The 3 Elements of High-Converting Landing Pages
The final step in an online user’s journey often places them on a landing page of some sort. It is here that they are given your call-to-action and stand at a crossroads. They will either convert and sign up, subscribe, or buy or product, or they will leave. It is here that all of your marketing efforts come to fruition.
A great landing page can be a huge boon to a business, but a mediocre one can be a waste of time and money. Today, we’re going to look at three elements that contribute to a knockout landing page.
3 Elements That Contribute to a Winning Landing Page
Landing pages are a tricky thing. They live and die by very specific elements that exist within them. They are essentially a digital sales pitch, but if anything is off, it can send away more people than it converts.
Let’s take a look at 3 design elements your landing page needs to succeed:
1. A Killer Headline
Everything starts with the headline. Let’s say you’re in the market for an SEO service and you visit their website. You’re looking for a headline that jumps out at you and makes you confident in their services. If you don’t see that right away, you’re bound to leave and look elsewhere.
So, how do you write a headline that sells your services and makes them want to learn more? Consider these tips:
- Arouse curiosity by asking them a question or making a powerful statement
- Give them a taste of what to expect if they keep reading
- Make it short and punchy. About ten words are perfect, but you can use a headline analyzer if you’re unsure.
- Make it actionable, use verbs to get them excited
2. Zero Distractions
The next element of more focused on the absence of one, or several. Landing pages shouldn’t give your visitor the opportunity to leave. You worked so hard to get them there, so it’s important that you don’t leave the door open when they arrive.
The worst offense of this mistake is when you leave a navigation bar in the header or footer of the landing page. If the user hits your landing page, they could easily see something in your navigation bar and click away, never to return .
It seems like such a simple change, but in many cases, studies have shown that your conversions will increase when you remove a distraction like this. Beyond your navigation, make sure that everything else on the page is relevant to what you’re trying to accomplish. This extends to pictures and video.
3. Include Social Proof
Robert Cialdini once said that “people see an action as more appropriate when others are doing it.” This is social proof in a nutshell. As human beings, we tend to gravitate towards the greater opinion of the group, regardless if we know them or not.
If we see that a product or service has benefited someone else, then we instantly want to be a part of that. Similarly, if something is in high demand, we also immediately want it, even if we don’t fully understand what “it” is.
You can create this kind of thinking in your audience by incorporating social proof into your landing pages. The most common type are testimonials that you place on your landing page. These are usually paired with names and pictures of the people to give it that human touch.
Testimonials can also be done in video form for added effect. In essence, social proof should be treated like a seasoning. It enhances your landing page, but it’s not a replacement for these other elements, or for good old fashioned copy.
Final Thoughts
Landing pages are integral to the success of your business. By implementing these elements and following the other best practices of landing pages, you can ensure that people convert when they arrive.
How do you optimize your landing pages? Let us know in the comments!