Don’t take it personally. No landing page is perfect. But there’s always room for improvement, right? At Accorin, we’ve developed a few rock-solid fundamentals that contribute to a successful landing page. Success, of course, being measured in conversions. If you’re going to spend the money to acquire site visitors, don’t fall short when it comes to converting. Whether you’re a B2C e-commerce company driving product purchases, or a B2B company driving form sign-ups (or somewhere in-between), optimized landing pages can significantly improve your marketing program’s overall financial metrics.
Don’t be a let-down
When a visitor arrives at a landing page, the destination must immediately meet the visitor’s expectation. This is so important that Google is even putting warnings on mobile ads when the destination does not match the digital advertising. So, does your headline tell visitors exactly what they need to do or want to know? It needs to, and should be a core part of all landing page designs.
Get to the point
Conversion landing pages should have one major message and call-to-action (CTA). Informational landing pages can have more. If your main target is getting users to convert, make your message as clear and concise as possible. Limit site navigation. Your primary conversion target should dominate the page.
Warning: content overload
Displaying too much text on a landing page can often overwhelm visitors. Try breaking down your content into visual sections, to make it easier to digest. Separate sections using different background colors (within the same shade / color family). Use bullet points, infographics and imagery, instead of paragraphs of text, wherever possible.
All hail the visible “Fâ€
Repeat studies show that web browsers typically view a web page according to an “F†pattern (“I†pattern for Smartphones). For landing pages, where you have seconds to capture a visitor’s attention, the key call to action needs to be very prominent and at the top of the page.
Prove you’re legit
We are so inundated with all types of offers, that people have become very cautious about signing up for anything new. Give guarantees, show testimonials, provide no risk trials, and give social proof where possible.
Make it a no-brainer
Make sure that potential reasons NOT to convert are removed. If the visitor can engage online or by phone, prominently show the form and telephone number. Don’t hide either.
Combine form & function
A beautifully designed page is nothing if it doesn’t convert. Conversely, a highly functional page needs to be visually appealing. Color is an important element that combines both form and function. Try using colors from the same family for the entire landing page, except for the CTA: make this a contrasting, in-your-face punch of color. Your CTA will be impossible to miss, while the rest of the page plays a supporting role.
Test constantly
Opinions don’t drive great conversion metrics; strong hypotheses with testing do! After decades of web design and development experience, we have developed very strong instincts on how different designs will work. But even so, we are occasionally surprised by what converts—and that is why we test constantly, incrementally improving performance and conversion success.
The Bottom Line
It’s worth the investment. Make sure you’re focusing time and effort on both the design and optimization, in order to capture the most conversions as possible. If your conversion requires multiple steps, take a look at making the entire conversion funnel more effective. Need help optimizing your landing pages and conversion funnels? Let’s chat.
