Your website is only as good as the leads it generates for you. So if your site is only generating spam form submissions or just one or two quality leads per quarter, it's time to address that issue.
Lucky for you, creating an effective landing page is fairly straightforward.
Wait, back up. What is a landing page you ask? In the digital marketing world, it is defined as:
land・ing page
noun
a standalone web page distinct from your main website that has been designed for a single focused objective.
Below are some key points to consider and/or address when creating your landing pages. These tips can help you increase the quality of leads generated by your website while also enhancing the user's experience.
Always Include Your Contact Info
If visitors have to search over several pages on the website to contact a business, they will most likely get frustrated and leave. Including contact information is a crucial way to build trust with potential customers—and not having easy-to-find contact info is a great way to lose trust with potential and current customers. When visitors see that they can easily get in touch with you if they have questions or concerns, they're more likely to feel comfortable submitting their information or making a purchase.
When including contact information on your landing pages, consider including the following:
- Phone number (make sure it's clickable for mobile users)
- Email address
- Mailing address
- Social media links
Post Forms on Every Page
Okay, I know what you're thinking. I sound like a hypocrite since there is no form on the page you're reading. But this is a blog post, not a page that is offering a product or service.
By allowing visitors to submit their information and express interest in what you have to offer, you can capture leads and generate conversions. But it's not enough to simply include a form on your landing page – you need to make sure it's in the right place and designed in the right way.
Post a form on every page of your website that offers a product or service. This means that no matter where a visitor lands on your site, they can submit their information and express interest in what you offer. Placing forms in multiple locations increases the likelihood of capturing leads and generating conversions.
Tip: Don't Ask For Too Much
Keep your forms simple and straightforward to increase the chances of potential customers providing their information. Avoid asking too many questions and use concise labels for each field. Utilize design elements like progress bars or tooltips to guide users through the form and make it visually appealing. Group related fields together for a more streamlined experience, resulting in a higher chance of lead capture.Don't Use Cookie Cutter Templates
Your customers know a generic template website when they see one. In the real world, there are no "one-size-fits-all” website templates.
When investing upfront in your website, have a clear strategy and goal for each page or page type. A well-thought-out page design and focus will improve the user experience and bring in more qualified leads for you.
Keep the end goal in Sight
Generating leads is great, except when they are not the "right" leads. Or maybe they are the right kind of customer, but you are not offering them the right product at the right time.
Ensure that your landing pages have a clear path for users to take, leading them exactly where you want them to go. But don't stop there - consider what comes next after they complete the desired action. Can you guide them further down the sales funnel? Well-defined start and end points can make all the difference in turning leads into loyal customers.Whitespace Can Be Your Friend
White space, also known as negative space, empty space, or blank space, refers to the areas of a page that are left intentionally blank. While it may seem counterintuitive, white space can be a powerful tool for creating effective landing pages.When designing a landing page, it can be tempting to fill every inch of space with images, text, and other elements. However, this can actually have the opposite effect of what you want to achieve. By cluttering the page, you risk overwhelming and distracting the user, making it harder for them to take the desired action.
Instead, embrace the power of white space. By leaving areas of the page intentionally blank, you can draw attention to the most important elements and create a sense of visual hierarchy. This can help guide the user's attention and clarify what action they should take next.
Test, Test, and test some More
When you are all finished (or think you are finished) building the perfect landing page, that's when you test, test, and then test some more. Remember, just because you think the layout, message, or images are crystal clear doesn't mean your users will think the same.
Try creating 2 or 3 different landing pages with variations of the same action or message and rotate those at different times. The results may shock you.
Testing landing pages is a great way to know exactly what works for your users and customers and how best to get those website leads to become returning customers.
Written by Emery Pearson
Emery is the content strategist at Tribute Media. She has an MA in rhetoric and composition from Boise State University, and she is currently an MFA candidate in creative writing at Antioch University. She lives in southern California with a bunch of creatures and many plants.
