Does
your landing page land customers?
Behold the online marketer's dream: You invest precious monetary resources in some carefully chosen pay-per-click ads. The keyword phrases are right on target, and pre-qualified visitors flock to your site in droves. They click through on those ads, land at your wonderfully written landing page, and convert to enthusiastic buyers on the spot. Or do they?
A landing page is only one page on your Web site, but it can make or break your online results. The ideal landing page, one that converts visitors at a rate that makes Web marketers salivate, is the brass ring. And doable. But as with so many online marketing tools, a landing page is easier to do wrong than right.
So here are just a few tips to help you maximize the results you'll get from your own landing pages.
Always, always, always...
...make a good impression. Right
from the start make it utterly, totally obvious that they've landed at the
right place.
Then be true to your word. If people were enticed to your page by a particular offer, follow through. If you offer a download, by golly, give 'em the download. If you're selling a product, include a picture of it. Book or whitepaper? Include a picture of the cover. Even a webinar can be represented by a graphic. (And I've read that people click on these graphics too, expecting them to do something. Use that to your advantage.)
Finally, be clear, concise and complete. Use words to let them know they'll get what they came for, and facts if appropriate, such as pricing or the date of a seminar. Keep the design clean too, so they can easily find their way through. Make buttons, forms and download links easy to find and use. Don't make them scroll, don't make them hunt.
Entice them elsewhere?
You've got other options on your
site, other pages you'd love them to get to because if they're interested
in your widgets, they just might buy your doodads too. Should you be
encouraging them to click through to other pages on your site? Maybe. But
don't confuse them with lots of options. Instead of a laundry list of
"here's everything else you can find and do on our site," choose one or
two relevant things. Relevant to them, based on what you know interests
them. (You know it because they clicked on your ad, remember?)
To ask or not to ask
Should you ask visitors to your page to
give you personal information in exchange for whatever it was they came
looking for? That's a tough one. Sometimes people are willing to make the
trade: their contact info (i.e. privacy) for your freebie. And studies
have shown that people are more willing to give up more of their personal
information the more they want your freebie. Yet, according to Anne
Holland in a recent issue of Marketing Sherpa, people are "absolutely fed
up with filling out forms online for complimentary offers." Something to
keep in mind when you're wondering to ask or not to ask.
If you decide you do have to ask, follow the rule of KISS, and ask for bare the minimum. Ideally you're starting a relationship that will let you ask for more later.
Also, if you must ask, include a link to your privacy statement. Make it very clear that their information won't go to a third party. Tell people why they are being asked to give you information and what you will do with it.
And finally...
Don't forget the critical last piece of your
landing page puzzle: Tell them what to do with a call to action. And get
your button right.
Yes, the button. It's such a little thing, but plays such a big part. It's what the visitor ultimately clicks on to give you your much sought after conversion. So really think about the words on it. What will work for the site visitor? "Register Now" seems to be a common phrase, but it's a little intimidating. How about simply "Get that case study" or "Let's go!" or even "Click Me. I'm the Button."
So there you have it, a few tips for landing customers at landing
pages, and as promised, only a few. If you want to discuss the topic more,
I'd love to. Email me at
Until next month!
Sharon
