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There are many reasons why the conversion rate on your website may be low. But, one of the first things you should analyze is your landing page. Some landing pages are more effective than others, so the landing page that you use can have a huge impact on your conversion rate. How can you improve your landing page? Follow these tips:
Use High-Quality Images
It’s much cheaper and far less expensive to use a stock image on your landing page instead of a high-quality, professional photo. But, a stock photo will send the wrong message to users that land on your site. Today’s consumers are looking for authentic and transparent brands, but a stock image screams that you are either hiding something or don’t have a strong brand personality. This isn’t the first impression you want to make on a user that you want to convert. It may take a little more time, money, and effort, but always use high-quality images on your landing page if you want to increase your conversion rate.
Show Your Worth
Have you ever wondered why some shows have laugh tracks? Research has shown that hearing other people laughing while watching a show will make you think that the show is funnier, even if you know that it’s a fake laugh track. This phenomenon is known as social proof, and it should be incorporated into your landing page so you can control each visitor’s perception of your business.
Share testimonials from customers on the landing page so visitors see the positive reviews that others have left about your business. If you do business with well-known brands or public figures, ask for their permission to include their logo or name on your landing page. You should also mention any awards that your business has won on this page so you can show how respected you are within your industry. All of these components may come together and be powerful enough to persuade the visitor to convert.
Short Forms
What information does each user have to provide in order to convert? If you’re selling a product, obviously you will need to ask users to fill out their credit card information, billing address, and shipping address. But, if you’re just asking people to sign up for an e-mail list, you don’t need as much information. Keep the form that users have to fill out to convert as short as possible. Why? Studies have shown that the conversion rate drops and the cost per lead increases as the length of the form gets longer. Filling out a long form is seen as more of a commitment than quickly entering your basic contact information, which may be why so many visitors leave instead of converting. Plus, if you’re asking visitors to fill out a long form just to download an e-book or add their name to a mailing list, they may wonder why you need so much information and begin to question the legitimacy of your business.
Call to Action
The call to action is the most important part of your landing page, so make it stand out. Start with the way the call to action looks. It’s best to create a call to action button, since this is what people are used to clicking on in order to complete their conversion. Make sure to use a contrasting color to create this button so it stands out from the rest of the page and immediately grabs visitors’ attention. Then, figure out where you should put the call to action on the page. The call to action should be immediately visible when someone lands on your page—no scrolling required.
Next, think about the text of your call to action. Many businesses use the word “submit” on their call to action button, but this doesn’t create a sense of urgency or show the value of what you’re offering. Instead of “submit,” use phrases such as “start your free trial,” “get 20% off now,” “claim your reward,” or “reserve your seat.” Updating the look and the copy of your call to action could improve your conversion rate.
Headline
The headline is the first thing that your visitors will see when they get to your landing page, so it must grab their attention and pique their curiosity. You also have to clearly explain what you’re offering in about five to six words. Don’t try to be too creative—simple headlines that are informative and easy to understand are often the most effective. For example, MailChimp uses the concise headline “Easy Email Newsletters” on its landing page. This headline isn’t creative, but it tells you about the company’s services (email newsletters) and the benefits of them using them (easy).
When writing the headline, make sure that it also fits well with the image that you’ve displaying on the landing page. It doesn’t have to explain what’s in the image, but the two should make sense when featured next to each other.
Focus
What do you want visitors to do once they arrive on your landing page? Each of your landing pages should only have one goal, whether that is getting visitors to sign up for a newsletter, download an e-book, buy tickets to a seminar, or purchase a product. Do not create a landing page that asks visitors to do more than one of these tasks. The focus should be on persuading visitors to perform one action. If you ask them to do too much, this will lower the effectiveness of your landing page and impact your conversion rate as a result.
Are you ready to improve your conversion rate? If so, contact us today to schedule a free consultation where you will learn how we can help you with your SEO and digital marketing efforts.