How to Lift Landing Page Conversion Rates
Content offers are your website’s lead generation workhorses. We're talking about white papers, handouts, case studies, infographics, buying guides and other tools that illuminate the buying journey. However, all of these great tools can only effectively generate leads if they are delivered through great landing pages.
What exactly is a landing page? I’m glad you asked. A landing page IS NOT just any page on your website. A landing page IS a page that contains a conversion form. So, before getting your great offer, the prospect must give you a small amount of information. This is essential because if you give away your offer (such as a downloadable report) without requiring form completion, you didn’t actually generate a lead. You have no way of knowing WHO downloaded the report and HOW to follow up in the future.
Now that you know what a landing page is and why it’s important, let’s talk about a seven things that kill landing page conversions …
1. Too many fields in your form. As a rule of thumb, more required fields lead to less response. So carefully weigh how much information you really need. For example, is the phone number essential? Think about that, because requiring the phone number usually results in a five percent reduction in conversion rate.
2. Too much information on the page. This is not the place to rehash all your company’s unique features and benefits. Your landing page has one purpose and one purpose only – to persuade the visitor to complete the form. So, the headline and body copy should only talk about your offer. Why do prospects urgently need this? What will they get when they complete the form? How will they benefit from this information? Keep it short and sweet with crisp bullet points and a clear call to action.
3. Call to action below the fold. Don’t make your visitors hunt or scroll for direction. Ideally the entire form and the call to action in the copy (Complete the form to the right to receive …) should be viewable above the fold – no scrolling required.
4. Unclear direction. Related to point #3, make sure you have a call to action. Believe it or not, some people won’t realize that they need to complete the form to receive the download. You need to tell them.
5. Poor persuasion tactics. Write a landing page like you would write a magazine ad. A good headline is essential. An image is also helpful. If possible, show a thumbnail image of the offer you are promoting.
6. Enabling professional Attention Deficit Disorder. Visitors are fickle and are easily distracted from the task at hand. That’s why you never want to sell more than one offer on the same page. It’s also a good idea to remove your website’s navigation menu from the page so there’s only place to go … to the form for conversion. In fact several companies have A/B tested landing pages with and without navigation and the results are universally better when navigation is removed.
7. A boring button. Go beyond the standard “submit” language on the button. Some popular button titles include “Go” and “Click here to download.” Test “my” instead of “you” – for example – “Get my free report.” Some marketers have reported a lift in conversion with that simple adjustment. Also, try different colors and shapes for your buttons.
Don’t let these seven landing page mistakes undermind your lead generation results. Showcase your offers with smart, exciting landing pages and watch your conversions soar!