First of all, what is a landing page? What is it for? Do you need one? If you have a business website and want to start running paid campaigns in order to get leads or promote a product or a service for your business, then you might need one. We will talk about the 7 Best Practices of a Successful Landing Page.
You can download the 7 Best Practices Checklist so you have it ready next time you create one!
Let’s say you want to start running a Facebook ad for example, on this ad you might be promoting a service you have or a free download. If you send the traffic to your website, your prospect might get distracted with all the buttons and images there, and might forget why he or she clicked on the ad in the first place.
That’s why we recommend creating a separate landing page for a paid campaign. The purpose of a landing page is to showcase the product or service you are promoting, eliminating any distractions. The users who arrive at your landing page will be able to perform only one function there, and that is the action you intend them to take.
For example, you want to get leads for a webinar, you want to give them the information they need on that landing page so they can enrol. If you show them all the services and products you offer, they might get distracted and forget they were interested in the webinar.
Landing page for a webinar - live example
Let’s look at an example of a webinar landing page. Below you can see the Facebook ad where the webinar is being promoted. If you click on this ad, you will be directed to the webinar landing page.
On the landing page, we will see the same image that is in the ad in order to keep consistency. We will see a clear call to action (CTA) above the fold (before they scroll down), and more information about the webinar. If we scroll down, we will see more information about the speaker, some testimonials, and another CTA button as we scroll through. If you notice, this landing page has no navigation menu. The only action you can take is to click on the CTA.
If you scroll down, you will see again another CTA button. And if you scroll all the way down, you might see a link to the main website. But what does it mean if a prospect scrolls all the way through and clicks on the link to the website? Yes, they would leave the webinar page, but you might have already created awareness. They already know who you are and even if they are not interested in this webinar right now, next time you promote something else, they would have already heard about you.
The users who come to this landing page are interested in knowing more about the webinar, if what they read is convincing, they will enroll. And once they enroll, they are directed to a thank you page, usually hosted on the main website where they can read more about the company, they can see the products or services they offer and read more about the people who work for this company.
You can create landing pages for a service you promote or for a lead magnet. For example a best practice guide to download, or a virtual tour of your creative studio. The idea is to show your prospects only ONE thing.
Let’s now see if this landing page covers all the best practices mentioned below.
Download the 7 Best Practices Checklist so you have it ready next time you create one!
Best practices for a great landing page
1. Compelling headline & effective copy (clear, concise, to the point)
Creating a landing page is a great way to send paid traffic to a place with one consistent and concise campaign message, followed by a call-to-action. The landing page needs to have a clear purpose. When the user arrives at your landing page, they will know right away why they arrived there and what they need to do. Clear headlines and a clear message are key.
In our example above, the message on the ad talks about a webinar and when you arrive at the landing page, there is more information about the webinar. If you clicked on the ad, you will know that the next step is to enroll.
2. Engaging media & visual consistency
Think here not only about the content on the landing page itself but also about how you’re planning on getting users to your landing page. Consistency is key, and it’s important to deliver a cohesive experience from the moment your users see your advert or search engine result, to the moment they convert on your page.
In this example, we use the same image and a similar font for the Facebook ad and the landing page to keep visual consistency.
3. Trust indicators
Trust indicators are usually testimonials or references of past work or clients. If you were to scroll down on this page, there is a list of clients this company has worked with. You can also add screenshots of testimonials of your clients, for example.
4. Strong call-to-action
Make sure your landing page is clear, concise, and has one obvious call-to-action (CTA) on the page. The call to action in our example is the button “Register now”. The CTA should be visible as soon as you arrive at the page, and it should be up again as you scroll down. And then again all the way at the bottom. The whole point is that your users digest your information and convert quickly.
In our example, the call to action leads to an enrolment form and on the thank you page the date and time of the webinar will be indicated.
5. Sufficient white space and above the fold
This is a big one that people often miss. When talking about the fold in online marketing, we mean the top section of the website that your users see before scrolling down your page. This is essential because universal bounce rate data suggests that most users will bounce (take no action and leave) once they visit your landing page. So you need to ensure that your message and offer is clear, even if your audience does not interact with your page.
6. No exit links (no navigation, minimalist footer)
As mentioned in the last point, people arriving at your landing page should be able to perform the action you want them to take, without getting distracted by the other areas on your website.
7. Customer-centric message
And of course, the usual marketing question: What’s in it for me? Rather than explaining on your website how great you or your product are, you should respond to the questions: what will your customer get if they sign up, if they buy if they enroll? Why should they do that? What do they gain with this action?
Download the 7 Best Practices Checklist so you have it ready next time you create one!
Let me know if this article and video were useful, I'd love it if you could leave a comment on the video and subscribe to my channel.
