The principle of NSAMCWADL, a.k.a. “Never. Start. A. Marketing. Campaign. Without. A. Dedicated. Landing. Page.” needs to be embraced by marketers more than ever. Landing pages (a page on a website, specifically designed to engage visitors to take certain action) can capture leads for marketing your products or services to potential clients in the future, but can also be a method for exciting and preparing your audience before directing them further down the sales process. It’s all about conversion when visitors arrive on your site.
Whether you are inviting visitors to sign up to your newsletter or to download some content or even to provide information that is useful before a purchase, landing pages can be thought of as the path in the conversion funnel. Landing pages should not be confused with home pages, since the first inform your visitors about a specific purpose, whereas the latter relate to your overall brand values. Once you have attracted visitors with your landing page content and connected with them, you are then given the go ahead to continue a conversation and establish a relationship.
With a plethora of best practices for landing page success, the most significant factor to keep in mind is to ensure that you are patient and you perform plenty of A/B testing. Performance measured with A/B testing provides great insight into what allures your page visitors; therefore, where you may think that you have it right can prove opposite when put into action. Creating two versions of your landing page and testing them can provide insights related to the impact your online voice has. And, of course, will provide you with the data required to determine the influence of your campaign.
Whether you are trying to sell a specific product, want to highlight a special offer, wish to provide valuable information to your market by segmentation, it is clear that you are reaching out for conversion. Even though there is no single magical formula for creating the perfect landing page, it is wise to consider the following essential pointers:
- Have a single purpose and minimise all distractions. More conversions will be generated with a suitably designed landing page that has a call-to-action (CTA) that convinces your visitor to initiate a connection with your brand. Your website has all the information about your brand, its mission, values, product/service range, but your landing page should remain specific. Some great examples related to landing pages created for Black Friday can be seen here.
- Keep your content relevant. Consider where a visitor came from and why they were sent to the landing page. If you are offering a special offer, make sure it is clearly displayed and discussed on the landing page. Even consider using the offer information in your title. The likelihood for a visitor to remain engaged with the landing page and to take further action is greater when the significance is well understood.
- Ask your visitor to complete a form that is easy to use. Forms used to collect personal information should be displayed prominently and require as few steps as possible to be completed. Don’t ask for too many details. Make sure you are receiving the core information which you will then use to initiate an even closer relationship with the visitor.
- There isn’t one specific place to position your call-to-action, as this greatly depends on the context and the information the visitor will examine before taking the next step. The visitor should be clearly informed as to what the call-to-action will do for them (e.g. sign up to watch a demo, sign up to download a whitepaper, sign up to receive special offers, etc).
- The landing page must have clarity in its message. The visitors (and actually your potential customers) should not be confused by the structure and information or wordplay on your landing page. Additionally, your call-to-action should be understood from the page content (both imagery and wording).
- Should you use Video? Yes you should, if it connects to a direct action or tells an engaging story that evokes emotion. It has been proved that conversion rates improve with video, however it is important to ensure that the positioning of the video has visual impact and it connects with the engaged viewers. Follow ups connected to your CTA are vital.
- Perform A/B Testing!
There may not be a single formula for your landing page, but you should definitely consider the emotions it will evoke with the visitors and ensure that the visitors land to a page that informs and reminds them why they got there. Connect with your visitors and convince them to take the next step by following the call-to-action. Once done, don’t leave them alone, but ensure that you are providing what you said you would.
Don’t send inbound traffic to your homepage. Use a landing page 🙂
