How to Make a Landing Page That Converts (13 Ineluctable Tips)

A landing page is a must for every business. But if it doesn’t convert it can be of no use to you.

High Converting Landing pages would mean more customers, which in turn mean more sales and more profit potential. That said the main purpose of a landing page is to capture leads and then warm them up so as to send them further down the sales funnel.

If you want to create a lead generation landing page you will have to treat it like a work of art.

You need to take into account every detail, making sure there is a deeper purpose for it being there on the page, other than just filling up the space. There has to be a strategic reason behind every choice that you make, whether it is about the size and color of a CTA button or about the length of your copy.

Here are a few landing page best practices that you need to keep in mind if you want to create landing pages that convert:

1. Consider your audience

Most of the best converting landing pages are those that are created, keeping in mind the target audience and the message that is to be conveyed to them. Every customer is unique. Hence it may not make sense to offer them all the same kind of experience through a generic landing page messaging. What you can do instead, is create many different landing pages, each of which targets a specific segment of audience.

Muck Rack came up with a landing page that appealed to both the segments of its audience. You can choose what you want to read by moving your cursor over the CTA that you prefer.

2. Use a catchy headline

Your headline is the starting point of everything — the attention, the interest, and the understanding. It is something that tells the user whether or not he needs to stay and figure out what you are offering.

The most successful headlines are those that trigger emotions such as humour, empathy, or comfort. As per Oli Gardner, the Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Expert, a strong headline and copy can in fact compensate for the poor design of a landing page.

An eye-catching headline need not be complicated. This exactly is the message the landing page of Airbnb offers. It makes you understand why you are here, at the very first glance.

3. Make sure the Sub-headline is persuasive enough

The sub-headline is another element that you need to consider if you want to know how to make a landing page that converts.

If it is the headline that catches the attention of the user, it is the sub-headline that piques his curiosity and makes him stay for longer on the page.

These two are the most important pieces of your copy that can add in the much-needed punch to your landing page.

The sub-heading in the above landing page clearly mentions the steps one has to take in order to succeed at small business. It is enough to lure a visitor into clicking on the Call-To-Action button.

4. The Design has to be clear and organized

There is nothing that a simple design can’t do for your landing page. It is not just the design; your copy has to be simple too.

Make sure there is plenty of white space to automatically draw the eyes of your visitors towards your call-to-action (CTA).

Use a bigger font to make it easier for them to read and understand what your website is about.

Throw in a few bullet points to make bigger blocks of copy, easier to scan.

If possible add in a few videos for a bigger impact. As per research videos can increase your conversions by 80%.

Make sure the images and graphics that you use are relevant to your product, relate to your audience, and support your message, instead of diverting the attention of your audience.

The short copy on the landing page of Shortstack is surely easy to scan and understand. The ‘It’s Free’ part in the CTA button gives the user a valid reason to get started.

5. Segment Your Audience

Probably the toughest part of creating a landing page is catering to different types of audience. Each visitor that visits your page is looking for different things and different information. You cannot treat them all in the same way.

An ideal thing to do would be to use an initial micro-conversion that quickly segments your audience before they reach your landing page.

Khan Academy has managed to cater to three types of audience (those who want to learn, those who want to teach, and the parents who want to use Khan Academy for their kids) through a single landing page.

The “You can learn anything” text that you can see at the top is motivational enough for all these three types of audience.

6. Make sure the images you use direct the visitor’s eye to the CTA

Best lead generation landing pages are not about beautiful images that capture the attention of your visitors. The most important part of your landing page is your CTA, which is what you want your visitors to do.

The images that you use have to draw the attention of your visitors to this Call to Action. You can use images of people looking at the call-to-action; or you can use pictures that send a subliminal message that guides the visitor’s eye to the CTA.

The first thing you would see on the home page of Breather is the Call to Action, which asks you to choose the city, where you want to find a space. The page involves a simple description of what the company does.

7. Use Directional Cues

Incorporating directional cues can make it easier to draw your visitor’s eye to an intentional spot on your landing page.

You can do this by using white space, eye-directional cues, arrows, or encapsulation. Whether you want to keep these cues subtle or obvious is a choice that you have to make.

8. Keep Your Forms Short

No matter what it takes; you have to stop giving in to the temptation of collecting as much information as you can from the users who visit your site.

Hubspot analyzed 40,000 pages of their customers and concluded that the conversion rate can be improved by about 50%by reducing the number of form fields from four to three.

Less is more when it comes to creating landing pages that convert. Keep the form fields to the bare minimum.

The more fields you ask them to fill, the lesser are your chances of making them complete the desired conversion. So ask only for the essentials. The rest, you can always ask on the Thank You Page.

9. Offer multiple methods of contact

Your landing page can be a great tool to let the world know that your business is legitimate. Most of the best lead generation landing pages offers different methods of contact such as phone number, email ID, contact form, and a physical address.

In addition there may even be popups with a customer service representative asking if he or she can be of help. By doing so you are offering different ways for your customers to get in touch with you.

Apart from helping them choose their most convenient method to get in touch with you, you will also be strengthening their trust in your company, eliminating any friction within the conversion funnel.

Once a user lands on the landing page of Let’s Enhance he will know what he needs to do to get in touch with their customer representatives. He can send an email or chat live with the customer representative.

If he doesn’t find anyone online, he has the option of getting notified by email for which he needs to enter his email ID.

10. Encourage social sharing

When people become familiar with your brand it becomes easier for them to interact with you. Social sharing can make this very simple.

Just add a Twitter and a Facebook sharing button onto your landing page and give your users a way to share your landing page with those whom they know. You can choose the best widget based on your conversion goals.

11. Consider adding video to your landing page

According to a recent research, one-third of all online activity comprises of people watching videos. A video can be a great tool to help your users understand what your product or service is all about.

In fact you could add a video to your landing page too. Actually, the conversions can be increased by 80% or more by just adding video on a landing page.Adding videos is one of the landing page conversion best practices most internet marketers are adopting today.

12. Include Trustworthy Testimonials

You can boost your conversions by 35% by adding reviews on your landing page. They make it easier for your prospects to relate with you, apart from giving many reasons for them to choose you over the others.

There are many tools you can use to collect reviews and encourage on-site testimonials. You can even pick your own handy widget to display certain selected reviews on your website.

13. Test and Track the Performance of your landing page

No landing page can be perfect unless you test and track its performance. If you want to increase your conversion rates in a cost-effective way, it would be ideal to split test your landing pages. This way you will know what you have to do in order to optimize your landing page for your audience.

A high converting lead generation landing page is the one that can bring your efforts to fruition. This is what your consumers see before they decide to buy your products. So, make sure you don’t mess things up. You may need a developer, a graphic designer, a hosting environment, and a couple of other IT resources. Make sure you get everything right.