Table of Contents
- What Is Landing Page Optimization?
- Importance of Landing Page Optimization
- Top 7 Best Practices for Landing Page Optimization
- 3 Case Study Examples of Landing Page Optimization
- Test, Test, Test!
What is Landing Page Optimization?
Landing page optimization is the process of improving landing page elements to boost conversion rates. The primary goal of a landing page is to drive conversions and could be in the form of new subscribers, leads, or customers.
To boost conversions (and more importantly, the conversion rate), you need to provide a seamless user experience (UX) that entices visitors to fill out the form without any obstacles.
Landing page optimization is a process in which you identify various web elements on your landing pages that influence the probability of conversions and tweak them to drive the optimal number of conversions.
Landing page optimization requires marketers to experiment with the conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies and tactics by analyzing qualitative analytics reports (heatmaps, visitor session recordings, funnel visualization, etc.) and running A/B tests.
Learn More: Top 10 Landing Page Creation Tools for 2020Opens a new window
Importance of Landing Page Optimization
While boosting the conversion rate is an obvious benefit of landing page optimization, here are five other reasons why landing page optimization is essential:
1. Improved User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX)
The conversion rate of your landing page depends largely on its aesthetic appeal and the ease with which visitors can navigate through it. Since landing page optimization is an ongoing process of improving various web elements, it ultimately impacts the overall UI/UX of the landing page. Some of the examples of improved UX could be, keeping the right number of form fields, making the content scannable, placing the call-to-action (CTA) button at the optimal place, and so on.
2. Understanding User Behavior
User behavior is a complicated phenomenon. Different strata of users have different characteristics, and therefore, behave differently. Landing page optimization helps you identify what works for each segment so that you know what to tweak on each landing page to get the desired results.
3. Better ROI
Post-click landing pages are standalone pages that users land on after clicking on an ad, email, etc. These pages are not connected to the rest of the website and don’t have navigation. So, if the user has a tough time accessing the landing page, they might leave the page altogether, which means a lost opportunity and loss of money.
Since landing page optimization is aimed towards boosting conversions, you can be assured that you’ll get a better ROI on your marketing campaigns.
4. Primary Source for Lead Generation
People submitting their details through landing page forms is how organizations generate leads. To make sure that a visitor doesn’t leave the landing page without providing their details, you need to have a compelling copy, visuals, and other trust signals. With the help of the landing page optimization process, you can experiment with various practices that ensure that the user is prompted to submit their details.
5. Its Impact Can Be Measured
Landing page optimization is a process that is driven by analytics and continuous experimentation. For instance, if you see in a heatmap that users are finding it difficult to locate the CTA, you form a hypothesis (i.e., place the CTA at a more prominent place) and put it to test. Depending on its performance, you can decide whether your assumption is valid or not. Similarly, you can run A/B tests to experiment with two variations simultaneously to see which version performs better. This way, every change you make can be tracked and measured.
Learn More: Top 5 Tips of Market Research: How to Attract more Clients to Your Website?Opens a new window
Top 7 Best Practices for Landing Page Optimization
Before we talk about the landing page optimization best practices, ensure that you introduce the culture of A/B testing and experimentation in your strategy. Your marketing campaigns should provide a cohesive experience at each touchpoint, such as ads, emails, and landing pages. There needs to be a common thread throughout the journey that the visitor can relate to the campaign. The thread could be a tagline, color scheme, or a visual.
With that out of the way, here are some best practices for landing pages in 2020:
1. Keep important information in the above-the-fold region
Your visitors aren’t very patient, considering the things that are vying for their attention. Therefore the above-the-fold region of your landing page should communicate crucial information as soon as visitors land on your page.
If not, you should at least provide a bait that will entice them to stick around and explore the rest of the page. For instance, in the following example, the above-the-fold region communicates mostly through text, but Moz has kept a CTA that takes users to the form at the bottom of the page.
Also, your landing page should pass what Oli Gardner of Unbounce calls a five-second testOpens a new window . In this test, you should show the landing page to a person for five seconds, take it away, and ask the person questions about the landing page, such as what the page is about, or anything on the page that stands out. This information will provide enough data to predict the performance of your landing page.
2. Don’t skimp on the essential landing page elements
The purpose of landing pages is to drive conversions. To be able to do so, they need to have specific components that persuade the visitor and facilitate the conversion. Make sure you don’t miss out on any of the following crucial landing page elements:
1. Headline and Sub-Headline: The headline and sub-headline communicate what the landing page is about. It’s the first thing your visitors will notice, therefore, make sure it intrigues their curiosity to explore the entire landing page.
2. Body Copy: Body copy elaborates on the headline and sub-headline. Keep your landing page copy crisp and concise. From the UX perspective, highlight key information in bullet points so that it is scannable. Also, avoid making your users sweat to understand what you’re communicating. Steer away from jargon and ambiguous language
3. Rich Media: You can use images, videos, or GIFs to establish a visual connection that complements the headline and sub-headline. The rich media files can feature the product, target audience, or something that forms a connection with your audience.
4. Form: It is impossible to collect the visitor’s information without a form. The CTA below the form should clearly communicate the benefit they’d get after submitting their details. For instance, if you’re offering a free book, instead of using Submit as the CTA text, use Download the Free eBook.
5. Social Proof and Trust Indicators: Social proof and trust indicators consist of client testimonials and logos, ratings and reviews, expert feedback, contact details, trust seals, and privacy policy.
3. Use persuasive language throughout the page
Persuasion is what convinces a visitor to become a lead or customer. Persuasive language influences users to act instantly to get the benefit. Keep in mind the following suggestions to make your landing page copy compelling:
- Keep the copy buyer-centric because the visitor is anxiously/curiously looking for what’s in it for me!
- The copy should be empathetic. The buyer should feel, “This brand understands my pain!â€
- Communicate actionable benefits, i.e., instead of saying how efficient your product is, tell them how much time your users will save by using your product
- Write as you’d speak and emphasize on the words used frequently by your target buyers while describing their pain points
In the example above, you can see the headline conveys the primary benefit users would get by using the product, followed by social proof. The CTA states the free aspect, potentially removing any hesitation from signing-up.
4. Create irresistible offers
Landing page visitors might share their contact details, and you need to offer them something in return that balances the exchange. Since personal information has become very difficult to acquire, you need to give them an offer they can’t refuse.
Irresistible offers tend to provide an incentive, free trial, discount, or coupon to act swiftly. Or they could also communicate the advantage in terms of savings, convenience, or premium benefits that the user won’t be able to get otherwise.
In the example above, you can see that Ollie provides two offers, one in the form of a discount and the other in the form of convenience and savings to entice users to make the purchase.
5. Make your landing page search engine friendly
We’re not talking about the on-page elements here. There are two other vital aspects from the search engine friendliness perspective:
1. Optimize Page Load Time: Slow loading pages are frustrating. Therefore, when you are adding media on your landing page, make sure to optimize their size so that it doesn’t drastically affect the overall page load time. You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights toolOpens a new window for exact suggestions.
2. Test for Mobile Responsiveness: Designing mobile responsive pages is not a novel concept anymore, but considering a visitor’s interaction with the landing page, make sure it is responsive across a variety of devices. This means the UX shouldn’t be compromised, and the user should be able to fill out the form on a mobile device with the same ease as that of a desktop.
6. Keep in mind the buyer’s journey
Although every landing page is aimed at boosting conversions, it is designed for a particular stage of the buyer’s journey. Therefore, when ideating the page, it is imperative to be clear on the stage you are targeting and write the copy and design the creatives accordingly. A prospect uses different words to describe their problem at different stages. Your goal is to use them strategically on the page so that the prospect is compelled to fill the form.
7. Create a sense of urgency
If you want your users to act immediately, you need to provide them with a compelling reason to do so. You can create this sense of urgency in the following two ways:
1. Scarcity: Scarcity compels users to act swiftly due to the fear of missing out (FOMO). You can create scarcity by offering deals for a limited time (show a countdown timer) or have limited quantities (only X items in stock)
2. Exclusivity: You can couple exclusivity with scarcity to make users act faster or throw in freebies and discounts etc. for a limited time
Learn More: Is It Time to Rethink Corporate Websites — Again?Opens a new window
3 Case Study Examples of Landing Page Optimization
Now, let’s take a look three landing pages that have optimized their landing pages to boost their conversion rates:
1. FreshdeskOpens a new window
The homepage of the Freshdesk acts as a landing page. It has strategically placed key landing components in the following ways (we’ve segregated the above-the-fold and bottom sections of the page):
Key Takeaways:
1. The headline conveys the primary benefit users will get from the product
2. The sub-headline mentions the key product features
3. The primary CTA is straightforward and invites users to try the product
4. The social proof in the client logo forms a solid impression considering the type and number of users
5. The second social proof section consists of client testimonials
6. Rather than highlighting individuals, the testimonial highlights the organization
7. The copy acts as a subtle yet friendly nudge
8. Removes the biggest barrier to conversion by mentioning the free trial offer without the requirement of credit card details
9. The last CTA on the page drives product sign-ups
2. BambooHROpens a new window
BambooHR hosts a content repository on its website where users can view on-demand webinars by filling out a form. Let’s analyze the landing page:
Key Takeaways:
1. The first thing you’ll notice is the image
2. The Watch Now text sets the expectations
3. The logos denote the participating brands
4. The landing page is short, yet the checkbox for the product demo (unchecked by default) qualifies the people in the research/consideration stage. Also, the privacy policy below the checkbox addresses the CCPA regulation
5. The CTA copy needs to be tweaked as the visitor is redirected to a page where they can view the webinar but can’t download it
6. The copy lays out what to expect by providing a familiar analogy and jots down the key discussion pointers in the bullet list format
7. About the speakers consists of the speaker bio to build the credibility of the content
8. The last CTA redirects the user to the form
3. The Farmer’s DogOpens a new window
While we encourage you to check out the entire homepage of The Farmer’s Dog considering how brilliantly they’ve used persuasive, empathetic, yet straightforward copy along with social proof and user-generated content throughout the page, we’ll focus on the above-the-fold section as it encapsulates the overall essence of the page.
Key Takeaways:
1. The Redeem 20% off CTA quickly grabs attention and redirects users to the sign-up page
2. The header bar highlights the same functionality
3. The headline uses empathy, yet conveys it subtly
4. The sub-headline conveys authenticity and convenience
5. The Learn More CTA redirects to the sign-up page
6. Social proof from prominent media publications creates a strong impression
7. The visitor can read reviews to learn more about the products
Learn More: Your #1 Goal Should Be Providing the Best Digital Experience—Here’s HowOpens a new window
Test, Test, Test!
The foundation of landing page optimization is based on the culture of experimentation. While hunches and gut feelings are commonly used to propose hypotheses, you need to approach this scientifically. With the help of qualitative analytics tools, you can view the landing page performance using heatmaps, form analytics, and session recordings to identify the Achilles’ heel on your landing page that is hindering conversions. Form new hypotheses and run A/B tests using this information to optimize the performance. And you are free to test every landing page component to check its effectiveness, right from the tone of the headline to the placement of trust badges.
How do you plan to approach the landing page optimization process at your organization? Tell us in the comments below.