time. Similarly, Amazon observed that a mere 100-millisecond improvement in load time resulted in a 1% increase in sales. Additionally, Akamai discovered that a 100-millisecond improvement in load time led to a substantial 7% increase in conversion rates.
To optimise the loading speed of your landing page, you can consider the following tactics: optimise images: Large images can slow down your page’s loading speed. You can optimise images by compressing them or using a content delivery network (CDN) to reduce load times.
Minimise HTTP requests
Each element on your page requires a separate HTTP request, which can slow down your page’s loading speed. Minimizing the number of elements on your page can reduce the number of HTTP requests required and improve loading times.
Use caching
Caching can improve the loading speed of your landing page by storing frequently accessed data in the visitor’s browser, reducing the number of server requests required.
Choose a reliable hosting provider
A poor-quality hosting provider can negatively impact your page’s loading speed. Choose a reliable hosting provider with fast load times to ensure your landing page performs well.
By optimising the loading speed of your landing page, you can improve user experience, reduce bounce rates, and ultimately increase your average conversion rate. It’s important to regularly test your landing page’s loading speed and make adjustments as necessary to ensure it’s performing at its best.
Mobile optimisation
Mobile optimisation is a critical element of a great landing page conversion, as more and more users access the internet on their mobile devices. According to research by DataReportal, 50.9% of digital buyers engage in mobile shopping on a weekly basis. Besides that, mobile traffic constitutes a significant portion of overall web traffic, typically accounting for approximately 50%. Although the exact percentage varies across companies, it seldom falls below 30% and can reach as high as 80-90% in certain cases. A landing page that’s not optimised for mobile can lead to a poor user experience, resulting in lower conversion rates.
To optimise your landing page for mobile devices, you can consider the following tactics:
Responsive design
A responsive design ensures that your landing page adapts to the screen size of the device it’s being viewed on, ensuring a consistent and optimised user experience across all devices.
Simple and clear design
A simple and clear design that’s easy to navigate on mobile devices can improve user experience and boost conversions. Ensure that the font size, button size, and overall layout are optimised for mobile.
Shorter forms
Mobile users are often on the go and don’t have the patience to fill out long forms. Shorter forms with fewer fields can improve user experience and increase conversion rates on mobile.
Fast loading speed
Mobile users expect fast-loading pages, and a slow-loading landing page can cause them to abandon the page before converting. Optimise the loading speed of your landing page for mobile devices.
Testing
Regularly test your landing page on different mobile devices to ensure it’s performing well and delivering a positive user experience.
Social proof
Social proof is a powerful tool that can help to increase landing page conversion rates by building trust and credibility with your website visitors. Using it correctly it increases conversion rates by 12.5% on average. By including social proof, you can show potential customers that others have had positive experiences with your product or service, which can encourage them to take action.
There are several ways to include social proof on your landing page, such as:
Customer testimonials
Testimonials from satisfied customers can be a powerful form of social proof. They provide proof of the value and effectiveness of your product or service and can increase visitor trust in your brand.
Ratings and reviews
Positive ratings and reviews can increase visitor confidence in your brand and encourage them to take action.
Endorsements from influencers or industry experts
Endorsements from well-known influencers or industry experts can also be a powerful form of social proof.
When including social proof on your landing page, it’s important to ensure that the testimonials, ratings, or endorsements are genuine and relevant to your target audience. Avoid using fake or exaggerated reviews, as this can damage your credibility and lead to a decrease in conversion rates.
Targeting
Targeting is a crucial factor in achieving high conversion rates on your landing page. Even if your landing page is well-designed and optimised for conversions, if it’s not reaching the right audience, you may not see the results you’re looking for. To ensure that your landing page is reaching the right audience, there are several targeting strategies that you can employ.
Demographic targeting
Demographic targeting involves targeting your landing page to a specific demographic group, such as age, gender, or location. This can help ensure that your landing page is reaching the audience most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Behavioural targeting
Behavioural targeting involves targeting your landing page to visitors based on their previous behaviour, such as the pages they’ve visited on your website or their search history. This can help ensure that your landing page is reaching visitors who have already shown an interest in your product or service.
Contextual targeting
Contextual targeting involves targeting your landing page to visitors based on the context of their visit, such as the keywords they used to find your website or the content they’re currently viewing.
To optimise your targeting strategy, it’s important to understand your audience and their needs. Conducting market research and analysing your website data can help you gain insights into your target audience and their behaviour.
Testing and optimisation
Even the best-designed landing pages can be improved with regular testing and optimisation. By conducting A/B testing or multivariate testing, you can compare different versions of your landing page to determine which elements are most effective in driving conversions.
A/B testing involves creating two or more versions of your landing page and randomly directing visitors to each version. By comparing the performance of each version, a digital marketer can identify which elements are most effective in driving conversions. Multivariate testing takes this a step further by testing multiple elements on a single page to determine the best combination of elements.
When conducting testing and optimisation, it’s important to track key performance metrics, such as conversion rates, bounce rates, and click-through rates. This data can be used to identify areas for improvement and inform future optimisation efforts.
Here’s our comprehensive guide to help marketers measure landing page performance.
It’s also important to remember that testing and optimisation are ongoing processes. As your audience and target market evolve, your perfect landing page may need to be updated to remain effective. Regularly testing and tweaking elements of your landing page can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your landing page is always optimised for conversions.
Conclusive Thoughts
Months have been spent developing your brand and perfecting your website, but if you can’t generate revenue, it’s all for nothing. And one of the best tools marketing teams can utilise for increasing conversions is landing pages. A well-designed landing page can drive traffic, generate leads, and ultimately increase sales. However, achieving high conversion rates on your landing page requires careful attention to a variety of factors. From compelling headlines and call-to-action to loading speed and mobile optimisation, many elements can impact the success of your landing page.
You’ll be on the right path to a high-performing landing page as long as you’re adhering to the recommended practices we discussed above. If you need any more assistance, we’re always available.
