Creating a landing page is like creating a profile on Tinder. 

You have a few sentences, a couple of pictures, and approximately eight seconds to convince someone that you’re the one for them. Not only that, but you’re also competing against countless others.  

So, how do you get it right? How do you make your landing page (or Tinder profile) convert people into sales, and bring in a tonne of cash?  

Let’s find out. 

What is a landing page? 

A landing page is a web page that’s been created for one purpose: To convert people. Unlike a homepage, which has multiple conversion goals and encourages general exploration, a landing page should only have one conversion goal and one clear call to action (CTA). 

Everything on that page should be focused around that one, single CTA. There should be no other distractions and no other opportunities to explore anything else.

They are the perfect conversion tool – if you get them right. Which can be tricky.

The average conversion rate for landing pages is only 2.35 percent. So for every 50 people that land on your landing page, only one will convert. But, the best landing pages convert at a rate of 11.45 percent. 

So, here are four tips to help you create above average landing pages.

Landing page tip 1: Get your ducks in a row

First…

Choose your landing page goal 

What do you want your visitors to do when they reach your landing page? Buy something? Submit their details? Share the page on social media?  

Remember, a landing page should have only one goal. 

If you want your visitors to read a bunch of articles, subscribe to your newsletter and start a free trial – send them to your homepage. 

Next…

Research your target audience 

Establish how old they are, where they live and what they do. Find out what they’re looking for, uncover their biggest problems and discover how they act as customers. 

Comb through Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. Read customer reviews and blog comments. Use social listening tools and ask your target market for their opinions about you and your competitors.

Finally…

Get your offer sorted

Your offer should feel like an unexpected bonus for your visitor. It should reflect their needs and be aligned with where they are in their buyer journey.

For instance, people who arrive on your landing page from an email already know and trust you. An offer that asks for some sort of commitment – like a free trial or a subscription – would work well. Whereas those arriving from a PPC ad are less likely to know or trust you. A demo video or an ebook would go down better with these visitors.

Landing page tip 2: Design diligently 

Your landing page design is subjective and dependent on your brand image. But, there is one common principle that every landing page design should adhere to.

Less is always more

Keep the layout simple, include lots of white space, and don’t distract the visitor with redundant visuals and unnecessary links. 

The key is to keep them focused on your CTA. Do this by limiting exit points, avoiding clickable graphics, and not including a navigation bar. 

Landing page tip #3: Craft converting copy

What you write and how you write it can often be the difference between a bounce or a conversion. 

But you don’t need to be a world-class copywriter to get this right. 

Just follow these five golden guidelines:

1. Use customer testimonials

88 percent of customers trust the opinion of another customer more than anything else.  

Your existing customers can provide the reassurance and proof that you’re as good as you say you are. So, include testimonials and let your happy customers write your copy for you! 

2. Sell the benefits, not the features 

When your visitor lands on your landing page you have eight seconds to make an impression.   

Eight seconds. That’s the time it would take you to tie a shoelace or open a bottle of wine (with a corkscrew). 

People are too busy to spend time reading stuff they don’t find relevant or interesting. To prevent your visitor from leaving, tell them what you can do for them in a way that instantly appeals to them. 

When the Apple iPod touch first came out, it featured 1GB of storage. Instead of listing this as a feature in their copy, Apple highlighted the benefit of the 1GB storage with the tagline ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’. 

3. Focus on the headline

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of your copy. Getting your headline right is therefore essential. 

A tried and tested headline formula that works well is: [Problem]? Get my [free item] and see [results].

This type of headline invokes feelings of: ‘You read my mind’ or ‘I was just thinking that’.

People usually only see the first and last three words of a headline. So start with strong, hard-hitting words and finish with powerful, lasting ones. 

Top tip: Use human psychology and play around with alternatives to get the right headline. Sales headline tools like CoSchedule’s headline analyzer are fantastic at judging how effective your headlines are.

4. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)  

Lack of clarity is the biggest conversion killer. 

Use basic words and write in short, simple sentences that are easy to read and even easier to understand. 

Cut out redundant words (like ‘actually’ and ‘just’), avoid unnecessarily complicated words, and delete all words that give more detail than is needed. 

Top tip: If you think a 10-year-old would struggle to understand what you’ve written – rewrite it.

5. Be specific and use numbers 

Specificity and numbers add credibility. For instance, which option sounds more believable:

1. Your conversion rates will skyrocket if you read this post. 
2. In the last 30 days, customer conversions have increased by 50 percent, after reading this post. 

Option 2 sounds more credible, doesn’t it? It’s specific and we have proof, in the form of a statistic, that it’s true.  

Remember: Anyone can claim to be the best, but not everyone can prove it.

Landing page tip #4: Create more, and more, and more…

On average, organisations that create 10-15 landing pages increase conversions by 55 percent and those with over 40 landing pages increase conversions by over 500 percent!

Why is that? 

Because the more landing pages you build, the more:  

1. Conversion opportunities you’ll get, which will naturally lead to a higher rate of conversion; it’s the law of averages.
   
2. Social posts you can create, which will lead to increased brand awareness and sales.
   
3. Tailored content you can write, which will create interest and boost conversions.
   
4. You’ll be indexed by search engines, which will drive traffic and generate conversions.

Landing pages are one of the most effective ways to increase sales, boost brand awareness, and enhance your SEO rankings. 

Create lots of them and keep them focused, targeted, and appealing. Include social proof, pay attention to your headlines, and sell the benefits, not the features. 

The same applies to your Tinder profile too (maybe stick to only one profile though).

 

Amanda Greenwood is a content writer at Process Street.

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash.