Poor design? Weak messaging? Confusing UX? With a solid design approach, your landing pages play their role in your customer journey and drive leads.
For marketers, landing pages are their bread and butter. Fundamental changes take much time while crafting a landing page seems like a quicker process. We put so much on it thinking it’ll open doors for high conversion rates. The reality, though, is tough: our wait for the sales to surge in numbers looks eternal, and we tend to start thinking, where does the fault lie?
In fact, in your expectations. Around 96% of visitors aren’t there to make a purchase instantly. The good news is that they are highly likely to share their contact information if they land on the page. That’s what landing pages are for — converting visitors into leads (or customers if you’ve found a magic wand).
Research indicates that using personalized calls-to-action on landing pages can increase conversions by 202%. So, the time is ripe for dropping Buy-Now CTAs, especially in the B2B sector (unless your metrics say the contrary), and turning to options like signing up for a newsletter, downloading a PDF, or requesting a demo.
We feel you, fellow marketers! And we’re here to help.
A list of reasons can run for pages, so we focus on the most critical ones.
One of the foundational threats is hidden in poor design. In some cases, it’s simply unattractive; in others, it offers a cluttered layout that randomly makes our eyes run over the page instead of focusing on the main message. For instance, it’s common to see the top navigation stripped out for a cleaner, more streamlined user experience, leaving as little as possible to compete with the primary CTA of that page.
Speaking of messaging, if your headlines and copy don’t clearly communicate the value propositions of your product or service, visitors may not understand why they should take action. So, put it down: the devil can be found in weak messaging.
Obviously, if we didn’t mention confusing user experience (UX), we wouldn’t be taken seriously. From complicated navigation structures to slow-loading pages, there’s so much to consider.
But it’s not only functionality that matters. Psychologically, we tend to trust information less without testimonials, reviews, or other forms of social proof. This lack of trust can trigger your potential customers to start hesitating about the quality of your offering.
By aligning the messaging, design, and content with the campaign’s objective, you can deliver a personalized experience that resonates with your visitors.
Numbers don’t lie: Businesses with over 40 landing pages generate 12 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages.
Before you start auditing your landing pages, gather the current landing page analytics and the goals you planned to achieve. The problem may be that you set unrealistic targets. Anyway, the data and goals discrepancies will be clear to you.
You can use a variety of tools and methods to collect and interpret data about your landing pages. For instance, Google Analytics can help you track metrics such as traffic sources, bounce rate, time on page, and conversions.
Redefine your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as conversion rate, bounce rate, time on page, or cost per acquisition. Keep in mind that, depending on your business objectives, metrics for your landing pages can vary — leads, sales, sign-ups, downloads, or engagement. Grounded in industry benchmarks will serve you as a beacon later on.
When reviewing your landing page design and layout, it’s important to make sure they align with your goals and metrics. Your headline and subheadlines should be clear, catchy, and relevant to your offer and audience, while images and videos should be high-quality, engaging, and supportive of your message.
Your copy and content should be concise, persuasive, and focused on the benefits you provide visitors. The call to action (CTA) should also be prominent, compelling, and aligned with your goal design-wise. The form or button should be simple, visible, and easy to complete or click. Furthermore, trust signals such as testimonials, reviews, ratings, awards, or guarantees should be credible, relevant, and convincing.
By aligning the ad copy with the landing page content, you create a cohesive experience that reinforces the message and increases the likelihood of conversion.
At this stage, we evaluate our landing page copy — headlines, feature descriptions and their benefits, testimonials, and other social proof, etc. Texts that are not clear, concise, and compelling don’t communicate the unique value of your product or service and fail to address your audience's concerns.
Check whether or not your copy covers your users’ most pressing challenges. By talking about the problems your customers face, you deepen their interest in everything you offer. Don’t be too salesy or pushy. You can position yourself as a trusted guide in solving their problems. Consider using bullet points or numbered lists for easy readability and better comprehension of the benefits.
Analyze your calls to action (CTAs). A mismatch between users’ intent and CTAs can impact a landing page's performance. To make it easy for prospects to convert, keep your lead form accessible, preferably above the fold. Placing it prominently on the page reduces friction and increases conversion likelihood. Combining a compelling CTA, an enticing offer, and an accessible lead form can work wonders, especially for top-of-the-funnel prospects.
Armed with all the knowledge from previous phases, we strongly advise developing a landing page template. Whether you choose to redesign your current template or create a new one from scratch, that’s what you have to take into consideration:
Easier said than done?
Quality design is key to effective marketing. It captures attention, increases engagement, and drives conversions.
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