Do you need a landing page? That depends, do you want your business to be successful? The answer to both questions is emphatically, yes! Some businesses will neglect having a landing page because they don’t think that it’s important, or because they don’t truly understand what a landing page is. I’ll let you in on a not so little secret, if you’re selling a product or service, you need a landing page. A landing page is a webpage that is an online form, that can be used to capture information from your target audience, with the main goal being to convert those individuals into leads or customers, typically through an exchange for a type of lead magnet. A landing page can be a great way to get your potential prospects excited about the products or services that you’re selling and make them want to buy something from you. Here are some tips for building an awesome landing page:

1. have a clear and concise CALL TO ACTION

It would blow your mind on how many websites lack a clear call to action. Customers shouldn’t go from page to page guessing at how to get your product! Getting your product is supposed easy! Otherwise, you risk confusing the customer – and if you confuse people, you lose people. On some websites, you may have seen buttons that “Learn More”, “Explore”, or “Start Here.” These can be appropriate for some situations. However, why not make it clear and create some urgency with “Buy Now”, “Sign Up”, or “Get Free Access.” Think about what your CTA is communicating. PRO TIP: Have your CTA show up in each section. Make the path to buy obvious and easy.

2. Use a headline that grabs the reader’s attention.

Think about it, you’ve arrived on a landing page, and you were ready to leave the page immediately. This is an experience that you do not want your prospects to feel. A headline is the first statement that the customer sees. The headline should also offer a benefit that will help the customer. The message needs to be clear and concise. If your headline doesn’t explain what your product or service is, then a potential customer will be confused and navigate away from the page. The purpose of the headline is to solve a problem. Sometimes, your prospects won’t know what their problem is, or if that they even have a problem, until they are reminded. To keep the customer’s attention, the information provided must intrigue the customer. The landing page is supposed to create a further relationship between the business and the customer. A catchy headline should be consistent and stand out. Numbers and keywords assist in making sure your page is seen on Google through SEO.

3. Create a compelling offer for your customer (AKA GOOD COPY)

The customer has made it to the landing page, now what? Everything the customer reads should support and reinforce how your products solve the customer’s problems. The sales copy needs to be easily understandable, and the perceived value of the offer should be more than the cost. If your product doesn’t feel like the value outweighs the cost, then the customer isn’t going to feel like they are getting the maximum value for their dollar. If your competitors offer the same product with similar prices, then having good sales copy will be what sets you apart. Every paragraph, sentence, and word should be motivated by being the solution to the customer’s problems. Some business owners are tempted to offer discounts, instead of investing in a copywriter.; the attempt to be more attractive – but using discounts can sometimes backfire. Although the point is to get potential customers to turn into prospects, some discounted practices might scare prospects away. Good copy appeals that addresses the customer’s problems is always the best move.

“Human beings are motivated by needs and wants. These needs and wants build up internally, which causes people to desire to buy a product… People’s needs result from a lack of something desirable. Wants are needs learned by the person”

(Futrell, Agnihotri and Krush, 2019, p. 84).

By having good copy, the customer should be sold on your product/service. If there are several different discount offers, the customer might be puzzled. The offer will need to make sense and not be too busy.

4. Include an image and relevant, useful information on the page to keep people reading.

When arriving on a landing page, not only does a catchy headline grab the reader’s attention, but also images. Images make your customer feel what they are reading. Images capture attention and are readily available. For example, when ordering food online, some people prefer to look at a picture of the entrée, just to get an idea of how it looks. Images are a nice way to introduce the customer to your product/service. When adding images/visuals to your landing page, it shouldn’t be cluttered. People tend to resonate with images. Be sure to set the tone of your landing page so that it will speak about your brand. When using images on your landing page, you must figure out how you want your brand portrayed. Do you want to use stock photos, GIFS, or videos? Whichever you decide, high quality is essential. There’s nothing worse than seeing an image that it is pixelated or isn’t clear.

5. Be sure to include social media links so readers can share with their friends and family.

Word of mouth is free advertisement and you should take advantage. By including social media links, people can see how your business is doing socially and gives them the opportunity to connect with others as well. Social media links help to navigate quickly to your pages and increase conversion rates. Viral exposure is appealing and can help lead you directly to your target market. The social links should be towards the footer of your landing page.

6. Make it easy for prospects to contact you

How many times have you landed on a website and cannot find any contact information? Prospects will always have questions and if they cannot get in touch with you, then they will look elsewhere. Some people think that if they have their contact information on their landing page, it might open a box of worms, such as spam calls or unqualified leads. When creating your contact info page, make sure to set expectations and make it as easy as possible. By including your phone number and an email address, it provides the customer a chance to choose which method of communication they are comfortable with. When providing the option to contact you, there must be a strategy behind it, to weed out certain requests. The contact us page should be easily accessible and provide a good user experience.

7. Keep it short and sweet – don’t overwhelm people with too much text on one page!

Too much text on the page might lose the customer’s attention and seem jumbled. A webpage that has many paragraphs can be overwhelming. Get straight to the point with your message. Sometimes more is not always better, fight the urge to be wordy. You will also need to make sure that there aren’t too many different fonts and colors being used. This could be a distraction to the customer. If you decide to use several paragraphs, use white space to break up the text. A cluttered landing page will not provide a good user experience. Your headline and Call to Action could get lost with a busy landing page. It could be easily overlooked, and the customer will not know what the offer is.

You’ve done the hard work of creating your landing page, now it’s time to make sure you are getting noticed. Use a headline that grabs the reader’s attention, create a compelling lead magnet, and keep it short and sweet. These are just some of the ways to make your landing page more effective at driving sales. If you’re looking for a few more ways to improve your landing page and grow your audience, we can help! Our team of experts are ready and waiting to partner with you on a plan that drives sales by considering how prospects think.