2/08/2012

Top Landing Page Best Practices for Higher Conversion Rates

Top Landing Page Best Practices for Higher Conversion Rates:

The number one goal of a landing page is to get visitors to convert – whether it’s a form fill or sale, your landing page should propel visitors to act. If your visitors aren’t converting or if you want to increase your conversions even more, then it’s time to do some testing.

Although it’s not rocket science, putting together the right killer mix of elements to your page isn’t always easy. What works for one traffic source may not work for another, so it’s important to always try out new ideas and combinations. However there are certain time-tested and true landing page best practices for increasing conversion rates that you should check your pages for if you’re not happy with your conversion rate. Use these landing page best practices as a starting point for your testing ideas and plans.

Top Landing Page Best Practices For Higher Conversions

  • Uncomplicated forms – I’ve been on landing pages with some very compelling messaging and I almost filled out their form – almost. Long, complicated forms are a hassle and a turn off. The best forms only gather what is absolutely necessary – nothing more, nothing less. Nurture programs and progressive profiling can help you build up prospect profiles over time. For initial lead generation forms, whatever your form is asking should be proportional to the your offer.
  • Center their attention – If a landing page has you looking in all different directions with no apparent target, it’s likely you’re going to click the mighty back button. The focus of a landing page should be to compel your visitor to convert – and that’s it! Keep all of the content on your landing page clear and focused on getting visitors to the conversion point. Take a big step away from your landing page (both figuratively and literally), is it still clear what you’d like your visitors to do?
  • Use a compelling call to action – A good, clear call to action is vital! You need to tell your visitor what to do and how to do it – if you don’t, they may go away, never to return. Make your call to actions compelling- don’t simply say “Submit” but try using active, positive messages like “Download your free whitepaper now” that reaffirm what visitors are getting from you.
  • Give them what they want – Visitors come to your page for specific reasons – to get something that helps them solve a problem or answer a question. If you don’t address their needs right away, you’ve lost that conversion. If you’re getting traffic to your page then you know that whatever offer was in your ad or email is connecting with your visitors; keep their attention by continuing with that same offer and conversation on your landing page.
  • Mind the fold – You know that part of the page that lies “above” the scrolling point? That’s the area above the fold and generally for an effective landing page, you need to put your most important elements for conversion – the elements that you definitely want your visitors to see – in that space. You only have a moment to convince most visitors to stay so use your best real estate wisely. Don’t make visitors scroll to find your call to action or form.

Use these best practices to form new test ideas and to get your conversion rates up! In addition to these conversion techniques, another great way to get your page ready for higher conversions is by using our READY framework.

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