If you are looking for landing page optimization tips to get the most out of your PPC marketing campaign and maximize ROI, you are in the right place. This article also serves as a primer on the landing page and much more. Stay tuned.
This informative piece will offer practical tips to generate more leads and boost conversions with an optimized landing page. A well-designed landing page removes distractions for the user by avoiding clutter and focusing on a specific goal.
It powerfully influences the user to take action.
Before we get to the core of optimizing a landing page, it’s worthwhile to develop a brief understanding of terms such as landing page, lead generation, and conversion that will recur in the discussion.
What’s a landing page?
It’s a single or standalone webpage page designed or created for a specific offer or campaign. It aims to convince the visitor to sign up for a newsletter, purchase a product or service, fill out a contact form, download a document, or any other action you want.
It converts a visitor into a lead or customer. Essentially, it is a specialized webpage.
Landing pages are a vital tool in digital marketing. They are used to measure the success of campaigns, track conversion rates, and optimize marketing strategies based on the data collected from visitor interactions on the page.
It can be part of your lead generation strategy too. You design a landing page that invites interaction with a curious visitor, asking them to drop in their details, such as name, contact information, and email, in return for a compelling offer like a free ebook, webinar, product trial, or discount.
Curious visitors on your landing page get converted into potential customers as you nurture the lead.
This is how visitors get to the landing page
Visitors or target audiences get to your landing page through different paths.
They may click on a link from another source, such as an online advertisement on an advertising platform (Google Ads, Facebook, or Instagram ads) when the landing page appears on search engine results if it is optimized for a specific keyword, a social media post (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn), as a response to an email campaign, affiliate marketing, referral links or even scannable QR codes on promotional materials handed out in events and conference.
All streams lead to the landing page. The landing page is tailored to match the source's messaging that directed the visitor to it. The visitor seamlessly transitions from these sources to the theatre of action- the landing page.
The anatomy of a typical landing page
So, what are the critical components of a landing page? Let's have a quick look.
- Headline: This catchy title grabs visitors' attention and tells what's on offer.
- Subheadline: Explains the offer to help the visitor gather sufficient information and be convinced.
- Hero Image or Video: A visually enticing element that compliments the overall landing page goal.
- Call to Action (CTA) Button: This button stands out and tells you what to do next, like "Get Started" or "Download Now."
- Form: A place where you share your info, like your name and email, to get the offer.
- Benefits: Why should you care? This section explains what's in it for you.
- Social Proof: This serves as an endorsement from others—like reviews, ratings, or logos of companies that trust the offer.
- Minimal Distractions: No extra links or things to click. Just focus on the offer and the action they want you to take.
- Trust Symbols: Symbols that show the page is safe and trustworthy, like secure payment icons.
- Footer: Some extra info, contact details, or links to privacy policies.
Difference between a landing page and a website
Imagine you're strolling through a bustling marketplace. A regular webpage is like a multi-story mall with many shops offering various products and services. These webpages ( five or more) collectively make the website and primarily contain informational content, offer the visitor options to navigate different sections, read blogs, educate the visitor about the brand, explore what's on offer, or play around.
On the other hand, a landing page is like a strategically placed popup stall that greets you right at the mall entrance. It's there for a specific reason—to charm you with a fantastic deal or limited-time offer. The stall's layout is simple and focused, displaying just the deal, inviting you to take action.
While on a website, you may be distracted or tempted to check different sections; with its precise messaging and minimalistic design, the landing page is crafted to make you take a single action, like signing up or buying, by keeping things clear and convincing.
Just as that popup stall isn't filled with distractions, a landing page keeps your attention on what's most important—sealing the deal. PPC Marketing Campaigns are designed keeping a converting landing page in mind.
Why it is a bad idea to use a website as a landing page
You will not achieve the same kind of conversion through your website, which the landing page can do. No matter how beautiful your home page looks, it is not a good landing page. What’s the convincing argument? Let’s break it down for you through an example.
Let’s say you run a marketing campaign for SEO services. As visitors land on your website and reach the SEO services section, they may soon be distracted by other offerings and invariably veer to different sections, like SMO services, brand strategy, and everything listed there.
The visitor may hop around and leave without taking any action. The conversion isn’t happening.
Due to its minimum distractions and convincing elements like clear CTA with social proofs, the landing page scores above a standard webpage.
What would qualify as a high-converting landing page? It’s the page that encourages a higher number of users to complete an action, which the business wants.
Conversion rate- The elusive marketing metric
It's easy to create a landing page. But is your landing page converting?
So, let's see this important metric that keeps recurring in our discussion and how we calculate the conversion rate.
Imagine you run an online business offering interior decoration services. You create a landing page for a limited-time offer: "Get 30% off your first service!"
Over a week, your landing page receives 1,000 visitors. Of those 1,000 visitors, 70 people take advantage of the offer and book for your services. To calculate the conversion rate: Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors) * 100Conversion Rate = (70 / 1000) * 100Conversion Rate = 7%.
In this scenario, your conversion rate is 7%, meaning that out of all the visitors who landed on your page, 7% of them decided to choose your services.
This metric helps you understand the effectiveness of your landing page and your ad campaign's success in turning visitors into customers. A higher conversion rate indicates a more successful landing page driving desired actions.
Conversion rates hover around 1 to 3 percent usually. A figure closer to 9 or 10% is exceptionally high.
Landing page optimization best practices
These tips also remind you what you should strictly avoid on your landing page and what you should pay attention to. Let’s check them out. Once you work on the optimization, the tangible benefits will show up. It’s time to dive into practical tips that would help you optimize your landing page for better conversions.
1. Landing page should fulfill what ads promise
Think of it like this: imagine you see an ad promising a fantastic vacation package with stunning beach views, luxurious rooms, and exciting activities. You click on the ad, excited about the prospect of this dream vacation.
But when the landing page opens, it’s all about generic travel tips and hardly mentions the package you were promised. You’d feel disappointed. This is why alignment between ads and landing pages matters.
If your ads make a promise, your landing page must deliver on it.
Remember, the aim of your campaign is not just to bring visitors to your landing page. Get them to act. For this to happen, the ads and the landing page messaging must be consistent.
If visitors are enticed by a specific offer or information in your ad, they expect to find exactly that on your landing page. This builds trust, keeps them engaged, and boosts the chances of conversion.
You would argue, don’t we already know this?
But, most often, campaign creators miss out on this critical optimization point, jeopardizing the conversion rate. Next time, when you design your landing page, see it as an extension of your ads.
2. Eliminate friction spots
We are using the umbrella term friction to draw your attention to a bunch of issues sitting on the landing page, denying a good user experience to the visitor. It hurts the conversion rate.
Improve
page loading speed- A page that loads quickly is a must. Anything beyond 3
seconds is undesirable. Beyond the 3-second mark, the bounce rate shoots to as
high as 90%, with even a second adding up.
It's just one page, and the visitor expects things to settle fast and conveniently. It's easy to check your page loading speed.
Enter your landing page URL on Google Page Speed Insights, a handy landing page optimization tool, and click "Analyze. Theoretically speaking, the highest possible score is 100/100.
Discard
heavier images- Oversized images, videos, and visual elements are a big no-no.
It drags down your loading speed. Optimize your images. The pieces may fit
together to make a great design, but is it also usable from the user's
perspective?
Also, whether it's your ad, the landing or the website, ensure
each one offers a consistent message about the brand.
Expecting the visitor to
scroll down to it is asking too much. They leave.
According to Google, anything above 90 is good, and between 50-89 suggests improvement, while slipping below the half-mark, 50 should alarm you and is considered poor. Based on the suggestions that come with the results, rectify.
De-clutter - Avoid the temptation of cluttering the landing page. Step into the
customer's shoes when designing. Opt for a clear, simple layout. Simple layouts
hardly distract.
Move above the fold- Your most important content, offer, or CTA should grab the visitor's attention when he lands on your page. If it's below, move it above the fold (*immediately visible section to the use).
3. Create powerful CTA
The singular aim of the landing page is to get the visitors to click the CTA button. Now getting this out is a challenging feat. The customer wouldn’t do it if you couldn’t win his heart and mind in 3 fleeting seconds!
Pointers to craft a compelling CTA.
- Use one prominent CTA instead of a bunch, which will confuse and distract.
- Use contrast to display it prominently and discoverable at first sight.
- Use the power of persuasion instead of sounding dull.
- “Submit”/”click here” is passé.
- Personalize it; use common terms, region/country-specific, to connect to the customer base.
- You can squeeze a short message or reason in the CTA to complement your headline, prodding them to act.
4. Must be mobile friendly
Close to 60% of the web traffic today is mobile generated. Whether it is marketing, product development, or content, mobile users are the broad target.
A mobile-responsive landing page is designed and optimized to provide an optimal viewing and interaction experience across various devices, particularly smartphones, and tablets.
If your landing page has a form you wish to get filled out, make sure it is super-easy for them. This is possible when you design, keeping mobile users in mind. Lessen the number of fields, and keep instructions clear to ease action.
The key is to offer a seamless experience.
Close to 90% of the top-performing landing pages are mobile-friendly. How do you test it? You can test your landing pages’ mobile-friendliness with the help of using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
5. Testing for perfection
It would help if you didn't shy from testing as often as required. It takes time and effort to create the magic of conversion rate.
Even if well-designed, the landing page has to pass the ultimate litmus test; the audience's approval- is reason enough that every big or small piece on the landing page should fit like a jigsaw puzzle.
Testing makes it possible to filter and fix. It also helps you identify usability issues, ensuring users can easily navigate the page, understand its content, and interact with its elements. The more you test, the better you get in the game.
You have happily embedded a form in the landing page. But do you know, even its positioning matters? How do you determine which is doing better? That's A/B testing for you.
A/B testing (split testing) compares two landing page versions to see which performs better. Testing one variable at a time (e.g., different headlines, button colors, or images) makes it easier to pinpoint which changes significantly impact user engagement and conversions.
Google Analytics is a handy tool to begin A/B testing. Businesses that lack an effective strategy for landing page testing lose conversion. And some 20% of businesses admit they don't have one.
Parting gift- bonus tips
- A compelling headline is a deal-breaker. Make sure it’s unique. Test your landing page headlines with different value propositions.
- It’s better to remove the global navigation bar—lesser confusion for the visitor.
- Optimize content for SEO.
- Cash in on the FOMO (fear of missing out) customer sentiment in an excellent way to create a sense that time is running out and the best is up for grabs.
- Do not overload with content. Most visitors like to scan than read word for word.
- Create content that feels the customer is talking to the landing page. Remember, the customer is the focus.
- Include a video if a complex matter needs an explanation.
- Use powerful, affirmative words. Affirmative words drive affirmative action.
- Sprinkle a good dose of testimonials, reviews, ratings, and trust badges on your landing page. Builds credibility.
- Pay attention to the analytics to monitor performance.
Final word
With the treasure trove of practical tips, everything should go right from here. A perfect landing page, and yes, it is easy to conjure one, is the gateway to conversion and business campaign success.
If you need free consultation on how to go about it, the expert digital marketers at Proquantic know how to craft a winning landing page. And that’s not all. From audit to acing the ranking game, we have got your back. So, go ahead and schedule a free consultation.
