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.
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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CMS platforms like WordPress allow businesses to easily create, manage, and optimize landing pages, with plugins and integrations available for enhanced functionality and performance.
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?
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
To summarize the above, here are a few quick steps you can take to improve conversion rates; businesses can implement the following strategies:
Streamline the layout by removing unnecessary elements, prioritizing key information, and using whitespace to create visual breathing room.
Craft a clear and compelling headline that communicates the main benefit or solution offered. Use copy to reinforce the value proposition, too.
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!
Optimize images and video content to reduce file sizes, minimize code and scripts, and use a reliable hosting service to ensure fast loading times.
Display trust signals prominently on the landing page, such as customer testimonials, security badges, and money-back guarantees, to reassure visitors and build credibility.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.