Get Conversions! 8 Things Your Landing Pages Must Have

by | Jan 29, 2014

Conversion is about helping prospects move to a next step in a decision making process, and ultimately about closing a sale.

Landing pages are a critical tool for optimizing conversions – they are web pages that you direct your prospects to, in order to get them to identify themselves so you can engage them in a permission based dialogue. Landing pages must be compelling and clearly show what the visitor must do next. If you do a good job with your landing pages, you will see very positive results with your inbound leads.

When a searcher finds your website, they are looking for something specific – such as information about a product or service, comparative information, pricing, detailed specifications, etc. They are there for a reason.

Therefore, the first interaction must compel prospects to engage and move to the next step in the process. The landing page content and layout must give the prospect confidence that: 1) the organization “gets them”; 2) they are dealing with a credible and authoritative organization; and 3) they can easily access the information they need in order to make an informed decision.

If not, the prospect will hit the back button, abandon, and go the next website or landing page.

You must have unique landing pages that are specific to an offer or an online advertisement. There are some essential components that any landing page must have.

8 Must-Haves for Effective Landing Pages

  1. Content Findability: Make sure the content the prospect is interested in is easy to find. Don’t confuse them with complicated menus or labyrinthine pages. For a single landing page, this means having the key information above the fold.
  2. Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons: Make your call-to-action very prominent. A prospect filling out your form is what counts as a conversion, so make it obvious, visible, and straightforward. Examples of CTAs include requesting a quote, downloading a document, registering for an event, subscribing to a newsletter, entering a contest, signing up for a promotional offer, etc.
  3. Page Headings/Headlines: Use keyword-based page headlines to assure the prospect that they are in the right place.
  4. All Important Information on One Page: This relates to content findability, discussed above. Anything the prospect needs to know about a specific topic should be available or accessible from one page.
  5. Effective Use of Multi-Media: Studies show that conversion is higher when pages contain video or other types of multi-media. These should be included in your landing pages whenever possible.
  6. Eliminate Distractions: Pages should not contain extraneous or frivolous content. Anything not important for that particular offer, service, or product should not be on that landing page.
  7. Compelling Content: Content should grab the potential buyer immediately. It should be prospect-focused, rather than focused on your organization.
  8. Interactivity Tools: Tools that allow for interaction, such as chat or submission forms, enhance overall user experience. They encourage engagement and conversion.

To get prospects to “put their hands up” and identify themselves, there must be a reason for them to do so. There has to be something in it for them.

Make sure your landing pages are optimized with these 8 key elements; you will increase conversions and generate those all-important inbound leads.

Like this? You might also like:

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Ben Molfetta
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