Highly optimized landing pages increase your conversion rates. 48% successful marketers create well-designed landing page for each of their marketing campaign.
As an online business owner, are you one of those 48%? Do you know what makes a good landing page?
In this article, I'm going to show you in detail what is a landing page, and how does it work. Let's go!
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is the first page where a visitor lands after they reach your website from a social media link, online advertisement, or email link, etc.
It is a page on your website that destined to influence visitors to make an action. They are different from the other page of your website.
Most of the web page has banners or navigation bar, and they have various goals. But every landing page has similar goals, either it turns a visitor into a lead, or influence a user to make a purchase.
The landing page is also called destination page, static page, or lead capture page. They show your customer an elaborate sales copy or displays an extension of your online advertisement that can make them become your leads.
Marketers around the world use two types of popular landing page frequently. They are-
1. Lead Generation Landing Pages
A landing page which helps to capture leads or user data is called lead generation landing page. You can use this type of landing pages to collect vital user information like names, email address, phone number, etc.
Here, look at this image of Microsoft Small Business Academy to understand a lead generation landing page.
A lead generation landing page helps marketers to initiate a strong customer relationship.
It contains a form where the user can provide data. You can offer your customer an ebook or special gift (like premium content, or a customized product price) in exchange for their email address and contact info.
2. Click-Through Landing Pages
Click through pages don't have an opt-in form like lead generation landing pages. They work as a middle-point between your digital marketing ad and your customer's shopping cart.
This types of landing pages help your customers to learn about the product and influence their purchasing decision.
Look at this click-through landing page of Google Cloud. They use such a provocative CTA with the tag “free” to create excitement.
Generally, a click-through page contains product relevant information and a CTA button. They intend to “warm-up” a customer before taking him to the final stage of a sales funnel.
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How Does a Landing Page Work?
Well, what happens when a visitor comes to your landing page?
You ask him to fill up a form or lure him into clicking on a CTA that get him to your sales funnel. To make that happen, you must give him a reason. Your job here is influencing him with such content that worth his names and emails.
The same thing applies from your perspective too. You want to generate leads or make a sale. To influence a visitor, you should create some content that can add higher values.
Let's take a look at how does a landing page accomplish this goal.
- Step 1: A user finds your CTA (call to action) button in a web post, or they use a link in social media or customized google search to reach your landing page.
- Step 2: The opt-in form in the landing page prompts them to fill-up the information form.
- Step 3: After the user fill-up a form and provide his/her name and email address, you store those pieces of information.
- Step 4: In the final step, you are going to use these leads or user information to send them offers and promotions. You can also send them emails with a CTA button that directly take them to your sales page.
That's the basic functions of a landing page.
What Makes an Effective Landing Page
Here I'm going to show you the essential parts that make a landing page effectively work that way.
1. Design Your Offer
The first thing you need to do is design an offer. You must give something valuable that a visitor may willingly exchange his information with you. That's the goal here.
Your offer can be a free tutorial relevant to your product. For example, if you are a web building support provider, you can share a guide on creating a website.
It depends on your product type and how you want your customer to get them.
Different types of offer can vary following your conversion strategy. You may gift an ebook, bundle of information to download, or an educational video content, etc.
Look at the landing page of this eCommerce learning platform below. They only ask for your email address and offer different topics to enroll for free.
2. Create your Landing Page With This Offer
Now that you have designed your offer, it's time to create your landing page.
A landing page needs several elements to take shape. They are-
Write easy and focused sales copy
The option of using words in a landing page is limited. You can't write your sales pitch too long or short. It must be persuasive and easy to understand.
What's the easiest way to write concise and compelling copy? Write every single sentence with a clear purpose. It's like you are talking to a live customer and convince him to make an action towards your product.
Only interested people come to your landing page by clicking the CTA on your email or using a link of a google search. But they can bounce back if you write non-interesting sales copy. The objective of writing clear and attractive copy is guiding a customer to the final stage of a sales funnel.
Look at this landing page of Uber.
They write winning copy like “drive when you want” and “Make as much money as you need.”
If they put the copy as “make more money,” it could have been less effective. But when they use “want” and “need,” it triggers two of your core emotions.
Do not ask for too much information
Use a form on your landing page which asks only the vital info of a user. Almost 58% of people like to share personal data if you create the right circumstances.
So, when you ask in-detail, it can annoy them — on the other hand, asking for name and email address never going to look like too much.
You don't even need more information than a user's name and email address.
However, there might be different scenarios depending on the field you are in. You can always customize the form to filter out the information you should be asking on the landing page.
Use a relevant image
You should use an image that explains your offer.
For example, put an image of the book cover if you are offering an eBook. Or, if it is a click-through landing page, use a visual which can hint the product type or advantages.
To learn the art and science of landing page images, you can also read this post here.
3. Create a “Thank You” Page
The final stage of a landing page should be promising and an influencer on your future conversions.
After a user completes an action, you should take him to a different page. This page will accomplish the two most crucial things.
- A “thank you” page shows gratitude to customers.
- It makes them believe you care for them even after the business is done.
You can include a CTA button after the thank you message. Look at this thank you page of RoboForm.
RoboForm wants you to share your experience with your friends. Also, they provide social media options too.
You may wonder. 74% of people think that the right word of mouth is their key influencer of a purchasing decision. Can you find a better way to ask for referrals than a sweet “thank you” page?
4. Keep Testing Your Landing Pages
The one most important job you can't forget is testing. Without testing the performances of your landing pages, it's nearly impossible to get better results and improve.
A/B testing of a landing page let you know which version or type of a page generates more sales and interactions aka leads.
It's a continuous process. You need to test every part of your landing pages like header, CTA button, sales copy, lead generation form, etc.
Read Tom's article to learn more about A/B testing your landing pages.
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Final Thought
So, are you ready to implement your very first optimized landing page?
I believe now you can create a landing page that will help you to achieve your marketing goals, increase your conversion rate and improve your customer relationship. However, make sure you are following the landing page best practices to achieve your business goals. Alternatively, you also can get help from the professional digital marketing agency.
About the Author: Kaji Enamul Islam
Kaji Enamul Islam is a writer of eCommerce and digital business industries. Besides, his addiction to fiction, fact, movies, and books are possessive. Right now, he is working as a content marketing executive at OmniKick and Intent Marketer. Connect with Kaji Enamul Islam on Linkedin and Facebook.
