Landing Page Optimization: Your Guide to More Conversions

While complicated, landing page optimization is necessary for any business that wants to improve its online marketing campaigns and drive revenue.

But it does not necessarily have to stress you out, especially if you first understand what’s not working on your current landing pages.

Otherwise, attempting landing page optimization without insights means you change everything on your site and get the same dismal results.

So, how does your brand stack up when it comes to conversion rates on your landing pages?

Not sure?

Well, check out an overview of conversion rates for different industries and use it to compare.

Are you getting a good conversion rate, or do you need to implement a landing page optimization process?

If you need to change your numbers, this post lists some crucial landing page optimization tactics you can implement to?get more conversions .

Check them out.

Landing Page Optimization Tactics You Should Leverage

When we talk of landing page optimization, we refer to the act of improving or enhancing features of your landing pages so that they drive more conversions.

And unlike the homepage or your entire website, you create landing pages for a single purpose- to turn those who visit into qualified leads or customers.

For example, using landing pages to promote a lead magnet, register visitors for a webinar, offer a free ebook, etc.

But how do you carry out landing page optimization?

Before optimizing landing pages, you need to find out why current pages don’t increase your conversion rate. And in this case, you can leverage heatmaps from landing page optimization tools like Crazy Egg and Hotjar.

These tools tell you what parts of your landing pages visitors focus on and which ones they ignore.

What’s more?

They offer a scroll map showing how visitors navigate your site and a click map to show areas they click.

Then, depending on your insights, embark on a landing page optimization process that guarantees results.

But what landing page optimization tactics can you use?

Find out below.

1. Define Your Goal

The first step in your landing page optimization strategy will involve discovering what your goals are. A perfect landing page provides you with a great opportunity to tell your visitors about your new products and discounts.

But if you are trying to showcase everything at once, it can be counter-productive.

Instead of attracting the attention of visitors, you may end up distracting them with too much information.

And the solution?

To give your audience more clarity, you need to clearly define your goals. Ask yourself what you want to achieve through landing page optimization.

Do you want to?increase brand awareness ? Are you looking to advertise new products?

Then, based on that goal, plan out your landing page optimization process.

Take a cue from Muzzle App, a Mac app that can silence on-screen notifications. Their app can help you in embarrassing situations when you don’t want to draw attention to your notification.

Muzzle aims to showcase to users how their app can solve an everyday problem. And to communicate this to their audience, they created a landing page showing the problem that their app can solve.

When you visit their website, you are greeted with embarrassing notifications popping up on the left side of your screen.

But why does this landing page optimization tactic work?

Even without any description, they immediately address the pain point and effectively convey the app’s usefulness to the audience.

What’s more?

Their landing page is minimalistic, but it clearly defines what their purpose is. Some of the animations on the page are also really sassy, which makes them memorable.

2. Write Optimized Landing Page Content

Creating well-written copy is a landing page optimization tactic with the power to get readers interested in your product. At the same time, it can inform readers about the value that you can provide to them.

However, it takes a skilled writer to write content that can market products without trying to seem too salesy. You also need to write landing page copy that is not too advertorial because it can come across as inauthentic.

So, how can you implement a landing page optimization process that features great content?

If you want to get your audience interested, you need to sound genuine.

Think about your target audience and what interests them.

Then?build your content strategy ?in such a way that your tone of voice appeals to them. You also don’t have to write lengthy content, but you can definitely make it catchy.

A brand that’s perfected this landing page optimization technique is Lyft. In fewer than ten words, it showcases how visitors can benefit from Lyft.

The company’s target market is anyone who knows how to drive and wants financial freedom. Their landing page shows the visitor that they can become their own boss and ends with a subtle push to the readers that encourages them to take action.

3. Pay Attention to Headlines

One of the first things that visitors will notice on landing pages is your headline.

A well-written page headline can win them over and get them more interested in your products. But a badly-written one can push them to bounce off your website.

It’s a make-or-break situation.

So, for your landing page optimization strategy, it’s important to craft headlines that are catchy and short. Get straight to the point in such a way that you make a powerful impact.

What does this entail?

Ideally, your headline should be no longer than six words. Anything longer than that, and you risk confusing the readers and losing their interest.

Secondly, and depending on who your brand appeals to, decide if you want a sophisticated headline or a cheeky one. Both of them can work well if they are done right.

Want to see this landing page optimization technique in action?

Take a look at Evernote’s headline on their landing page. It’s simple and straightforward. Yet, it effectively communicates to the audience what Evernote can do for them.

Sub-Headings

An important part of your on-page content is subheadings because they can help create smaller divisions within your content.

But how?

Breaking your content into smaller chunks can increase your content’s readability. It also makes landing pages look more organized.

A brand that employs this landing page optimization technique perfectly is GetResponse. Their subheadings support their headline in simple but clear language.

4. Use Call-to-Action Buttons

Writing compelling copy isn’t enough to?generate more leads . And if you want to convert your website visitors into customers, you need to persuade them to take action.

That’s what landing page optimization with call-to-action (CTA) buttons is all about.

At one glance, a call-to-action button may look like all of the other buttons on your website. But its purpose is a lot more important.

How is this?

In landing page optimization, you can use call-to-action to encourage customers to sign up for your service. Alternatively, they can motivate the reader to share their contact information.

And most importantly, when it comes to landing page optimization, where you place your CTA button is as crucial as its presence. If you’ve placed it in a noticeable yet unobstructive area, it can boost your revenue and generate more sales.

For example, the header of the page is a good place to add your call-to-action button. That’s because it is the first thing visitors see on your website and it can instantly come to their notice.

Secondly, while designing your CTA, pay attention to its color, size, and message.

Ideally, your CTA should have a color that contrasts with your website’s background but doesn’t completely clash with it. You want the CTA to pop up and catch the reader’s eye while maintaining good aesthetics.

There is no rule of thumb about the size of the CTA in landing page optimization. However, you need to make sure that it isn’t too tiny and that readers can easily find it.

Even with other elements on your landing pages, the CTA should still stand out.

Lastly, the text in the CTA should create a sense of urgency in the reader. This way, even if a reader is scrolling or flipping through the website, it can persuade them to stop and take action.

You can even use bold and bigger fonts to make the CTA more attractive.

For inspiration, take a look at HubSpot’s Website Grader. Their CTA ticks most of the landing page optimization points that we just discussed above.

The message on their CTA is captivating and invites the reader to fill in details about their own website to get their answer. It’s also colored orange, which contrasts with the black background.

5. Boost Your Page Loading Speed

There is nothing more frustrating than having to wait for a web page to load. In fact, this annoyance can even push them to move away from your website or ecommerce store.

Another reason why page loading speed is important is that it is an important ranking factor for search engines. And if you want your landing pages to be among the top sites on the first page of search results, you need to improve loading speed.

What’s more?

Google RankBrain takes into consideration?user experience ?while assigning a quality score for websites. With a fast page loading speed, your users are likely to be more satisfied.

So, how do you take care of speed during landing page optimization?

To reduce your page load time, you need to look at every important element on your landing pages. The theme, size of images, and embedded media can make a lot of difference to your loading speed.

If they are not well-optimized, they cause your pages to load slowly.

The PageSpeed Insights Tool and Lighthouse are easy?search engine optimization tools ?that can further help you in landing page optimization.

What’s more?

Leverage a tool like?TinyImage ?to reduce the size of images before uploading them to your landing pages.

6. Use Videos

Videos are a goldmine to generate more leads from landing pages and that’s because they are highly visual and engaging.

What’s more?

Including them in your landing page optimization plan can make the user stay on your high-converting landing pages for a longer period of time.

But how do you go about adding videos to your landing page?

This landing page optimization technique doesn’t require much effort. You only need to make?relevant videos ?that can inform and engage your audience.

Take, for example, this landing page from Proof about their product Pulse. They want to make it easy for the visitor to know what exactly the product does and feature an explainer video at the top.

And guess what?

It’s a smart move that can increase conversions because it allows them to expand on their content.

Most importantly, it’s a better landing page optimization tactic because it provides the viewer with more information about the product while clearing up any confusion.

7. Optimize Your Forms

Another smart landing page optimization technique involves ensuring visitors don’t bounce immediately after clicking your CTA button.

After you’ve captured the attention of a visitor, you want them to take an action. For this, you need to provide them with a landing page form where they can fill out their contact information.

But it’s not enough to have a landing page form. You need to optimize it for a better user experience.

But how do you optimize your landing page forms?

First, make sure the form is easily visible on your landing page. Next, make sure your form doesn’t contain too many form fields.

If needed, cut out a few form fields that aren’t particularly relevant. If your form is too long, users may lose their patience and end up leaving instead of converting.

If you can’t avoid using a long form, at least break it up in chunks. Make it multi-page with a visible progress bar.

This way, your users will only have to fill up a few details on each page at a time and have a clear idea of how many steps are left.

8. Use More Graphics

Text-heavy content can make your landing page look boring. And if your landing page optimization strategy seeks to captivate visitors, you need to add more visual content.

This can be anything from infographics and images to animations.

Whatever you choose, make sure you don’t add visuals just for the sake of making your landing page more vibrant.

Your visuals also need to be relevant and support the overall content on your landing page.

A brand that leverages this landing page optimization technique perfectly is Intercom. The brand has a landing page design that balances its text content and visuals.

They have concise copy coupled with an opt-in video demo and engaging motion graphics across the landing page. It grabs their visitor’s attention while also showcasing the product’s ease and agility.

And if you are selling products, you need to grab your audience’s attention with a visual demonstration.

What’s more?

Your images have the power to persuade users to buy your product. It’s, therefore, essential to use only high-quality visuals during landing page optimization.

9. Keep Crucial Details Above-Fold

Above-fold refers to the top part of the traditional newspaper fold. However, this may be determined by the monitor size, preview pane, or mobile devices when it comes to landing pages.

But why care about the above fold area when planning your landing page optimization strategy?

It's what the reader sees first when they land on your landing page, and naturally, you want the information they find there to convince them to scroll down the page for more.

You want it to catch their attention, spark their curiosity, and hopefully convince them to convert somewhere down the page.

Most importantly, you don't want this area to get visitors to bounce or feel rushed into a decision.

So, how can you apply landing page optimization tips to your above-the-fold content?

• Have a powerful heading. It should convince the reader they are in the right place.
• Include keywords as early on in the page as possible.
• Start by providing an answer to the user's question as early on as possible.
• If you have an image above fold, optimize it with alt text.
• Leverage lazy loading so that instead of everything loading at once, parts load as the visitor scrolls down. Doing this can improve your speed.
• Move unnecessary scripts to the footer to avoid slowing down your page. For example, moving some of the WordPress plugins or advertising scripts that execute before everything else since they may slow your page.
• Improve page speed.

Note:?If you must include a CTA above the fold when implementing landing page optimization, ensure it captures attention, invokes urgency, engages, and makes sense.

It should not also push your visitors into deciding before finding out more about the offer or product.

A great example of a brand that’s perfected this landing page optimization technique is Jupiter. On getting to the page, the visitor learns about what they will get right from the start.

10. Build Trust

This is a landing page optimization tactic that can increase your conversion rate while also showcasing your credibility. And if your page looks credible, visitors are more likely to stick around to discover more and purchase.

What landing page elements showcase your trustworthiness?

First, ensure the message a visitor finds on your landing page matches what drove them to click.

Make sure your images, message, headline, branding colors, etc., match what they saw on the social media ad, google ad, or email. Using this landing page optimization tactic reassures the visitor they landed on the right page.

Secondly, include social proof that shows how others benefited from the offer or product. Furthermore,?89% ?of shoppers check out reviews before they can buy.

However, for this landing page optimization technique to work, any social proof you add must detail how people used your product to solve their problems.

For example, here is a brand that implemented this landing page optimization technique perfectly. As you can see, readers can click to read a report that rates them the best in customer support or read check out reviews from third-party review sites.

Thirdly, include logos and security badges to show legitimacy. Seeing other companies' logos acts as social proof and can help showcase the credibility of your business.

Security badges, on the other hand, make people comfortable about sharing the financial details with you. The badges show that you have specific security measures in place to ensure their personal information remains safe.

Salesforce has this landing page optimization technique mastered by including security badges that reassure customers of information security.

Finally, have a privacy policy link to showcase transparency in your data collection method and what happens to data once collected.

Having it can be the final push towards getting the visitor to take the next step.

11. Test Your Landing Pages

Landing page optimization can be a tricky subject.

It can be tough to figure out what works for your users and what doesn’t.

But if you want to?increase conversions , you need to constantly test your landing pages.

And the sad part?

Most marketers know that testing their landing pages is important, yet they fail to do any testing.

This is because many of them lack the expertise to test a landing page or derive usable results that can help them improve their landing page optimization strategy.

And the solution?

A/B test for effective landing page optimization.

A/B testing is a reliable way of finding what works best for your landing page.

It involves comparing the performances of two different versions of your web page to see which one drives more conversions.

Then, based on the results, make changes to your existing landing page.

And guess what?

This landing page optimization technique has immensely helped businesses to boost their leads.

Take, for example,?Wall Monkey , a company that deals in decals for homes and businesses. After A/B testing their home page and making some changes to it, they saw an increase of 27% in website conversion rates.

But they didn’t stop with that. They realized the potential that A/B testing has, and so they conducted it again.

The second time, the company saw a mammoth increase of 550% in conversion rates. Such an impressive increase was possible only by tracking visitor behavior and tweaking their landing page optimization strategy accordingly.

This post originally appeared on?Attrock.com .