Landing pages are an essential part of any digital marketing campaign; allowing efficient conversion of website traffic into potential customers. So what goes into creating the perfect landing page for your digital marketing campaigns?
We take a look at some of the most effective elements of a landing page, and what you can do to ensure your landing pages achieve their goal.
What is so special about a Landing Page?
A landing page is a specifically-designed page to increase engagement, sales, or gain permission to message the visitor.
In contrast to most web pages, landing pages do not exist solely to attract traffic. Instead, they seek to source an action from any traffic or potential customer that is directed to “land” there. Therefore, your landing page needs an aim, and it needs to achieve it as efficiently and as easily as possible.
Direct Marketing: What’s your goal?
Landing pages are an essential part of any direct marketing, as this is where you will be sending any traffic you can produce. But what is your goal once you have managed to gain traffic?
You will need to decide what you want your audience to do once they are on your desired landing page. Such actions include:
- Clicking
- Purchasing
- Following up
- Sharing information
- Giving feedback
Once you know what you want visitors to do when they reach your page, you can work out how to design the page, and the best method of getting them onto the page.
Keep your target audience in mind
Marketing is all about appealing to your audience; so when devising a marketing strategy, you need to have a very clear and specific idea of the people you are appealing to.
- Who are your ideal customers?
- What do your customers want from you?
- What is their current mindset?
- What will they be willing to do to gain something from you?
Considering these questions is a great way to understand your customers, and to give them their own voice; which should inform your marketing and help the creation of landing pages.
For instance, if you are providing great content, would customers be willing to hand over their email address in exchange? Would a customer provide contact details in exchange for your company brochure? These are all factors to consider.
How will visitors find your landing page?
Where does your audience spend time? You will need to cater to their needs, in order to help them find their way onto your landing page.
Consider the following ways people may find your landing page:
- Social Media
- Email Marketing
- Organic search
- AdWords PPC
- Direct links from content/other web pages
Even when it comes down to deciding to promote landing pages on social media; different social platforms attract different users. For example, if your core audience are professionals over the age of 30, then LinkedIn is the obvious choice over something like Pinterest.
Similarly, different landing pages will work for different groups. Whether you have different landing pages for different sources, or even different pages for each social network, it can make a world of difference as to how they are received. To begin with, it is worthwhile to start with one landing page per campaign, and go from there.
Assess your competition
It can be very worthwhile to assess who your competitors are online; as this could be a different landscape to the offline world.
Take a look at any of their marketing campaigns, and their landing pages. Check what they are doing well, what your business can do better, and how you can succeed against them.
Elements of a top landing page
As part of any top-performing landing page, you will need the following elements:
- An engaging or enticing headline
- Specific and precise language
- Name benefits, then features
- Social proof or trust signals (reviews or recommendation)
- A call to action
- Overall well written, interesting copy
Your landing pages should also adhere to the following:
- Appropriate length that doesn’t overwhelm
- Reports all necessary information
- Inspires confidence in the business
- Content should be relevant and useful
- Page should ultimately lead to a conversion or action, and keep it easy to convert
- Limit the possible exit points from the page, keep them in the marketing funnel
- As few barriers as possible
- Conversions should be possible in one click when applicable
- Make it about the customer, and how you can help them
- Content should be easy to digest and scannable
What’s the hook?
However good your landing page is, it still needs some form of “hook” to draw in a user, and get them to convert, and perform your desired action. A landing page should attract the following:
- Attention
- Interest
- Desire
- An action
If the hook achieves one of these desired emotions, then you are on your way to creating a great landing page. Just make sure you are offering the customer something they want, and explain why they need it.
If you need a hand in the creation of landing pages, or would like to improve your company’s digital marketing, then get in touch with the team here at Xanthos who would be more than happy to help.
