When you run ads online or send out email campaigns, you likely want the people seeing them to do something: book an appointment, sign up for a free trial, download a resource or buy a product. Sending traffic to your website’s homepage might seem like a good idea; after all, your homepage is a central hub showcasing everything you have to offer. But it’s precisely the many navigational options and the large amount of information on a homepage that make it less than ideal for getting paid traffic to convert.
A landing page is a standalone web page that someone arrives on after clicking a link from an ad, email or other marketing channel. These pages are strategically designed to convert users by prompting them to take a specific action. That said, conversions aren’t guaranteed just because someone ends up on a landing page. Campaigns that reach and capture the right audience may still fail to convert if the landing page lacks intentional structure, design or content.
5 Elements of a Good Landing Page
There’s no precise formula for building a high-converting landing page, but there are a few essential features to include.
A single conversion goal
Before you start building a landing page, you need a clear objective: the single action you’re asking visitors to take, whether it’s submitting a form, scheduling a call, downloading a whitepaper or making a purchase. The action should be obvious to anyone who lands on the page; every element of the page should be working to drive it.
A unique selling proposition
Realistically, your landing page only has a few seconds to convince visitors that the offer in front of them is worth their attention. Whatever it is that makes your brand different, you need to tell audiences about it quickly. This message should appear in or near the headline so it’s one of the first things visitors see.
A hero image or video
The visual at the top of the page should instantly connect to the value of the offer featured on your landing page. Real imagery of people, products or services is ideal, but you can use stock options if you don’t have access to professional or high-quality photography. Whichever you use, the visuals should reinforce your message and support your credibility.
Details about benefits you offer
Clearly describing benefits on your landing page gives visitors a case for why the offer you’re presenting matters to them. This content needs to frame what the visitor gets from you, rather than simply saying what your business does. Remember, even if your landing page is just to increase consultations, what you are actually selling is an answer to a question or a solution to a problem.
Some form of social proof
Audiences tend to trust other people more than they trust the business doing the selling. Social proof helps reassure visitors that others have already turned to your brand and gotten something positive from doing so. Testimonials, case studies, reviews, ratings and certifications help signal that the offer is legitimate and that other people have given their stamp of approval.
The landing page we built for Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys is a good example of these five elements working together:
How to Improve Your Landing Page Strategy
If you’re struggling to earn conversions, you might need to rethink your strategy. The way a landing page is designed, how a form is set up and whether the page has been tested can all impact how it actually performs.
Keep the design clean
Most visitors end up scanning a landing page rather than diligently reading it from top to bottom. Design choices like generous whitespace, readable fonts, a clear visual hierarchy and consistent imagery help visitors focus on the offer. It’s also crucial to ensure your landing pages are responsive, so they work and look just as good on mobile as they do on desktop.
Don’t overcomplicate the form
The longer a form is, the less likely it is to get filled out. Visitors come to a landing page expecting to take one step, and a form that asks for too many details can be overwhelming. Stick to the essentials, usually a name, an email, a phone number and maybe a short message, and save anything else for follow-up conversations. The form should also be easy to find on the page, with clear labels and a CTA button that stands out from the rest of the design.
Use CTAs that push visitors to the form
Visitors shouldn’t have to scroll the entire page to find the form. CTAs placed throughout the landing page, each one set to scroll the visitor down (or up) to the form, give people an easy way to act the moment they’re ready.
Test different versions of the page
Creating more than one version of a landing page can feel unnecessary, but it’s one of the best ways to find out whether the page could be working harder for your business. A/B testing puts versions against each other to see which one performs better with real visitors. Testing doesn’t have to happen all at once either, so starting with one version and adding variations to test against over time is an option when resources are limited.
