1. Don’t Use Too Many Different Call to Actions
One of the most common issues that I come across with landing pages is the barrage of links, buttons and call to actions that effectively confuse the user. The result is usually a bounce off the page or a random click on one of the many paths they have available to them – not necessarily the best one.
A great quote to sum this up is the following:
”“Removing page elements can be just as effective at increasing conversions as adding or tweaking elements on a page.”
Mona ElesseilySearch Engine Land
It is easy to get trapped in the idea that if you place enough options for that user to click they are more likely to click one of them. This is a terrible idea. In fact, if you have a clear idea of exactly what action you want the user to take and simply ask for them to do that then you’ll do a hell of a lot better. Not only does the user feel more confident and sure in what they are clicking but you’ll be gathering more qualified leads who are easy to convert at the next point. You see, if you know why the user clicked then you’re more likely to be able to offer them value later down the line.
2. Make Sure that You’re Mobile Optimised
A fancy looking landing page is pointless if it’s only optimised for desktop. In many businesses now, more than 60% of users are browsing your landing pages on mobile. That means you should be taking that into consideration with a mobile first approach if that applies to you.
That means including easy to tap click to call buttons. As your potential customer is literally holding a phone in their hand you want to be making it as easy as possible for them to give you a call (assuming that calls are important to your business).
3. Initiate Positive Emotions in the Copy
There’s a quote by marketer, Joe Chernov, who stated, “Good marketing makes the company look smart, great marketing makes the customer feel smart.”
This is a fantastic piece of advice that, used subtly, can improve your conversion rates through the sheer psychology of the words you choose to include.
You want to make the user feel emotion as they read your headline and your copy. It really needs to make them feel something. That means using positive emotional language. You want them to feel smart, unique and excited about your product or service.
Take time to strategise and think about what the user wants to feel when choosing a potential product like yours – then embody that into the headline so that they are already getting a sense of it before converting.
4. Utilise the Power of Social Proof
Social proof is one of the cornerstones of influence talked about by Robert Cialdini in his best seller, ‘influence’. From the landing pages i’ve worked on in the past, social proof can have a massive effect on conversion rates. Have you ever gone to buy something online? What’s one of the first things you’ll do – go check out the reviews. As humans, we are risk averse and if others are saying that something we are interested in is valuable, that takes an element of risk out of the purchase.
There are a few ways you can do this. One of the most accessible ways to do this is to use testimonials and reviews. Slap them onto your landing pages to assure the user that your product or service is worth buying. These testimonials should be legitimate. Fake ones are easy to spot and will push people away from your offering.
5. Employ the Scarcity Factor
Scarcity is a commonly employed tactic amongst salespeople and has been for a very long time. This is due to the ‘fear of missing out’ factor. If there is a limited offer or limited amount of a product then the user feels compelled to act fast incase they miss out further down the line.
Since this tactic has been around for some time, it can look spammy and salesy if it is done wrong. You should try to be subtle in how you introduce the idea of scarcity.
6. Think Carefully About What is ‘Above the Fold’
If you’ve been in digital marketing or web design then you’ve most likely heard the term ‘above the fold’. It goes back to newspapers where big traditional prints would be folded over as they were too big to hold. The most eye catching and important stories would be placed ‘above the fold’ as they were most likely to be seen.
This translates to the digital world in that as a user lands on your page they will often see what they see and not bother scrolling down if they are not compelled to do so.
You should look to include your key headline and copy as well as a call to action clear and above the fold.
7. Always be A/B Testing
You should make it a part of your routine to be testing as much as you possibly can. The more you are able to test, the more efficient your landing page will become. It’s important to note that each test should only include a single change – otherwise you can’t understand properly what caused the change in conversion rate when you come to analyse the A/B test.
The more you A/B test, the more you’ll learn what works in your industry. This has exponential returns, allowing you to create highly converting landing pages from scratch in the future.
A great tool to create landing pages and run A/B tests is Instapage.
