For example, are you looking to grow your email subscriber list? Perhaps you are promoting a new product or trying to promote a time limited discount or special offer?
Identify your message
Once you have your goal, the next step is to give some thought to what your message is. A powerful way of approaching your message is to think about how your product or service may help to solve someone's problem. If you think about your product or service in terms of its ability to solve a problem, you can more easily think about the kinds of keywords and phrases your target customer may be using to search online for a solution to that problem.
Keywords and Optimisation
When you have identified your goal, the message you are using, and thought about the kinds of keywords and phrases you want to optimise your page content around, you are ready to start thinking about the content for your page. If you are looking for sign-ups, a form may be appropriate, if you are looking to raise awareness around a product or service, perhaps a short explainer video is appropriate. Maybe you want to direct people to a particular part of your website - in which case a persuasive call to action may be the best option.
*Attention grabbing headline*
There are a few elements to your landing page which have a crucial role to play in determining success. Arguably the most important thing in terms of initial impact is a great headline. Your headline, if it's a good one, will help to generate interest, attract the user's attention and help them to quickly understand what you are offering. A strong headline, along with a complementary image can be incredibly effective at letting visitors know exactly what you are about.
Sub-heading to provide more detail...
Sub-headlines are next - this is an opportunity to add a bit more detail to your headline. If your headline makes people sit up and take notice, the sub head needs to make them want to stay.
The sub-headline should be persuasive and can go into more depth than the main headline.
Make it visual
Images are another important part of a killer landing page. Our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than it processes text. This means that the effect of images on your website visitor is immediate. Some rules for images which it is a good idea to think about when placing and using images on your landing page:
- Don't have overly large images
- Make sure your images are relevant to the product or service you are promoting.
- If you are selling a physical product, ensure that your landing page contains an image of the actual product.
- If you are selling a service or a solution, the main purpose of any images is to grab attention and exhibit relevance to the viewer.
- The pictures must be high-quality.
Making sure that you maintain quality and keep it relevant is the key with images. Bear in mind that your images will be the first thing a visitor processes when they view your page and they will create an immediate impression of your brand before the visitor reads any text on the page - make sure that the impression is a good one!
For the rest of the page it is important to think about the following elements which could be included. Some kind of explanation of the product or service you are promoting to supplement the information which you have already provided in your headline, sub head and image.
Solving problems
Using the text on your landing page to help solve a problem is a good way to reinforce a need for your product or service. In essence, you are aiming to highlight a problem your visitor might be experiencing and then show them how your offering can provide the answer to that pain. An example of this kind of approach would be - Identify the pain; 'Are you fed up with ...?' or 'Do you need more time to...?' Then provide the solution 'Our great product saves you time'
Highlighting your visitor's problems and how your product can solve them is powerful because it shows an immediate, relatable application of what you are offering and it also demonstrates that you understand your potential customer, which in turn helps to build trust.
Providing pleasure
The other side to solving problems is using the text on your landing page to confirm the positive aspects of your product or service to a visitor to your page. Highlight something good that will come from them choosing your offering. So, 'Want to be the best at...?' or 'Be the envy of all your competitors'. Then show how your product or service will enable this positive transformation.
Compelling call to action
Your CTA is the culmination of all of the above elements of your landing page and needs to be compelling enough to promote the desired action in your visitor. Using action orientated language helps to galvanise the action you want. So, consider using a CTA like 'Ready to earn? - Get started' or 'sign up now for exclusive offers'. Depending on your offering, you can also use a more emotional lever like 'Want freedom from pain?' or 'get the body you have always dreamed of'.
A tactic which has become popular in recent years is using a CTA like 'want to get more great offers?' and then options along the lines of 'Yes - I'm really clever and love special offers' and 'No thanks - I don't like saving money'. This so-called confirm shaming is a tactic which some people find effective but can be viewed in quite a negative light, so we would certainly advise caution if you are considering this approach. Giving potential customers a positive reason to proceed is great but be wary of trying to shame visitors into action, especially in annoying overlays and pop-ups.
Getting your landing pages right can dramatically improve your results - whether you are looking for product sales, sign-up's or to raise awareness of your product or service - you should find our tips will translate to any business type. If you would like some more help or information about digital marketing and how to make the most of your website - just get in touch.