22 Top Digital Marketing Tools for B2B Marketers in 2024
November 15, 2023
How to Create Better Landing Pages That Improve Conversions
There are almost 2 billion websites on the internet, equaling 12.5 trillion hours spent online. Between social media, video streaming, and a plethora of websites, it’s… a lot.
So, how can you stand out? How can you make your landing page one that engages, excites, and ultimately converts prospects?
A lot of business owners feel like creating the perfect landing page is akin to a mysterious language with no Rosetta stone to decode it. In other words, it’s magic.
But that’s just not true. There are tried, tested and true rules for creating better landing pages that improve conversions. And the great thing about rules is that they can always be molded to fit needs.
In this article, here’s what we’ll be covering:
What is a landing page?
How to create better landing pages
1. Make sure the landing page matches the ad the user is coming from
2. Copy, then design
3. Put the form above the fold
4. Remove the main navigation page and use a pared down footer
5. Structure your copy using the AIDA or PAS formula
6. Talk about benefits first, features second
7. Back up your claim with social proof
8. Include a crystal clear CTA
9. Choose your form fields carefully
10. Pay attention to analytics
Conclusion (a few other things to remember)
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a page that your audience “lands” on. It’s specific to a particular demographic, their needs, and/or a product or solution you are trying to promote. It can be an anchor in a digital marketing campaign or a more permanent feature of a business’s website.
The purpose of a landing page can be anything from a targeted sale to value offered content like a downloadable or simply a useful article.
In exchange for this information or perk, visitors will be encouraged to sign up for a newsletter, or if your offer is a targeted sale you can offer a discount for an email address.
While landing pages can be as varied as the multitude of businesses that are on the internet (remember, 2 billion), successful landing pages have certain elements in common.
Here’s that Rosetta stone…
How to create better landing pages
A successful landing page is one that converts prospects. It sounds simple, but getting there isn’t necessarily easy.
So, which attributes describe a good landing page experience? Follow these tips below.
1. Make sure the landing page matches the ad the user is coming from
Right out of the gate, make sure that the landing page your audience sees is the landing page they expected. Whatever ad your visitors are coming from – PPC, social media, etc. – it needs to deliver on what the ad promised.
Not only that, there should be a reiteration of the problem, desire or need that made your visitors click on the link in the first place. (More on this later)
Keep this consistent and help drive your audience down the sales funnel. This ultimately will help lead to conversions.
2. Copy, then design
It’s easy to get caught up in the visuals of your landing page. And for good reason. If your landing page is cluttered, disorganized or the colours and images aren’t eye-catching and inspiring, visitors will abandon your page.
But it’s important to remember that no matter how visually appealing your landing page is, if the copy falls flat or isn’t aligned with what you’re trying to promote, your landing page won’t be successful in driving conversions.
When approaching a landing page, work through the copy first. Ask yourself (or your team, ideally) these questions:
- What is the message?
- What is my brand voice?
- What is my CTA?
- What is my overall goal?
Once you’ve worked through your landing page copy, work the design around that.
Want to find out more about copywriting for your business? Check out this ultimate guide.
3. Put the form above the fold
The term, “put the form above the fold” comes from newspaper lingo. Although much of today’s marketing and communication has gone digital, this concept still applies to websites and landing pages.
In newspaper-speak, it means putting the most exciting and eye-catching article before the crease where the newspaper is folded. That means the potential audience doesn’t even have to lift a finger to feel an emotional response.
In digital-speak, the fold is the first time your user scrolls down. That means the most exciting, clear and direct copy should land above the “fold”.
Let’s look at an example.
Monday.com’s homepage has all the most eye-catching, clear and direct copy before scrolling down. The header elicits a response by calling attention to potential audience pain points (no one wants to work with limits), while the subheader gives the audience far more information on what Monday.com can do for them.
This copy is followed by attractive images that tell us basically everything we need to know about Monday.com and what it can do for us.
This is followed by a clear call to action (CTA) in a bright colour that compliments the palate. The language used (“Get Started”) is clear and active. It elicits a response of “Yes! I want to get started!”
This “above the fold” copy is easy to navigate, clear and actionable. And the same principles can be applied to your landing page.
4. Remove the main navigation page and use a pared down footer
A landing page is a specific page that meets a specific need with – yep, you got it – a specific solution. Your visitor is there for one reason.
To meet your visitors’ needs and avoid them straying away to other pages of your main website, keep the landing page simple. A best practice is to remove the main navigation page and use a pared down footer.
What your visitor should see is the problem you’re helping them solve, how you will solve it for them, and a clear CTA. Make it easy for them to stay focused.
Which brings us to…
5. Structure your copy using the AIDA or PAS formula
AIDA stands for “Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action”.
And…
PAS stands for “Problem, Agitate, Solution”.
Both AIDA and PAS are intended to lead to the same result: a landing page that drives conversions.
Basically, effective landing page copy will call out the audience’s problem or pain point. What are they struggling with? What frustrates them? What wastes their time? State this problem clearly and simply. Then offer a solution, which is your product or service.
Let’s take a look at Monday.com again, but this time, a specific page catered towards small to medium sized businesses.
While the audience problem is not outwardly stated here, the header does speak to a pain point: fractured workflows and project disconnection.
Basically, Monday.com seeks to remove the limits of its audience’s workflow: miscommunication, workflow gaps, inability to collaborate, and lack of remote options.
The subheading suggests that Monday.com can help businesses manage the entirety of their workflows, from tools to collaborations. This is very desirable and interest is piqued.
Right below that is a clear CTA: “Contact Us.” Easy peasy.
6. Talk about benefits first, features second
Think of a used car salesperson rhyming off all the features of a car they’re trying to sell you, including horsepower, fuel efficiency, airbags, cubic feet of trunk space, and on and on. Usually at breakneck speed.
You might tune out at the second feature because what will these features do for you? *yawn*
Visitors to your landing page want the same thing: what will your product or service do for them? They want to know the details, but not before they know how you will solve their problems.
Talk about the benefits of your product or service before you get into the nuts and bolts. This grabs their interest, creates desire, and entices them to cross below the fold.
Let’s look at our example again.
Right below the fold and CTA, we can clearly see the features of Monday.com and how they can benefit the small to medium sized businesses audience.
This is also where the supporting copy will build on the leading copy. If Monday.com is promising to allow me to run my entire business on one work OS, then I want to know how they plan on doing that.
This is where the copy below the fold can help solidify this. And that includes benefits before features.
7. Back up your claim with social proof
In a 2020 study, 79% of respondents said they trusted online recommendations as much as recommendations from friends and family. That speaks volumes to the importance of social proof.
Whatever you’re promising on your landing page, back it up with social proof. What is social proof, though?
Yelp starred reviews, Google reviews, and other reviewing sites can really help your business. But don’t forget about testimonials from previous or current clients. Client logos are also effective social proof and can create some visual appeal on your landing page.
By offering social proof directly on your landing page, you remove user anxiety, helping them feel more confident trusting you and your product.
8. Include a crystal clear CTA
A landing page without a clear CTA is pretty much dead in the water. Your CTA should be easily identifiable with active and encouraging language.
If your CTA is to entice your visitors to contact for a free demo, make sure your CTA button clearly states that and does what it promises – directs them to a form or a live chat box.
If your CTA is to get your visitors to sign up for your newsletter or provide a transaction of their email in exchange for a free downloadable, you’ll want to clearly display the form directly on the page.
If we look at Monday.com small to medium sized business landing page, the CTA is a “Contact us” button. Clicking through to that takes the visitor past the fold to a form.
There are two ways a visitor can contact them: by scrolling past the fold, or by clicking on the CTA button before the fold.
9. Choose your form fields carefully
A form field is the place where users enter their personal information in exchange for something – exclusive perks, a free downloadable, or a free demo or freemium of a SaaS product. These are lead-capture forms.
A form that is clunky or too much work for the visitor isn’t going to do what it’s supposed to. Choose your form fields carefully and limit to the basic information that you need.
You don’t want to ask your visitors to hand over everything without giving them anything in return.
10. Pay attention to analytics
Once you’ve launched your landing page, the work isn’t complete.
Pay close attention to the analytics and react accordingly. You can use heat mapping tools to help you with this.
Heatmap software shows how visitors are interacting with your landing page. It shows things like visitor’s scroll movements, where they click, and how far down the page they scroll.
Heatmap tools also record these sessions so you can review them later and make adjustments. If your visitors aren’t scrolling to your CTA, or are uninterested in a certain feature, you can make those adjustments.
Some popular heat mapping software are:
Heat mapping tools can also highlight pleasant surprises. If your visitors are interested in a particular aspect of your landing page that, if used effectively, can be used to drive conversions, that’s something you might want to address.
Conclusion
A landing page shouldn’t be that complicated if you follow these simple steps. Of course, each page is as unique as the business, the product or service, and the audience it’s catered to.
That’s where breaking the rules may be in your best interest. You have to do what works for you. When doing this, here are a few tips to remember:
- Keep the important elements above the fold
- Copy is always the most crucial part of your landing page
- Limit visual distractions and keep it simple
- Focus on one particular offer (CTA)
- Only ask for the information you really need on your lead-capture form
- Encourage social sharing (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
- Use at least one supporting image
- Make sure your page is mobile friendly
- Use rich media that offers value
If done right, landing pages do the hard work of converting prospects into paying customers.
Remember: you can always test and refine your landing page to find what works for you and your audience.
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Want help taking your landing pages to the next level? At Sparked, we offer landing page copywriting, design, development and optimization.
Contact us today to book a free discovery call.
