Landing pages on your website are vital to capture qualified leads and convert them into possible customers. It’s almost like magic. However, when done wrong, a landing page can actually hurt your website and cause you to lose possible leads. In this blog you’ll learn how to create the best landing pages that actually convert visitors into leads.
Sure it’s great if people are visiting your website but you don’t want them to stop there. You want them to visit your landing pages so that you can have them begin the sales process and start traveling down the funnel.
Recently, I came across a blog from Kiss Metrics that used an acronym to help remember the pieces and parts you need to create a successful landing page—C.O.N.V.E.R.T.S. Brilliant!
C = Clear Call to Action
O = Offer
N = Narrow Focus
V = VIA: Very Important Attributes
E = Effective Headline
R = Resolution-Savvy Layout
T = Tidy Visuals
S = Social Proof
1. Clear Call to Action
This is what’s going to hook your website visitor. Often times people make the mistake of not paying enough attention or time making their CTA’s very good. Why, why why!? This is the worm that’s going to bait the fish. Make it a good one!
Make sure your CTA is clear, concise and compelling. It needs to use action language like download now, claim offer, get eBook, etc.
2. Offer
You need to describe and give the visitor an idea of what they will be getting when they download this offer. The offer should be relevant to what they thought they were downloading originally after viewing the CTA and landing page.
3. Narrow Focus
You want to make this an easy process for whomever is landing on your page. Don’t make it a hard decision. Keep it simple. Be careful to not give too many options, this makes it so the visitor has to think and may choose an option that you didn’t want them to. Only have one action—them filling out the form on your landing page.
This includes not having any navigation. Testing has actually shown that pages without navigation convert more visitors. Why? Because they aren’t distracted by other choices and only have one action item.
4. Very Important Attributes
This part is all about benefits and features. What is it exactly that this person is going to get out of being on your website and downloading the offer? Explain the features and benefits of doing so and make it so that one cannot simply continue on without filling out that form and downloading the offer.
5. Effective Headline
The best landing pages hook the reader with the headline. You have only a couple seconds to do just that. Enough said.
6. Savvy Layout
Design plays a huge part in whether or not someone decides to follow through the entire process of filling out a form on a landing page. Let’s face it, we all like pretty things—it’s not different with a website page. Also, certain layouts and colors can even give an extra boost of help when it comes to converting those visitors. Same with with others categories, keep it simple.
7. Tidy Visuals
Keep it simple silly! Don’t go too crazy on your layout or design. Make your landing page inviting but also make it clean with the concept of pushing the visitor forward to the next step. Also, don’t forget about website loading time. That’s something that can seriously deter someone from continuing on.
8. Social Proof
In the original acronym by Kiss Metrics they describe this section as having testimonials and social proof from other customers saying they are happy with your services—which works well on a website. However, I’m changing this for a landing page to social proof via social icons. Insert your social icons for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc, onto the bottom of that landing page that allows for your visitors to only “share” that landing page so others can download it as well.
Now that you know what it is that makes the best landing pages, put it to the test and work your magic! Use this method to help create landing pages that actually convert. We bet if you follow this to a T, you will start to see a higher conversion rate on your website’s landing pages.
What do you think about this method? Are you going to give it a try?
