While a well-designed content marketing strategy is critical for optimal customer acquisition, there are many nuts and bolts behind that strategy that make it great when executed. Landing page optimization (including CTAs, copy, visuals, headlines, and other factors) can determine how successful your customer acquisition strategy is.
In this article, we’ll review landing page optimization best practices to help you convert more visitors and reduce cost-per-acquisition.
Landing Page Optimization Basics
A landing page is where you send traffic with the goal of converting that traffic. Every page on your website serves as a landing page in some sense, so while your homepage is important, it shouldn’t be the only consideration. Each landing page on your site serves some purpose and must be optimized to broaden reach and improve visibility. Some landing pages will be focal points and serve as destinations for people looking to sign up for a demo, download an ebook, subscribe to your newsletter, or contact you. These pages must be compelling or people will not take the desired action.
To ensure that you have the best possible chance of converting visitors, make sure every landing page has:
- Impactful visual elements: a hero image/banner and other supporting images that convey information and emotion
- A compelling headline: it should be short and attention-grabbing
- A clearly defined value proposition that directly states the core benefits
- Social proof: testimonials, endorsements, or other peer proof that your product or service has value
- A strong call-to-action (CTA): this should inform the audience what they receive when they take the action
Those are the basic elements of any landing page, but there are other landing page optimization tricks to help you boost conversion rates. The best-performing landing pages:
- Use videos on landing pages, which can increase conversions by 86%.
- Avoid dense text and opt for numbered lists.
- Consider using a landing page builder like Unbounce or Leadpages.
- Use visuals to guide people (e.g. arrows that point to a form or CTA).
- Leverage color psychology. Use it to your advantage on landing pages.
- Optimize copy for a keyword.
- Offer interactive demos in lieu of videos.
- Don’t make static forms too long. Try interactive forms using tools like Leadformly.
- Keep content flowing but are not overwhelming or busy. Keep it simple and scannable.
Calls to Action (CTA) Best Practices
The call to action (CTA) is arguably the most important part of a landing page. A poorly formed CTA can tank an otherwise good landing page. Calls to action will depend entirely on what you are promoting and what you want people to do, so there’s no one-size-fits-all. Just remember that your goal is to get people to take action, and the CTA is what lets people know what that action should be.
When adding a CTA to your landing page, consider the following tips for best results:
- The CTA should always be above the fold. That’s old-timey newspaper talk for “up top.” People should not have to scroll to find the CTA. If you’re using a more complex page design, consider using auto-scroll to bring people directly to the CTA.
- Go bold. Your CTA button should be big and attention-grabbing. To test this, stand a few feet away from your laptop and squint. If you can’t see the button in a way that pops, it’s not bold enough.
- Be precise. Tell people exactly what you need from them and exactly what they will get in return. Tell them what the next step is to get it.
- Make it urgent. Compel people to act by creating a time frame around the promotion or adding language that creates a sense of urgency. People should believe that they will miss out if they don’t act now.
- Use more than one CTA. This is especially helpful if you have a long landing page. Remind people to take action throughout the landing page to boost conversions.
- Choose descriptive over generic. Button text should tell people exactly what they’re getting by submitting the form.
- Avoid words like “submit” and opt for “Get the ebook” or “Get the demo” instead.
Conclusion
These are the basics. There are probably hundreds of things you can take into account when creating an effective landing page, but these are the essentials.
| Bonus Tip: Don’t forget to thank people. When people do convert, send them to a separate thank you page or popup. Not only is this polite, but it also confirms to your visitor that their form has been submitted. That’s not all — it also allows you to re-engage the visitor again. They’ve said “yes” to the initial offering, so why not give them the opportunity to say “yes” to additional opportunities? Think about asking them to subscribe to your e-newsletter or upgrading to a paid subscription if they just signed up for a trial. Post-conversion is a time to strike while the iron is hot. |
If you’d like to read more in-depth tips about creating landing pages that help you sell, check out this recent article. HubSpot also provides an excellent list of awesome landing page examples here. Check it out to see some of these landing page optimization tips in action.
