Think about all the work that goes into driving traffic to your website.  From Web 2.0 strategies to mobile interactions, a huge part of your efforts involve generating website traffic to drive your company’s products and services.  But if you send traffic to your home page, basically you are throwing leads away. 

A much more effective way to increase your return on your investment is to direct this traffic to a landing page.  Sending traffic to targeted landing pages can improve your marketing ROI tremendously, and we’re going to show you how.

The Key Concepts Knowledgebase team is skilled in all aspects of software development, from design to troubleshooting including the development of mobile and Web 2.0 solutions.  Offering a comprehensive range of services, we are here to lead the way in creating and optimizing your software programs and applications.  Once you have an impactful application, be sure to guide your customers to the action you would like them to take, from requesting further information to making a purchase.  Crafting an effective landing page is an important part of this goal, so let us dive into how to make yours a success.

The Basics of Landing Pages

Landing pages are web pages used to capture information about your visitors through a lead form.  The best way to use lead pages is to set up a unique page for each offer you create.  For example, traffic from an email promoting an upcoming webinar should have its own landing page.  Landing pages can be created to allow visitors to download your content offers, such as e-books and whitepapers, as well as to sign up for free trials of your services. 

Landing pages are useful because they let you target your audience, present them with a relevant offer, and convert more of your website visitors into leads.  Let’s say you offer a free trial of your services through a Web 2.0 channel. Instead of sending leads to your home page, without being clear about what to do next, you can direct them to a landing page with specific steps to act on your offer.  Landing pages make it as easy as possible for your website visitors to complete your form and become leads.

Building a Landing Page, Step by Step

1.  The Headline:  Create a headline that is short and clear, so it will be effective in spite of short online attention spans.  Readers should be able to understand your offer in less than five seconds! 

A good headline tells the reader what the offer is, along with any additional information you can fit in.  For example, “Free whitepaper:  How to Manage Multiple Software Applications” tells readers exactly what they’ll get and that it’s free.  Keep headline text consistent with the offer text (in your email promoting the offer, for example) to avoid confusion once the visitor arrives at your landing page.

2.  Page Content:  Use the body of your landing page to provide more information about your offer and why visitors should sign up for or download it.  For quick and easy understanding, clearly state the benefits of receiving your offer in a three or four bulleted or numbered list.  An image can also provide further understanding and interest in your offer.

3.  Meta Description:  Use the meta description (the text snippet that describes your web page) to help both people and search engines understand your offer.  Include targeted keywords to further emphasize what your offer is all about.

4.  Share Buttons:  Spread your offer to more people by including share buttons on your landing page.  If your visitors decide to download your offer, why not encourage them to share it with their connections on LinkedIn, for example?

5.  Hidden Navigation:  Now that you’ve gotten people to your landing page, you’ll want to keep them there long enough to fill out your form.  To keep visitors from being distracted and navigating away from your landing page, remove all navigation and links to the rest of your site.  When visitors reach your landing page, make sure the only action available is to fill out your form and receive your offer.

6.  The Form:  The form is the main focus on your landing page and should be formatted in a way that increases conversion rates.  Make sure viewers don’t have to scroll down to see the form so they will have immediate visibility of it. 

Deciding how long your form should be involves a trade-off.  More people are willing to fill out a shorter form, while a longer one, requesting more information, will provide you with higher quality leads.  You’ll have to find a balance between the two.

To determine what information to ask for, stick with the goal of collecting enough information to contact and qualify the lead.  To qualify the lead, include questions that help you determine how strong the lead is.  For example, ask a question to gauge their interest in your product, such as, “What is your biggest concern with IT security?” if you offer cybersecurity services.

Speaking of security, be sure to link to your privacy policy when you ask for a visitor’s email address, to make them feel better about providing it.

Finally, be sure the button visitors click to receive your offer has a strong call-to-action.  Use words like “Download Your E-book Now” or “Reserve Your Seat at the Webinar.”  

7.  Thank-You Page:  Once they have acted on your offer, sending visitors to a thank-you page is a great way to show appreciation and to suggest next steps.  Bring back your website’s navigation and encourage them to check out other parts of your website.  Calls-to-action such as “Connect with us on LinkedIn” or “Read our latest blog post” can help direct visitors to more information.  You can also email them to thank them and suggest further steps.

8.  Review:  Now that your landing page is set up, it’s important to review it while asking yourself, “Would I fill out this form?”  Be critical and make any necessary changes.  Don’t forget to fill it out to test that it works!

9.  A/B Testing:  After your page is live and running, you can do A/B testing to increase your conversion rates.  Test two different versions (A and B) of your landing page, and measure which performs better.  Optimize your landing page by making any necessary adjustments. Now that you know the basics of creating effective landing pages, you should start noticing the ones you come across yourself.  Pay attention to what is working and what is not and incorporate your findings into your own landing pages.  Work with us to build a robust mobile or Web 2.0 application that will drive results for your business. And be sure to couple that app with an effective landing page for a powerful solution.  Reach out today, and let’s get started