Last updated on August 13th, 2024 at 02:05 pm
Having a landing page that effectively converts visitors into customers is critical to the success of your digital marketing efforts.
No matter where your website traffic is coming from — whether it’s from paid ads, social media links, influencer tags, newsletters, or Google search ads — it’s important to drive traffic to a landing page that is optimized to address the needs of the visitor and encourage them to take action.
Suppose you spend $20,000 on ads with a $1 CPC and a 1% conversion rate on your current landing page, resulting in 200 conversions.
However, if you double the conversion rate on your landing page to 2%, you’ll get 400 conversions for the same ad spend. That means your CPA would effectively halve, making your $20,000 ad budget go twice as far.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to increase your conversion rate to get more… for less!
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a standalone web page with a singular goal of driving conversions. It eliminates distractions and focuses solely on the information necessary to drive purchasing decisions.
And if it drives the maximum number of people to take the desired action (high conversion) you can reduce CAC (cost of acquisition) and boost revenue.
So how do you increase your landing page conversion?
That’s what we’ll help you within this guide — 6 tips to increase landing page conversion rates.
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1. Write a Well-Crafted Headline
A well-crafted headline can make the difference between a visitor staying on your page and quickly bouncing away.
Your headline should clearly state the value that your product or service will deliver. This value should address a specific problem that your audience is facing.
For example, if you have a time management tool, your headline could be “Take Control of Your Time and Boost Productivity.” This clearly states the value (taking control of time and boosting productivity) and the problem it solves (poor time management).
You can put yourself in the shoes of your target market and ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” This question should be answered in your headline to ensure that it is compelling and clearly states the value that your product or service will deliver.
Here are some examples to show you the difference between effective and vague headlines:
A pre-header or sub-title can further describe your target audience. This helps to ensure that the right people are seeing your message and can quickly determine if your product or service is right for them.
Here’s another example using the pre-header section to call out the target audience:
It’s important to avoid using buzzwords or vague language in your headline. Words like “revolutionize,” “supercharge,” or “optimize” don’t actually tell the reader anything meaningful about what your product or service does.
It’s just fluff.
Instead, try to use specific language that clearly communicates the benefit. Instead of saying, “streamline processes,” you could say, “Complete Tasks 30% Faster and Increase Productivity by 20%.” This language is more specific and highlights the tangible benefits of streamlining processes.
Here’s a great headline, for instance, from Omsom…
And here’s one more example from Caraway…
Check out the video below to learn how Russell changed only a headline to take a landing page from $24.85 per webinar registrant to $5.84 per registrant.
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2. Bring in Social Proof From Real People
Think about the last time you had to pick a new restaurant for dinner. Before you chose, maybe you asked your foodie friends or coworkers for recommendations. That’s social proof in action.
Social proof, as the mastermind Robert Cialdini first introduced in his book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” (1984), is when we let the actions of others guide our behavior during those oh-so-uncertain moments. As Cialdini puts it,
- “The more people who find an idea correct, the more likely it is to be correct… We rely on the behavior of others, especially those we see as similar to ourselves, to determine appropriate behavior for ourselves.”
When it comes to using social proof on landing pages, some of the most effective forms include:
Testimonials
User Ratings
Product Review From Experts
Real Life Case Studies
Media Coverage & Publicity
Not sure where to start? Here are some tips to follow when adding testimonials:
- Don’t just give your product a love letter with generic comments from customers. Make sure your testimonials address real objections or show real benefits or a transformation in someone’s life. Here’s an example of a testimonial on the Build Your Second Brain landing page that shows the benefit a past customer received:
- Ditch the generic testimonials with just a name attached to them. Make them more real by adding photos, full names, professions, and concrete examples of the impact you’ve had on their lives.
- Place your testimonials near the CTA. Testimonials that paint a picture of a brighter future post-purchase are most effective when placed near a call to action. Checkout this example, again from Building the Second Brain course landing page of a testimonial near the CTA:
- Include a lot of testimonials, not just a few. When it comes to longer sales pages, a gang of testimonials is the way to go. Here’s a long ‘wall of love’ on PYTA course landing page:
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3. Optimize Your Landing Page for Mobile
Have you browsed an online store before and quickly decided not to make a purchase because of the site’s poor optimization?
I have.
I’m betting you have, too.
I was looking for some photography services on my phone while waiting for my cab and came across this landing page which had irrelevant images covering a lot of space, a lengthy copy, and no call-to-action in sight.
My usual response in such cases is, “Yeah, I’ll just do it on the desktop when I get home”.
And then, I forget or get distracted by multiple other websites that I open on the desktop, ultimately losing interest in the initial product. If the mobile site had been better designed, I would have completed the transaction without delay.
The below landing page, on the other hand, would have converted me then and there. The CTA is above the fold, the copy is short, and it’s easy to scroll through on mobile.
Here’s how it looked on desktop:
And here’s the mobile version:
But hang on, mobile optimization isn’t just about reducing font sizes or squeezing text into tight spaces. It’s about creating a landing page that’s easy to use on mobile devices and still looks good while also keeping all the essential features and functions.
Here are 3 things to keep in mind when optimizing the landing page for mobile:
- Cut The Fat: Mobile screens offer limited real estate, so you’ll have to cut down on unnecessary words and sentences. Use concise headlines, and bullet points instead of long benefit statements or icons in place of sentences. For example…
- Use Single-Column Layout: Mobile users typically browse with one hand, so a single-column layout can make navigation easy and intuitive. This layout will also ensure that your visitors don’t have to do any awkward scrolling or zooming to find what they’re looking for.
- Sticky Bar CTAs: A sticky bar is a small, unobtrusive bar that appears at the top or bottom of a mobile screen and stays in place as the visitor scrolls. This bar can be used to keep your main call-to-action visible at all times, increasing the chances that visitors will take action. Notice the sticky bar here even when I had scrolled through the page:
- Optimize Media: Images and videos can be a great way to engage visitors on your landing page, but they can also slow down load times on mobile devices. To avoid this, you should optimize your media by compressing images, using the correct format, and avoiding autoplay videos.
4. Create a Sense of Scarcity and Urgency
Back in the early days of humanity, resources were limited. And those who were able to secure them had a better chance of survival. As a result, humans developed a bias toward valuing things that were rare or hard to obtain.
Fast forward to today, and that same bias still holds true.
People are naturally drawn to things that are perceived as scarce or in limited supply — it’s like a primal urge not to miss out on an opportunity (also known as FOMO). And as a marketer, you can use this psychological quirk to improve landing page conversions.
You can choose from the two main types of scarcity that will get people’s attention.
Scarcity of Quantity
This means that your product or service is in short supply. When folks think they might miss out on something, they want it even more, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
Here are some examples of how to use scarcity of quantity on a landing page for different types of products and industries:
- Selling Courses: Offer only 10 spots left in our upcoming writing workshop to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity.
- SaaS Product: Limit the number of signups for our free trial to 50 spots, which encourages visitors to sign up quickly before they’re all taken.
- Offering Services: Offer only 5 spots available for our virtual coaching sessions, which creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency for visitors to book their spots.
- Hosting Events: Offer only 100 tickets available for our annual conference, which encourages visitors to purchase their tickets quickly before they sell out.
- Restaurant Reservations: Limit the number of reservations available for a special event, such as “Only 20 tables available for our Valentine’s Day dinner!” This creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency for visitors to make a reservation before they’re all booked.
Scarcity of Time
This means that your offer is only available for a limited time, and people need to act fast if they want to get in on the action. There’s nothing like a ticking clock to inspire a sense of urgency, and that can really drive sales through the roof.
Here are 2 of the most common ways to use scarcity of time on a landing page:
- Limited Time Availability: Offer a product or service that is only available for a limited time, such as a seasonal product or a limited edition item. For example, “Get our summer collection before it’s gone for the season!”
- Countdown Timer: Use a countdown timer on your landing page to show how much time is left to take advantage of a special offer or discount. For example, “Only 3 hours left to get this deal!” Here’s an example of a countdown timer on Amy Porterfield’s landing page:
- Give Them a Reason: Tell them why they should buy, join a course, or book a call today itself. Here’s an example from Evercoach landing page that gives them not one but three reasons to join their course without delays:
If you don’t have a genuine scarcity element to promote, you can still create a sense of urgency by using timing words in your call-to-action (CTA) copy.
For instance, you can use timing words like “today,” “now,” or “limited time” to encourage visitors to take action immediately. Rather than using generic CTAs like “Learn More” or “Sign Up,” you could use “Learn More Today” or “Sign Up Now” to make your visitors feel a sense of urgency. This subtle technique can motivate your visitors to act faster and improve your conversion rates without using overt scarcity tactics.
5. Add Directional Cues
Directional cues in landing pages are visual elements or design features that guide visitors’ attention toward specific areas or actions on the page. These cues are used to direct users toward the most important content, such as calls-to-action or key messaging.
Common directional cues used in landing pages include:
- Arrows: Arrows are used to direct a user’s attention toward a specific area of a page or to indicate the next step in a process. Checkout this example of a landing page with arrows in above-the-fold copy leading people to the main sections of the page:
- And here’s an example of dashed arrows taking readers through the copy:
- Contrast: Using color, font size, or whitespace can help create a visual hierarchy and draw attention to important elements on the page.
- Human Gaze: This involves using models or characters on the landing page to look directly at an important element, such as a form or CTA button. Visitors are more likely to take notice of the element if someone on the screen is looking at it, as people tend to follow the gaze of others.
- In this landing page asking people to subscribe to the email list, the gaze of the person leads people to read the copy and reach the opt-in section.
- And another example of this is from a Saas product landing page…
- Images: Using images that are strategically positioned to point towards a specific focus area can help to draw a visitor’s attention to that area and make it more noticeable.
It’s important to use cues like arrows and images sparingly and strategically on a landing page. Too many arrows can be overwhelming and distract from the main message. Ensure that they are clearly visible and that they align with the overall branding and design of the page.
6. Address Objections
It’s pretty natural for humans to be skeptical, especially when it comes to products that claim to solve long-standing problems. So, even if your potential customers know everything about your product, they might still have some concerns before hitting that ‘Buy’ button on your landing page.
To avoid this, you have to put yourself in their shoes and think about what might hold you back from purchasing the product. You can also do some user testing, ask for customer feedback, and conduct surveys.
Once you’ve got that figured out, you can start addressing these objections in your copy instead of leaving your customers to do all the research.
Here are some tips…
- If customers think your product is too expensive, you can explain the pricing, and the value that it offers, compare it with the competition, or even offer a payment plan.
- If the main concern is why your product is different from others in the market, you can create a comparison table that highlights the unique features of your product.
- If you want to address all potential objections at once, you can create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section
Conclusion
Creating a high-converting landing page is essential for any business looking to drive more leads, sales, or sign-ups. While it may take some time and testing, the good news is that there are simple changes you can make to your landing page to improve its performance.
By following the tips we’ve discussed above, such as improving your targeting, adding social proof, and removing distractions, you can create a landing page that delivers results.
But remember, optimization is an ongoing process, and you should continuously track and measure your landing page’s performance and make changes accordingly.
By A/B testing and iterating, you can improve your conversion rate over time and make the most of your course offering.
So go ahead, implement these tips, and keep refining your landing page to achieve your business goals.
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