Landing pages are one of the most important lead-generating tools in your marketing belt. When visitors land on your landing pages, you need to give them a reason to hang around and, ideally, buy whatever it is you’re selling.
The thing is, creating a landing page that consistently converts requires a number of key elements.
From well-placed call-to-actions (CTAs) and great copy to an intuitive user experience and intelligent use of imagery and videos, every aspect must be carefully crafted to engage visitors and drive them toward action.
In this article, we’re going to help you understand the components that make up a great landing page and how to navigate and fix mistakes as and when they pop up.
Article Shortcuts:
- 5 Tools and Resources for Landing Page Best Practices
- Understanding Landing Page Mistakes
- Identifying Common Landing Page Mistakes
- 5 Landing Page Best Practices
- Landing Page Best Practices FAQ
The Importance of Landing Page Best Practices
Without landing pages, where would users land to read and act on your content?
Landing pages are crucial when it comes to turning readers into buyers. Whether you’re an SME or a large corporation, every business needs professionally optimized landing pages.
Unlike typical web pages, landing pages are specifically designed to guide visitors toward a single action, whether signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or making a purchase.
One of the most important goals a landing page needs to achieve (aside from getting the user to buy something) is to provide a clear and seamless user experience.
By removing distractions and providing visitors with a clear CTA, landing pages can increase the chance of users completing your desired action.
So aim for a single, well-defined conversion goal on your landing page. Let's take a look at an excellent real-world example of a strong landing page:
-
Airbnb’s Landing Page
Airbnb's landing page is a great example of simplicity and effectiveness.
Source: Airbnb
The page features high-quality images of unique accommodations, clear CTAs prompting users to book accommodations on Airbnb, and a straightforward form for selecting dates and destinations.
It’s simple, aesthetically pleasing, and doesn’t provide too many distractions to the customer.
5 Tools and Resources for Landing Page Best Practices
Optimizing landing pages for maximum conversion requires the right tools and resources. Here are some essential tools and resources to help you enhance your page performance and align your efforts with landing page best practices.
1. Landing Page Builders
Platforms like Unbounce, Carrd, and Leadpages provide intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-designed templates to help you create good-looking and high-converting landing pages.
2. A Professional Hosting Provider
Always look for a reliable and secure hosting provider to keep your website and landing pages ticking along nicely.
If you’re a digital agency juggling multiple client projects and focusing on on-page SEO, reseller hosting is an attractive and scalable option.
Provide custom hosting solutions to clients under your own branding whilst ensuring minimal downtime and fast loading for their users. This is ideal for maintaining high-performing landing pages across multiple clients.
3. A/B Testing Tools
Google Optimize, Optimizely, and VWO are tools that help brands conduct A/B tests to compare different versions of landing pages and determine which performs best in terms of conversion rates.
4. Heatmap and Analytics Tools
Source: lucky orange
Heatmap tools like Hotjar and Lucky Orange provide insights into user behavior on landing pages, highlighting areas of interest and potential friction points. Plus, tools like Google Analytics offer valuable data on visitor demographics, traffic sources, and conversion metrics.
5. Content Management Systems (CMS)
CMS platforms like WordPress allow businesses to easily create, manage, and optimize landing pages, with plugins and integrations available for enhanced functionality and performance.
Understanding Landing Page Mistakes
Landing page mistakes are common, and it’s normal to run into speed bumps when creating a landing page. This is mainly because there’s so much that goes into creating a properly optimized landing page.
A conversion rate above 5% is considered strong, while anything above 10% is stellar. So, you want to aim for this region.
Typically, landing page mistakes refer to problems that can hinder conversions and negatively impact the effectiveness of a landing page.
These mistakes can range from design flaws to messaging inconsistencies, ultimately leading to decreased conversion rates and missed business opportunities.
So, what are some common landing page mistakes?
-
Cluttered and confusing design
When landing pages are overcrowded with too much text, images, or distracting elements, visitors may feel overwhelmed and struggle to focus on the main message or call-to-action (CTA).
As a result, they are more likely to leave the page without taking the desired action.
Plus, all of this can cause the page and website to load slowly. A 2024 survey stated that the longer the wait time, the more a user is willing to leave the site unchecked. It significantly increases around the 5-second mark.
Source: Statista
-
Unclear value proposition
This is another major mistake that can lead to poor conversion rates.
If visitors don't understand the benefits or value of the offer presented on the landing page, they are unlikely to buy whatever it is that you’re selling.
Landing pages need to communicate the unique selling points (USPs) and benefits of the product or service to capture the interest and trust of visitors.
-
How can issues like these be fixed?
On a more positive note, small changes on landing pages can have a significant impact on conversion rates.
Businesses can improve their chances of success by addressing common pitfalls such as cluttered design, unclear value propositions, and poor use of CTAs.
The average landing page conversion rate falls around 2.35%. However, by implementing effective strategies and making improvements, it's possible to achieve much higher conversion rates.
The top 25% of sites are converting at 5.31% and above, while the top 10% are seeing conversion rates of 11.45% and above.
Remember, even seemingly minor tweaks can make a big difference in driving conversions.
Identifying Common Landing Page Mistakes
Below are a few typical landing page mistakes. Let’s look at how to spot them, what they do to your conversions, and how to ensure landing page best practices by fixing the mistake and avoiding it going forward.
-
Cluttered and Confusing Design
- Mistake: A cluttered and confusing design can disrupt and confuse visitors, making it difficult for them to focus on the main message or call-to-action (CTA).
- How it affects conversions: High bounce rates and low engagement due to visitors feeling overwhelmed and unable to navigate the page effectively.
- The fix: Simplify the layout by removing unnecessary elements, prioritizing key information, and using whitespace to create visual breathing room.
- How to avoid: Conduct usability testing to ensure the design is intuitive and user-friendly. Keep the layout clean and organized, guiding visitors' attention to the most important elements.
-
Unclear Value Proposition
- Mistake: Failing to communicate the unique benefits and value of the offer leaves visitors unsure of what they stand to gain from converting.
- How it affects conversions: Visitors are less likely to take action if they don't understand the relevance or value of the offer on your landing page.
- The fix: Craft a clear and compelling headline that succinctly communicates the main benefit or solution offered. Use supporting copy to reinforce your unique value proposition and address potential objections.
- How to avoid: Conduct market research to understand your target audience's needs and pain points. Create messaging that resonates with their specific motivations and desires.
-
Poor Use of CTAs
- Mistake: Weak or confusing CTAs aren’t exactly going to immediately compel visitors to take the desired action, leading to missed conversion opportunities.
- How it affects conversions: Low conversion rates and missed opportunities for engagement and lead generation - ultimately impacting revenue.
- The Fix: Create clear, concise, and compelling CTAs that communicate the desired action and its benefits. Make sure your CTA copy is tonally accurate, and add some contrasting colors to make the CTA stand out.
- How to avoid: Test different CTA variations to identify the most effective wording, placement, and design. Ensure that the CTA is prominently displayed and easily accessible on the page.
-
Slow Loading Speed
If a landing page is slow to load, it might be because of large image or video files that haven't been optimized for web use.
Additionally, it could be due to excessive JavaScript or CSS scripts that are weighing down the page's performance. Here’s the breakdown:
-
- Mistake: Slow loading speed frustrates visitors and leads to higher bounce rates as impatient users abandon the page before it fully loads.
- How it affects conversions: Decreased engagement, higher bounce rates, and reduced conversion rates as visitors lose patience and abandon the page.
- The fix: Optimize images and video content to reduce file sizes, minimize code and scripts, optimize browser caching, and use a reliable hosting service.
- How to avoid: Regularly monitor page speed performance and make adjustments as needed to maintain optimal loading times. Test the page on different devices and internet connections to ensure fast loading across all platforms.
-
Lack of Trust Signals
- Mistake: Failing to provide trust signals, such as customer testimonials, security badges, and money-back guarantees, undermines credibility and trustworthiness.
- How it affects conversions: Visitors are hesitant to convert if they lack confidence in the legitimacy and reliability of the offer or brand.
- The fix: Display trust signals prominently on the landing page to reassure visitors and alleviate concerns about credibility and security.
- How to avoid: Collect and showcase customer testimonials and reviews, prominently display security badges and certifications, and offer transparent policies and guarantees to build trust with visitors.
5 Landing Page Best Practices
To summarize the above, here are a few quick steps you can take to improve conversion rates; businesses can implement the following strategies:
1. Simplify design
Streamline the layout by removing unnecessary elements, prioritizing key information, and using whitespace to create visual breathing room.
2. Clearly communicate value
Craft a clear and compelling headline that communicates the main benefit or solution offered. Use copy to reinforce the value proposition, too.
3. Optimize CTAs
Keep your CTAs clear and compelling CTAs, and make sure they clearly communicate the desired action. Use appropriate copy and contrasting colors to make your CTAs stand out.
Here’s a good example of a landing page from Wag! with a clear and unique CTA (the QR code does the hard work here!):
Source: Wag!
4. Enhance loading speed
Optimize images and video content to reduce file sizes, minimize code and scripts, and use a reliable hosting service to ensure fast loading times.
5. Build trust
Display trust signals prominently on the landing page, such as customer testimonials, security badges, and money-back guarantees, to reassure visitors and build credibility.
Landing Page Best Practices FAQ
1. What makes a good landing page?
A good landing page considers customer navigation, logic, and a well-defined outcome.
It delivers a clear message using as few words as possible without losing context, eye-catching visuals, and includes trust signals and an obvious call-to-action.
2. How do I optimize my landing page?
The fundamentals of optimizing a landing page include communicating your value proposition straight away, and using persuasive and unique CTA copy to encourage action and fast-loading times.
It’s important to experiment with A/B testing to understand what works best with your specific target audience.
3. What is supposed to be on a landing page?
Make sure your landing page includes a creative and attention-grabbing headline to engage visitors and reduce bounce rates.
Communicate the benefits of your desired action for your target customer - what are they getting out of it?
It’s important to provide one clear CTA to avoid overwhelming your audience with lots of confusing choices - keep navigation and your desired action obvious to visitors, making it easy for them to convert.
Conclusion
Any business worth its salt should know that optimizing landing pages is crucial to maximizing conversion rates and turning visitors into buyers.
The key is learning to avoid common pitfalls like cluttered design, unclear messaging, and poorly optimized landing pages.
By prioritizing user experience and employing effective strategies, businesses can create landing pages that drive conversions and help their business grow.
Ultimately, investing in landing page best practices and optimization is a must, as it helps you effectively engage your audience, build credibility, and nail your marketing objectives.
Author Bio
Maxine is the Co-founder and Head of Content and Outreach at Hive19. Specializing in growth marketing for global brands across sectors, including fintech, SaaS, eCommerce, and disruptor startups.
