Landing pages are becoming more and more important these days and, as a business owner, you should understand why and how to use it. As all good sales rep, the #1 goal of a landing page is to get your visitor into doing an action, in most cases, filling a form.
Before getting into the nitty gritty of how to structure your next landing page, let me give you a proper definition:
A landing page is web page with a form through which a visitor supplies contact or even payment information in exchange of an offer. This transaction could range from free information such as an ebook to an actual product or service.
As a landing page is designed for one and only one offer, you will need to create one landing page per offer.
Why should you use landing pages?
In order for your visitor to accomplish the action you want them to accomplish, you have to guide them towards it. After a visitor clicks on a call-to-action, you should redirect him to a landing page where the transaction will occur.
How to structure a landing page?
No magic here, but using our template and best practices, you'll create high converting landing pages - not because we’re super heroes, but because everything we will tell you is based on scientifical evidences.
This is not for you!
While creating a landing page, the first and foremost thing you have to remember is that you are doing it for your visitor, not for yourself. It is not about you. For a successful landing page, it's all about them.
What do I get ? Does that suits me ? How easy can I get it?
Your visitor came to your page with a reason, so make sure you immediately address it.
It is also a good idea to present to your visitors a light call-to-action to give them a taste of what's coming. This first call-to-action would ideally be placed above the fold : the visitor will then see the call-to action without having to scroll down.
What is wrong with what I'm doing now?
To engage with your target audience, you'd better make the problem you solve pop out asap.
What do you have for me? What does it bring me?
Present all the features of your product/service as benefits. For example, instead of saying "Our product has a 3 different modes" say "Thanks to multiple modes, you'll be able to use it in every situation".
Why should I trust you?
On the Internet, people want proofs of your expertise so use & abuse of trust indicators such as testimonials, numbers of like, press mentions…
Almost there but…
We are almost there but your visitor still doubts. It's time to add a risk remover like a free trial, a refund policy, an exclusive service…
OK! Tell me what to do now
It is finally time to tell people what they have to do next with a nice action-oriented call-to-action and/or a form.
Bonus: the FAQ’s
Be aware of the common objections your product/service receive and add those with your answers at the end of your landing page.
Now that you know how to structure your content for optimal conversion, let’s make sure it does get read.
Best-practices for better results
Strong headlines
Clear, concise and action-oriented headlines are key to guide your visitors through the 7 parts we've described above.
Simple formatting
The look & feel of your landing page should help your visitor focus on your offer. So… keep it simple!
- Get rid of any distractions : remove the navigation menu, reduce the number of links to the bare minimum, simplify the footer… Remember that your visitor should do one and only one thing on this page : interact with your call-to-action / directly fill a form.
- Put relevant pictures, illustrations, animations or video: visual information can communicate the offer much quicker than a visitor can read about the offer.
- Use visual emphasis: numbers, bullets, bold, colors to help your visitor focus.
Strong and honest call-to actions
CTA’s are images or texts that prompts your visitors to take action: subscribe to, download something, request a demo…
You should honestly tell your visitors what they’re getting and how they are going to access it.
When possible (aka when you don't need to load an extra page for people to register), add your form directly on your landing page.
Adequate form length
Your offer has a value, the complexity of the form should mirror the value of the offer. For example, if you are offering a 45 pages guide on how to do great on a particular industry, you'll be able to ask for more information than for a simple one page checklist.
Social sharing options
Social media can have a great impact on your campaigns. However, don't forget that you don't want to distract your users. Generally, limit yourself to a few sharing icons at the bottom of the page.
Thank you page
Create a thank you page where you'll redirect your new leads after they filled your form. It's a perfect occasion to ask them to share your offer in their social networks and to show them a related call-to-action.
Optimize
When you are done, launch that page and track the number of visitors, leads and customers generated through to that landing page. You could now start optimizing it : fix a goal on one of those 3 metrics, make a hypothesis about the impact of a change, implement that change and track the results; It's a never ending circle, generating more and more leads and clients to grow your business.
Download our landing page template so you won't forget anything you've learn today while creating your next landing page.
