Building a website that successfully draws attention often comes down to the content of the landing page. While the content of every page in the website is important, the landing page is the virtual first impression that will be given to visitors before they decide if they want to take the time to explore more. Evaluating the success of other websites can help an individual gather information about techniques that work and things that should avoiding during the process of building the perfect landing page.
Successful Techniques For Building a Landing Page
The Ultimate First Impression: Headlines
While a landing page represents the first impression that website visitors get when they visit a website, headlines are the absolute first thing that the eye is drawn to on a landing page. Headlines need to concisely convey a message about the website without being dry or confusing to visitors. Choosing the most important point related to the content of the landing page is the first step in writing a headline that grabs attention.
Bringing Value To Website Visitors: Content
Content needs to be optimized using techniques including search engine optimization (SEO). Pay-per-click advertisements like Google AdWords can also help guide the writing of landing page content in order to ensure that visitors are drawn in. Breaking up landing page content with a few sub-headlines is recommended to make content easier to read.
Taking Content To the Next Step: Relevance
Utilizing keywords and sub-headlines does not mean that a landing page will automatically draw in visitors. The content needs to be targeted to the subject of the website in order to provide value to visitors. Rehashing subjects that have been addressed time and time again turns potential customers off because they know that they have read about the information in the past. Providing statistics or other cited information about new developments related to the subject of the website is a great way to keep content relevant and fresh.
Gaining the Trust of Visitors: Security
The trust of visitors needs to be earned by providing them with proof that the website is secure. This is especially true if visitors are being asked to provide sensitive personal information. Security certifications such as SSL Certificates and seals can give visitors the peace of mind that they need.
Appealing To Visual Personalities: Images
Visual examples that relate to the copy on a landing page is a must. Videos and images can be used to tie together concepts that are outlined in the content. As with written content, relevance is key when it comes to visual materials. Online merchants will want to include images of products. Service providers may want to include a video testimonial from past customers.
Guiding Visitors To Other Pages: Navigation
Simple navigation that is easy to find often determines whether a person decides to explore a website after visiting the landing page. Linking to every single page in the website is not always necessary. Including links to main pages and linking to sub-pages on those pages keeps the landing page simple.
Maintaining a High Conversion Rate: Call To Action
Convincing visitors that they should contact a company for more information or make a purchase is a matter of using a strong call to action that is not overly pushy. Make the call to action stand out by using red, yellow or orange buttons in front of the sentence or paragraph.
Things To Avoid While Building a Landing Page
Scaring Visitors Off: Links
Links can be used on a landing page, but it is important to remember that the primary purpose of the landing page is to serve as a starting point for visitors. Bombarding visitors with links on the landing page can be overwhelming. Simple navigation is recommended to encourage visitors to explore the website to learn more. Links should generally be reserved for other pages.
Losing an Audience: Grammatical Errors
The easiest way to lose an audience is by failing to proofread content before it goes live. Simple grammatical errors quickly convince an audience that an individual or company is not knowledgeable about the subject of a website. Trust from customers is often tied to the accuracy of website content. Grammatical errors have the power to change a customer’s mind when it comes to ordering from an online retailer.
Building the perfect landing page is key to enjoying high levels of traffic and enticing repeat visits from potential customers. Clear, concise and relevant content and headlines paired with images and videos combine to form the perfect landing page. Grammatical errors and an overwhelming number of links can deter visitors from exploring more.
