The world is full of terms, phrases and expressions that, upon closer inspection, would benefit from a re-boot.
For example, we park on driveways, yet drive on parkways. We send cargo by ship, and shipments by car. And we call certain digital properties “landing pages,” even though we don’t want leads to merely land on them; instead, we want to convert them into qualified prospects and ultimately, into profitable and loyal customers.
In light of the above, here are 5 ways to boost your landing page conversion rates, so that the focus isn’t just on getting people to stop by, but rather on compelling them to take desired action and move ahead on the buyer’s journey:
Landing Page Conversion Tip #1: Keep it Short and Sweet
When it comes to things like blog posts, articles and ebooks, length can be an ally. Kissmetrics found that longer-form content routinely outperforms shorter pieces in terms of time on site, interaction, shares, back links, and other content KPIs.
However, this principle doesn’t apply to landing pages, where succinctness is essential and a bullet list (or lists) are a must. Leads should grasp within 10 seconds what they’re about to sign-up for and why. Remember: landing pages aren’t the starting point for leads. They’re coming from somewhere else, and as such landing pages have to keep the momentum going instead of slowing it down.
Landing Page Conversion Tip #2: Gating is a Must
We’ve said it before, we’re saying it now, and we’ll say it again: always, always, always gate landing pages! This means that whatever you’re offering — an ebook, white paper, report, checklist, widget, app, access to an exclusive “member’s only” portal, and the list goes on — should at least get you a lead’s name and email in return.
Landing Page Conversion Tip #3: Don’t Ask Too Much, Too Soon
We just explained that gating is must. But sometimes, we come across forms that go too far the other way: they demand too much information too soon, such as a lead’s budget, buying horizon, phone number, and so on.
Generally, the earlier a lead is in the sales cycle, the less that you can ask from them, because the engagement (if it can even be called that) is very tenuous. It’s kind of like dating. I mean, nobody wants to go out on a first date and have their partner blurt out something like “While we’re waiting for the appetizer to arrive, please tell me the name of your favorite movie, your views on euthanasia, your political affiliations at the local, state and federal levels, and while we’re here, how about we do some DNA testing to make sure that our kids have a better chance of getting my eyes instead of yours?”
Landing Page Conversion Tip #4: Design for Impact
Ensure that your landing page is professionally designed, is responsive (i.e. looks fine on different screens and devices), and aligns with best practices for information design, such as putting a vertical form on the right margin, prominently displaying a graphic of the ebook (or other asset) cover, providing a big can’t-miss “download” button, and so on.
Landing Page Conversion Tip #5: Track, Test, Optimize — and Repeat
And of course, even if you follow every best practice in the book, you’ll learn things along the way about how your target market behaves and what they find engaging. Turn this market research data into actionable intelligence by tracking all of your landing pages, continuously testing them to see what’s working, and optimizing accordingly. Then repeat what worked well.
Learn More
At Leap Clixx, we custom craft landing pages for our clients (and also for ourselves) that don’t just provide leads with an ideal place to land, but gives them the information, incentive, and inspiration they need to do what matters most: take action and convert into qualified prospects! To learn more, contact us today and schedule your free consultation.
For more information on the best practices for inbound marketing, download our complimentary ebook.
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Lead Generation
