When it comes to converting customers, landing pages are an extremely useful tool for guiding prospects through the marketing funnel. A full website is a busy place — there are lots of buttons and different pages to shop, browse, or learn more about the business. Websites aren’t the ideal way to convert a customer for a very specific reason, and that’s where the power of landing pages comes into play.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a single page with the specific goal to convert a visitor into a lead or prospect and where you attract individuals into the very first step of a sales funnel. On a landing page, visitors trade their email address or other information in exchange for something valuable, like a whitepaper, free consultation, etc.
Consumers today are increasingly seeking relevant content about things they are interested in and want to learn more about. For example, they may end up on a landing page after clicking an ad promoting a particular product, service, or offer. Instead of bombarding them with additional, irrelevant information (which is something you might see in a newsletter or on a website), landing pages provide one clear, concise message and call-to-action.
The main goal is to collect information from an individual that you can use to funnel them through the sales cycle. Conversion doesn’t come until later, especially if the product is high ticket and has a longer sales cycle — for instance, buying an expensive bike, going on vacation, purchasing jewelry or wedding rings, etc. Once you have the individual’s information, you can then follow up with an email welcome series to keep their interest.
Landing page best practices
There are distinctive actions you should take when creating a landing page that are different from that of a traditional website page.
- Before you start designing, establish one clear offer based on what you’re trying to achieve (e.g., signing up to learn more, registering for a webinar, downloading a resource, etc.). There should be one goal, one call-to-action, and one place to click.
- Keep your information unique and concise. Your headline, key ideas, sales proposition, and CTA should all be enticing, yet straight to the point. These attention grabbers should stay “above the fold”, meaning a visitor can act immediately without having to scroll.
- Remove all navigation, extraneous offers, additional buttons, or images above the fold that draw attention away from your offer. Someone is likely to have landed on this page for that one specific offer only.
- If you want to add more information to the landing page, use the space below the fold. If a prospect is interested, they will scroll to learn more. Even still, keep extra navigation concise and straight forward as not to take away from the core offer.
- Use directional cues and content. For example, the use of a prominent arrow pointing at your call-to-action button helps direct the visitors eye, as do high contrast colors that stand out from the rest of the page.
- Utilize any strong testimonials or reviews you have. 83% of people trust reviews over advertising, and 97% of consumers look at reviews before purchasing.
Building a high-performing landing page
A typical landing page consists of the same basic components. Above the fold, you’ll want to include your logo, phone or website, a crystal-clear offer statement, information fields (name, email address, etc.), and a call-to-action/button.
As you scroll past the fold, you can include elements such as a subheading and additional value statement, additional features or benefits with images, and testimonials. At the very bottom of the page, you should restate your original offer as a reminder of the main goal of the page.
Some additional structural and design recommendations include:
- Using images and videos that represent your work, product, services, etc.
- Buying or inspiring from landing page templates in your industry.
- Using a background image to draw the eye that is not very cluttered and doesn’t have too many colors.
- Utilize whitespace and separate sections neatly.
- Draw the eye with prominent buttons and contrasted colors for your call-to-action.
Need help?
At Ascent360, our platform comes with a built-in landing page editor that allows you to custom create eye-catching landing pages that convert using a simple drag-and-drop dashboard. Easily add the type of data you want to collect, drag-and-drop elements onto the page, add images or videos, and adjust columns and width.
Getting people excited about your product or service doesn’t happen overnight. Things like expensive sporting gear, resort stays or vacations, and sentimental jewelry purchases all require a strong sales funnel. With a well-structured landing page, you can collect the information you need to get customers through the door.
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