What makes a landing page effective? Before we answer that question, let’s first talk about what a landing page really is.
A landing page is a standalone web page. It’s made specifically for marketing. As compared to other pages on your website, a landing page has a single goal – get people to proceed with your CTA or call-to-action.
This CTA can be to get the visitor to buy a specific product. It can also be something as simple as getting them to subscribe to your newsletter.
What’s great about a landing page is that you can easily measure how successful it is. Now, what’s difficult is creating a landing page that actually gets the job done.
Here’s a look at the core elements of an effective landing page for your website.
1. A Powerful Headline And Sub-Headline
First impressions last.
In the case of landing pages, the first impression that you’ll be making is with your headline. To put it simply, the headline is a line of text that tells your visitor why they landed on the page in the first place. A good headline should have these qualities:
- Catchy
- Concise
- Contains power words like Easy, Risk-Free, Now, You, and many others
The headline should also be relevant to the link that directed your visitor to the landing page in the first place.
The sub-headline basically supports your headline. It gives your visitors a reason to stay on the landing page. It should add more detail about what the headline is.
2. Your USP
USP stands for Unique Selling-Point. This is basically the feature that makes your business or product stand out. Bear in mind that on the internet, you have thousands of other businesses to deal with. Letting your visitors know head-on what your USP is the key to standing out.
A USP doesn’t have to be complex. Break down your product, service, or brand into its most basic form.
The goal isn’t to impress readers. It’s to let them know why it’s worth clicking through your landing page.
Say you’re opening up a website for your restaurant online. A USP could be a unique and special item on your menu. It can also be your rating on specific restaurant-review websites.
3. Accompanying Media
A landing page shouldn’t be made up of words only.
You can either choose between videos or pictures to convey what the landing page is about. Ideally, it’s best to go for pictures as these load a lot faster than videos.
When going for pictures, make sure that they are of the best quality. It should be relevant to the product or service that you are offering. If the landing page is about selling a specific product, a good photo would be that product in action.
Say, for instance, you’re highlighting an energy drink marketed to athletes. A good photo would be an athlete from any sport, drinking that beverage.
4. Social Proof
Let’s be honest, scams are pretty prevalent online.
People want to trust businesses and brands. The best way to establish that trust is with social proof. This can be done in two different ways.
For one, you can put in testimonials or reviews from the people that have tried your product or service. Your visitors are more likely to become customers if they see that what you offer has already been used by others before.
Alternatively, you can put a face behind the brand. Show them the people working on the product or service. If you’re running a law firm website, for instance, let them know who the lawyers are. Don’t be afraid to show off their credentials too!
5. CTA Button
Of course, the most important part of a landing page is the CTA. This is the button that directs what you want your visitors to do.
It can be a button that directs to a product page, a consultation page, and more. Unlike on other pages of your website, the CTA on a landing page needs to be loud and noticeable.
Without going beyond your branding, make sure to use popular colors in marketing such as red, blue, and green to get the attention of your visitors.
When done properly, a landing page can result in better sales, click-through rates, subscriptions, and more for your business. It can be difficult creating an effective landing page but once you follow the formula above, you can have yours running in no time.