Simple Landing Page Optimization Tips

According to the Associated Press, you only have 8 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention. In today’s world, everyone is busy with their own schedules – to add to the barrage of media information they are consuming – and this is why they don’t have time to waste on a landing page that is taking ages to load.

The landing page is a very important component of your marketing campaign. It is here that you create a first impression on your audience; it is here that you partly create a lasting impression on existing and new customers; it is here that you lead them to your products page; it is here that the checkout process starts, and ultimately, that conversion we are all after. Well, you get the point.

What is a Landing Page?

Some tend to confuse a landing page with a homepage. They are not exactly the same thing. A landing page is normally a customized webpage that shows up after a user clicks on an inbound link or advertisement.

This page is more specific than the homepage and is characterized by one key feature: a strong call to action. So, what’s the big deal about landing pages? The truth is, they have a proven track record of boosting conversion rates. However, sometimes you may need more than one to work for you. Actually, it is advisable to have one for every campaign you run.

According to a marketing benchmarks report by Hubspot that involved over 7,000 businesses, it was established that there was a 55% increase in leads every time companies increased their number of landing pages from 10 to 15. That must mean something, right?

Ideally, a landing page should include the following:

• Logo

• Clear and catchy headline

• Supporting image

• Brief but direct description and CTA (call to action)

• Signup form or contact form

• A clean, format consistent with the brand but boasting contrasting colours

• Social endorsements or reviews

• should focus on user experience.

Optimizing your Landing Page

First of all, you need to create a landing page. This need not be fresh, for you can use an applicable existing page. The next thing you need to do is carry out A/B testing, which is a testing process to ensure it converts to the practical maximum. How do you do this? A/B testing involves having several different versions of the same page, and testing one against another. The testing process comprises making subtle changes to establish what works and what doesn’t.

The monitoring process doesn’t stop after launching the page. Have a Google Analytics account with conversion goals to track and make changes to your landing page. A big indicator of where you lie can be found in the page’s bounce rate. It could be that you’re attracting the wrong crowd, that’s why the bounce rate is high, but it could also mean the site users are finding their way quickly, therefore there is no need to stay on the page for longer.

However, given that landing pages boast a sign-up or other direct call to action button, a high bounce rate may indicate the visitors weren’t interested in your offer and left. Typically, the normal bounce rate of a webpage hovers around 40 percent. If your landing page lacks any other navigation apart from that call to action, this figure can almost double.

Tips to Lower your Bounce Rate

In SEO, when it comes to keywords, include relevant anchor text so the user knows what to expect when they follow the link.

Leaving out the navigation bar may be a good idea because it diverts users’ attention away from the CTA. After everything else is done, you could probably include it on the ‘Thank you’ page.

The first thing you should look at is the load speed. A one-second delay in load time can result in a 7% loss in conversions. Make sure your landing page loads in less than 3 seconds.

If you always include external links on the site in addition to the call to action, those external links should open in a new window. Set the link target to ‘_blank’ to accomplish this.

Finally, create a simple and appealing format for your landing page that is easy to read.