How To Create A Landing Page that Converts Again and Again... and Again

Erin Ratliff
Jul 23, 2020
7 min read

Updated: Jan 29, 2024

Not to be confused with the all-mighty Homepage, a Landing Page is a common digital marketing tool which caters to a particular goal- usually to capture lead's with a sign-up or special promotion.

Most often it is a short-term initiative or campaign but regardless, the LP's content is always oriented to drive the visitor to behave in some way or lead them to perform a singular action. As such, everything on the page is intentional and focused.

On a landing page the conversion is not a sale, but it's a step in that direction, allowing the brand/business to capture the visitors information so that they can be tracked and guided further down the marketing funnel.

Understanding Landing Pages

There are four main types of landing pages, each with a specific purpose.

Microsites are used share information and educate visitors about a specific promotion or event.
Lead generation pages are used to collect consumer data and convert cold traffic into leads.
Click-through landing pages are used to deliver a unique value proposition to the visitor, prompting them deeper into the company’s sales funnel.
Viral landing page are used to promote a product with word of mouth marketing and distribution/sharing through social networks.

To create an SEO-friendly website that drives sales, businesses must shift their focus towards creating landing pages that effectively communicate their value proposition and guide users towards taking action.

The most common examples of theselead-generating pages include:

OPT-IN for a free trials or limited-time offer
ENTER a giveaway/sweepstakes
STAY UPDATED on a product launch or event promotion
DOWNLOAD gated content such as an E-book or Whitepaper
RESERVE a spot for a webinar, course or masterclass
SUBSCRIBE to an email newsletter

Now that we know the types, let's look at the various characteristics most landing pages share:

Content

Make every word count on your landing page to communicate your message in the most efficient and direct way possible. Text that is short, simple and skimmable has the widest appeal.

- S
Headlines & Subheadings (clear, concise, catchy, click-worthy)
Readability (short sentences, bullet-points, varied sizes and boldness)
Persuasive Copy (power words to motivate, inspire, create urgency)

Crafting Your Header: Setting the Tone for Success

The header of your website serves as the virtual entrance, setting the tone for the entire user experience. To create an impactful header, succinctly answer three key questions:

What do you offer?
How will it make your customer's life better?
What do people need to do to buy it or work with you?

Remember to use clear language, a compelling call to action, and visually engaging imagery to entice visitors and encourage exploration.

Struggling with your headline? Use this triad formula to grab attention and drive engagement and action.

Tangible Benefit: a value proposition to the reader, answering the question, "What's in it for me
Relevance: applicable to the reader's interests, needs, or desires, addressing a pain point or desire that resonates with the target audience.
Curiosity: sparking intrigue, compelling readers to learn more without revealing everything upfront.

Articulating Your Value Proposition: Creating Harmony in Design

After capturing the user's attention with a compelling header, the next step is to articulate your value proposition clearly and concisely. Create a "value stack" that lists three specific benefits of your product or service alongside corresponding icons. This visually appealing layout not only communicates your value proposition effectively but also creates a sense of harmony and balance in design.

Simplifying the Buying Process: Demonstrating Ease and Effortlessness

Make it easy for customers to understand how to buy your product or work with you by outlining a simple, three-step plan. This section of your website should convey the message that working with you or purchasing your product is easy and effortless, removing any barriers to conversion and encouraging action.

Providing Detailed Information: Enhancing Transparency

Incorporate a long-form explanatory paragraph that provides customers with more detailed information about your product or service. This not only helps customers feel informed and empowered but also boosts your website's search engine optimization (SEO) by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases.

Positioning Yourself as a Trusted Guide: Building Authority and Empathy

Brands and businesses have mere seconds to gain the trust of a potential customer visiting your website for the first time. Customers naturally feel vulnerable giving their personal contact and payment information, so placing subtle reminders of your legitimacy and security can provide peace and comfort in the mind of your audience.

The next section of your website should position your business as a trusted guide by showcasing both authority and empathy. Incorporate testimonials, logos of businesses you've served, and statements that demonstrate your understanding of your customer's pain points. This combination of authority and empathy builds trust and credibility, making visitors more likely to engage with your brand.

Badges & Icons (payment safety, data secuity professional affiliations, third-party certs)
Social Media Proof (increase visibility and credibility)
Testimonials (customer reviews and ratings, industry awards and accolades)
Privacy links (terms/conditions, unsubscribe options, create reassurance)

Harnessing the Power of Lead Generation: Capturing Customer Information

One of the most effective ways to attract customers and drive sales is through lead generation. Offer valuable resources, such as checklists, worksheets, or free trials, in exchange for customer email addresses. By capturing customer information, you can establish credibility, build a list of leads, and nurture relationships through email marketing.

While SEO is important for driving traffic to your website, it's essential to prioritize lead generation and email marketing for converting that traffic into sales. By focusing on creating compelling lead generators and follow-up emails, businesses can achieve a higher return on investment (ROI) and drive sales more effectively than through SEO efforts alone.

Other Reminders

SEO

To ensure your website ranks higher in search queries you should optimize the specific elements on your page that search engines are known to "crawl". Getting your page in front of the people who are already looking for it requires keyword-research and basic understand of search marketing tactics. This can increase your click-through rate

Keyword-Rich (headlines, URL, descriptions, tags, content copy)
Alternative Keywords (secondary key phrases and terms)
Meta Titles & Descriptions (key snippets for search engines, CTA forusers)
Domain & Slug (short, relevant, only pivotal words, separated with dashes)
Image Alt Text (for vision impaired users and crawlability)

Conversion

Focusing your page around one single marketing goal will keep customers from getting distracted, confused and ultimately prevent the desired conversion from unfolding. Capturing essential information about your visitors/customers will allow you to track demographics to better understand your audience, and contact info to reach them later)

Single-Offer (one specific call to action)
Effective CTA Buttons (brief, action-oriented, above the fold, eye-catching)
Lead Capture Form (partially above the fold, minimal fields, optional or multi-step fields)

Design

The design of a landing page is vital to increasing leads and conversions. Pages with powerful visual appeal, using compelling and professional imagery and other media types above the fold, create the best and most memorable first impression and increase dwell time on the page.

Images (high quality/high-res, product photos, stock photos, people-based)
Color (psychology and emotional response)
Videos (GIFs, product demos, digestable yet info-packed, no auto-play)
Typography (simplicity in font, size, lining, kerning, tracking, type-face)

Layout

The layout of the page- the arrangement of text, images, buttons, and more sets the tone for how your visitors absorb the information and make their decisions of where to go next in the customer journey. It's always better to remember 'less is more' when it comes to copy, images and links, as a simple and minimalist style page generally has higher conversions.

Long-form (thorough info but not overwhelming - broken in parts)
Contrasting Colors & Clean Backgrounds (eye-catching, easy to digest)
White Space Optimization (enhance readability, elegant looking, desirable)
Thank-you Page (show appreciation and human-ness, explain more, trackable traffic)

Reminder: Most people scan a page using an "F" pattern - reading across from left to right and then down

That’s why Headings, Subheadings and Whitespace are so important in creating a skimmable flow

User Experience

Usability should be the top priority for effective landing pages as it is important for both SEO and brand reputation. A speedy, efficient and positive user experience ensures that visitors stay on the page and giving you more opportunity to persuade them to complete a specific action.

Loading Speed (under 3 seconds, compress images, avoid plug-ins)
Mobile-Friendly (more than half of visitors using a portable device)
Live chat (create connection, address customer questions or concerns)

And don't forget...

Monitoring & Analytics

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) tools come in handy to measure the performance of the landing page and maximize your conversions. By helping to determine which elements of the page are the most successful, and which have the most room for improvement, these tools have a proven return on investment.

User engagement (views, traffic, clicks, dwell time, bounce rate, exit rates)
A/B Testing (compare two versions of headlines, layouts, forms, CTAs, etc)
Heatmap Tracking (visualize where users spend most time on page through clicks, scrolls or mouse movement)

Landing Page Template

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Wrapping It Up

The content of a landing page need to be unique, action-oriented and attention-grabbing. The page must be crafted in a way so that every visitor understands your key message, has a desire to learn more, and ultimately wants to engage and take action. Optimizing your landing page to its fullest potential will help bring more traffic, which eventually means more conversions, and more sales.

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