Increase Landing Page Conversions

Author: Christine Stander

Other than SEO, usability and conversion analytics is a topic close to my heart.

When it comes to landing pages, users are vastly different to that of organic searchers. They want results and they want it fast, they are there for a purpose, so don't waste their time with loads of content. Give them the facts, make sure your Call To Actions (CTA) are clearly visible, take them exactly where they want to be without any hassles. So what should you consider when designing your pages to increase conversions?

Before the Click

When people are searching for something online they have a specific intent. They are either looking for information or looking to purchase a product or service etc. When they see your paid ad and it conforms to their needs they will click on it. That is great, but have you prepared your site to the best of its abilities? One of the simplest ways in which to ensure that they don't immediately click out of your site is to take them where they want to be.

So many people still overlook this small, but very vital action. Don't take them to your site's home page. Although your home page might have loads of information about your company, product or service or may just be of very flattering design, this means nothing to your PPC visitor.

Take them directly to where they want to be.

Choosing the Most Effective Page

If your visitor was looking for ""Blue Widgets"" take them directly to your ""Blue Widgets"" page, not to ""Red Widgets"" or ""All Widgets"", or ""About Widgets"", directly to ""Blue Widgets"". Simple. Effective. Most retailers would use the ""product page"" as their primary landing page. Service providers would use the ""service page"".

There are two ways of going about your landing page strategy. You may choose to either send your traffic to a page within your existing website, or what I have found to be most effective is to create landing pages specifically targeted towards your PPC campaign.

This provides you with more freedom to customise the design of your landing page.

Design for Profitability

1. Design. First impressions count. Ensure that your landing page design is appealing and looks professional.

2. Headlines. Make them bold and prominent. This is the ideal place to capture your visitor's attention. Affirm that they have reached the best page to answer their queries or provide the product they are looking for. Repeating the key-phrase within the headline is the easiest way in which to do this is.

3. Convincing Content. Now you don't want to make your visitors read tons of content. Your content should merely emphasise your headlines. Keep it simple. They are here for a reason, emphasise that reason and answer their most important questions:

* What is the product offer

* Who or what type of person or business would be interested in this offer

* Why would they want to take further action

* How do they get started

4. Make your CTAs Images. Since this is a landing page and the page does not need to be optimised for organic SEO you are able to tie in more design features such as stylised buttons and even flash elements if needed. Research has proven that people tend to want to click on images. Take advantage of this fact by making your call to actions buttons or graphics.

5. Caption Images. Images draw attention on web pages, so in the same breath this is the area where you will most likely benefit the most from your marketing efforts. Place your hard sell there for best results.

6. Check Boxes. Ensure that the option selected is the right one for your target audience. This is easy if is a simple ""yes"" or ""no"", but when there are multiple options, perhaps consider leaving them blank. This will inspire interaction with the page, and you are on the way to a positive conversion.

7. Action is Right. Through much ""heat map"" and ""eye-tracking"" research conducted on websites it has been proven that most actions take place on the right hand side of the page. Top right to be very precise. Ensure that you include your most prominent CTA on the top right and then emphasise this throughout your content.

8. Above the Fold. Keeping your content above the fold is key to your landing page design. What is the fold? In a nutshell everything you see on your computer screen for that page. For example if you are running your monitor at 800 x 600 your fold line will be higher, so you would see less information than someone running at 1024 x 800 who would see more content. The average is to test at 800 x 600 and ensure that all your critical or most important information lies within this area.

9. Navigation. Well this is actually a misnomer as that should be non-existent, or if a must-have then dramatically reduced. Your visitors' *only* option should be to complete your intended action for that page. Don't give them a variety of options to confuse their ""state of purchase"".

10. Forms. If your ""action"" is for example a lead via form-fill keep it simple. Don't have too many ""required"" fills. Only get the most important details from your visitor. It could be as little as:

* Full Name

* Email address

* Contact number

* Product or Service Interest

11. Testing & Tracking. Testing your page's conversion is very important. A/B Split testing has become very popular especially if you're serious about increasing your landing page conversions. Remember that the most effective way of A/B split testing is only changing one element at a time, otherwise your conversions might get lost in the changes and you won't be able to effectively track what the increase / decrease was caused by. Some of the elements you should keep in mind when conducting your tests are:

* Bonus gifts

* Guarantees

* Product images

* Calls to action

* Headings and headlines

* Action buttons and text

* Forms

* Product or service price or a price range

* Endorsements

* Design

* Copy

* Colours

12. Thank You. As with everything in life it's the smallest actions that speak the loudest words. Once your visitor has completed their action, thank them for it. Create and deliver a custom ""thank you page"" by stating for example their action: ""Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter"" etc.

These are some of the most basic points to take into consideration when you are designing pages that convert. By taking these elements into consideration you can have a significant impact on your site's revenue.

About the author: Christine Stander is a professional search engine optimisation and online marketing strategist with experience in many facets of search marketing, user behaviour analysis and brand management. For more information please refer to: http://www.altersage.com