What makes a successful landing page?

What makes a successful landing page?

Eddie Gallagher | 7/01/2011

So you need to generate some serious traffic to your website. You’re prepared to invest a considerable amount of money in an extensive Google adwords PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign supported by well produced banner ads with prime placements on some huge news site.  You’re ready to convert that hard won/expensive traffic into customers, but you’re unsure of one key aspect. Where will the users go when they click the ad? Your current homepage seems like the ideal place, right? Getting them there, that’s the goal, isn’t it?

The short answer is no. If this is what’s happening with your traffic, you’re literally dumping your best prospect of a sale at the front door of your site with zero direction. If you haven’t considered the destination of your traffic, your campaign is destined to be an expensive waste of time and effort.

In this scenario your best friend and sure fire way of increasing the conversion rate of that expensive campaign is a well constructed landing page. A potential customer has initiated a relationship with you (by clicking your ad). Your landing page recognises this and provides additional information – benefits/features – and a clear path to the next step.

Here’s 10 points to consider when constructing a landing page that will help you convert that hard won traffic:

1. It’s obvious but often overlooked; make sure that your landing page design is aligned visually to the ad that drove users to your site in the first place

2. Keep it simple, your landing page should focus on one primary goal. Small amount of copy, keep things short and to the point

3. Give your Call To Action button greater visual significance (size, weight, colour etc..) than most page elements

4.  Giving visual/directional cues can help guide the user and aid conversion

5. Consistency, all design elements should be aligned and work in harmony with each other

6.  Testimonials are a good way of building trust with the user, use real ones. Using established partner logos can be used in tandem with testimonials to reinforce authenticity

7. Tailor landing page/pages to traffic source, e.g. send your banner and PPC traffic to separate landing pages for better messaging consistency

8. Make your phone details prominent. Users like to know that your real and that they can interact with you

9. Use bullet points

10. Make it visually appealing

tags: Web Development ,  Web Design