Landing page Best Practices

From the several webpages you’ll create when you set up a website, the landing page is going to be the most critical. You get just a few seconds to convince people that your website is worth their time, which is why it’s essential to optimize your landing pages.

The best landing pages make visitors stick, click and buy.

When you land on a well-optimized landing page, something inside your brain does a happy dance because it just feels “good” to be on the page. And while no two landing pages are alike, the most successful ones are set up using the same approach.

After reviewing hundreds of landing pages and creating dozens for our own companies, we’ve noticed a few patterns that you can utilize to make your brand stand out (and we’re going to throw in some of our best secrets).

Ready? Here are the top landing page best practices you can apply to your own pages right away:

1. Utilize social proof

Have you ever spotted a line like this on a landing page:

“Seamless onboarding! I’m a happy customer!” – Dusty Roren, Co-founder ABCCo.

You may have even used a testimonial like this for your own site.

It’s called social proof, and it works. Many online consumers look for social proof before they make a buying decision. Also, they trust the reviews given or left by others several times more than the product copy and spec descriptions from suppliers.

So, put social proof like testimonials and case studies on your landing pages. Of course, don’t fake anything, as it can negatively hurt your company’s reputation down the road.

2. Be smart about your CTAs

It’s impossible to capture leads without using call-to-actions on your page. How else is a lead going to convert if he or she doesn’t know what button to click?

Use a single call-to-action on your page and ensure that it aligns with your core offer. Don’t place multiple offers or elements around the CTA as doing so can distract the visitor. Also, clearly define what action you want them to take.

For example, if you want them to download a free ebook, your call-to-action should be something like “Download the eBook” or “Get a free copy.” Avoid baiting and switching, as well as gathering visitors’ detail without providing them with the lead magnet on the next screen.

It’s also a good idea to let your call-to-action shine. To ensure that it does, keep it away from the copy, images, and other assets on your landing page.

3. Keep the copy natural

Natural copywriting is something many landing page creators tend to neglect, especially when they’re setting up pages for a b2b campaign.

That is a mistake. The copy should make the visitors feel that there’s a human element to it, even if it’s associated with a formal offer.

Don’t be afraid to incorporate humor, contradictions, and even a quote or two if they make the context sound more natural.

While we don’t recommend you to use slang, steer clear of using sophisticated jargon. Instead, use simple words that even a layperson or a 5th grader could understand.

4. Format like your profits depend on it

Just like formatting an article makes it more read-worthy, so too does formatting the elements of a landing page make them easier to understand and navigate.

How can you format a landing page? The following pointers offer a good start.

  • Leverage visuals to give some rest to visitors’ eyes
  • State your core benefits via bulleted lists
  • Break up the page by using h2 and h3 subheadings
  • Avoid distractions and noise by using whitespace where possible
  • Experiment with directional cues such as arrows to direct the visitors to your call-to-action button

Effective formatting makes a page easier-to-read, helping visitors digest most of the important points upon first glance. Just like a person prefers a better-looking person, an individual prefers a better-looking landing page because they associate the elegance and layout with credibility and trust.

5. Align the landing page with your adverts and brand

One of the most important things your landing page must do is relive the promise you made in a social ad, an email drip campaign, or a web link. Any inconsistencies in this regard can end up causing you a sale.

Consistency is the name of the game. Whether you’re creating a landing page for a B2B or a B2C firm, you need to consistent. It’s vital to find success, and people love visiting brands with a consistent vision.

Especially when it comes to the offers on their landing pages.

With that said, consistency goes beyond using the same headline for the landing page that you used in your advert. Site owners should also attempt to:

  • Use a similar design and visuals
  • Keep the landing page copy in close context to the advertising copy
  • Match the background and text color of the landing page with the design of your ad

Aligning things together ensures visitors go to the correct area when navigating your landing page, and they have a fair idea of what you’ll present them with when they click on one of your social media ads.

6. Minimize page load speed

Because a lot of people from around the world now browse the web from a mobile browser, Google considers page speed to be a critical factor for the visitor experience.

If your landing pages take forever to load, you’re guaranteed to lose conversions and even have a high bounce rate. Use plugins like PageSpeed Ninja for WordPress to ensure your content, images and call-to-actions load faster.

If a developer created your website, ask him to reduce your site load time. In most instances, however, you should see a significant difference by installing a plugin.

7. Don’t forget to use keywords correctly

Placing your keywords in the right parts of your landing page is one of the main steps to optimizing it for your conversions. Make sure to place your primary keyword in your sub headings, text copy, URL, meta description, and page title.

By including these keywords in the areas search engines are looking, you’ll raise your chances of driving organic traffic to your website. Also, don’t forget to include variants in your descriptions, as these will improve the chances of your landing page being given a higher rank by Google.

However, don’t practice keyword stuffing. Try to incorporate them as naturally as you can. If you’re using them as Alt tags of images, try to provide a detailed explanation of what the image portrays.

Conclusion

Should you spend time on optimizing your landing pages? The answer is in this article. Implementing best practices to increase your traffic and conversions isn’t complicated.

Both the B2B and B2C industries have their own methods for optimizing landing pages, but all of them utilize the same strategy: ensuring the landing pages on their websites simply the customer journey.

If you go through these best practices and incorporate additional creativity on your landing page, it’ll surely turn into a high-converting funnel for your sales process.