9 Considerations for the Best Landing Page Design

The main goal of any website should be to turn visitors into leads. The effectiveness of this process often comes down to the quality of a company’s landing page.

Unfortunately, there’s a common misunderstanding when it comes to the terminology and what comprises a landing page. Companies will often call any page on their site a landing page, but regular site pages don’t function as true landing pages, nor do they follow the critical format needed for lead conversion.

What is a Landing Page?

While your company’s site pages may serve many purposes, your landing page should be more focused. You can save information about your company’s history and the full range of products you offer for other website pages.

A landing page, first and foremost, is an advertisement for a specific offer available on your site. The goal is to get visitors to submit their contact information in exchange for a downloadable piece of content, a free trial, a demo, or to schedule a meeting. It should present essential information in the most compelling way possible.

Landing pages are typically reached from a search engine results page, an ad, an email, a social media post, or a standard site page. When a visitor arrives to your landing page, the messaging they see should match that ad, email, or social post that invited them to click in the first place. Confusing your visitors is the surest way to drive them away, so the first crucial step is to make sure your messaging is consistent.

Everything You Need for an Optimized Landing Page

Getting the focus right is just the beginning of making your landing page everything it can be. As simple as it looks, a great landing page design requires attention to many details.

1. Copy

We’re not looking at a massive amount of text, so the copy that is there should fire on all cylinders. Everything you write should address your audience, be compelling, and direct visitors toward your primary purpose. This means focusing on the following:

• The header should convey what the offer is about as clearly, but concisely as possible, and draw the user into the content.
• Use bullets when possible for the supporting copy. It’s a more efficient use of space and will and make the information easier to digest.
• Include keywords in the header, body text, and alt tags for maximum landing page SEO value.
• Avoid using all caps. It’s hard to read and is almost as off-putting on a landing page as it is in a Facebook rant.
• End your body copy with action words in bold, such as “Fill out the form now to download your offer.”

2. Form

The form you ask the visitor to fill out is the destination point of your entire page. Like your text, it should be concise and straightforward. A few pointers:

• Place the form above the fold on your page, with no scrolling required.
• Use form field headers and placeholder text to guide users. You need to make it clear what information you need from your visitors and how it needs to be formatted. For example, if you’re asking for an email address, the field header would be “Email” and the placeholder text would be “email@yourcompany.com.” This will create an optimal user experience for your visitor.
• Only ask for necessary information. Fewer fields should be required for top-of-the-funnel offers, such as eBooks, than for bottom-of-the-funnel offers, such as consultations. The length of the form should reflect the value of the offer. The more valuable the offer, the more information you can ask for.
• For efficiency, stack two fields per row when possible.
• Consider using smart fields. HubSpot has a feature that will eliminate any fields a specific visitor has previously filled out. Then, as someone has more interaction with your site, it will replace them with new fields to allow you to gather more information.
• Make sure error messages stand out clearly. People grow frustrated with a form quickly if it’s not immediately clear why their entry is not acceptable.
• Add reassuring messages to make the visitor more comfortable filling out the form. For example, next to the field for a phone number, you can explain, “We will only call you if we have a question about…” Alternatively, next to the email field, “We will not share your email address.” Of course, anything you say here must be true.

3. Images

We live in a visual culture, and a page without an image will give many visitors the feeling that something is missing. An image can illustrate the content you’re offering to users, such as an eBook, case study, or webinar graphic. However, even if you’re not offering content, find a relevant image to make the page more interesting.

4. Video

If you’re not sure if you should include an explainer video on your landing page, consider this. According to HubSpot, a video on the page can increase the likelihood of conversion by 80%. A video can demonstrate your product directly or focus on the overall solution your product offers. Videos don’t have to be expensive to be effective, but they should be created with care and professionalism.

Some Tips:

• Pay attention to the script. The words the viewer is hearing can be more important than the images. Get an excellent writer to construct a smooth, clear, direct, logically structured message. It should be concise, so the narrator or onscreen text won’t seem rushed.
• Keep it tight. The ideal landing page video clocks in around 60 to 90 seconds. Resist the temptation to list every feature of your product. Hit the main points.
• Make sure it sounds good. Audio quality matters. The voiceover should be authoritative and free of awkwardness, and the recording should be free of noise and volume variations. Appropriate music helps, too.

5. Simplicity

Eliminating distractions is a necessity for your landing page. Create a much simpler version of your footer, devoid of links, and social icons. To keep the visitor focused, your main navigation menu should be absent. Just use a logo to link back to your company’s home page for visitors who want to explore your company further.

6. Trust Indicators

When you’re trying to sell the visitor on your product, it helps to show that this isn’t your first rodeo. A couple of well-placed testimonials, as well as logos from satisfied clients, can build trust and comfort.

7. Social Media

Include Share and Like buttons on the page. Visitors who are willing to share your page with their colleagues should be able to do so. Every ‘like’ on social media is a micro-conversion!

8. Responsive Layout

If your landing page looks great on a desktop or laptop but forces a smartphone user to scroll extensively to get to your form, you aren’t getting the maximum impact from your page. Every year, the frequency of people who use a smartphone to look at web pages increases, and this includes B2B, so make sure your page is optimized for all screen sizes and devices. HubSpot has a smart content feature that allows you to decrease the amount of content shown to mobile users.

9. Testing

Once it’s live, you don’t have to guess the effectiveness of your landing page. A wealth of available analytics can help you pinpoint what’s working and what is not. Some of the most useful:

• A/B testing allows you to try alternate versions of your page’s header, text, images, or contact form to see which ones resonate most with your visitors.
• Setting up form tracking in HotJar or Formisimo can provide helpful insights about your landing page. With this tool, you’ll be able to see data such as average time spent per field, last field entered before abandonment, and completion rate by segment. The insights gained from this tool will give you an idea of the necessary changes that need to be made to your form and landing page to encourage more conversions.
• Heat maps allow you to see, in vibrant color, which parts of your page are hot and which are not. Click heat maps will enable you to see where on the page your visitors are clicking. Scroll heat maps show the percentage of your visitors who scroll to specific depths on your page.
• Bounce rates tell you how many users visit just one page on your site during their entire session. Exit rates show the final page a visitor views before they leave your site. Set up your landing page so that it redirects to a thank you page when a user submits the form, so it doesn’t affect the bounce rate. Redirecting to thank you pages can also aid in continued engagement on your site and help move users closer to a sale

Once you’ve reviewed the analytics, you can refine your page to maximize its effectiveness. If you’re still not getting the results you want, but you haven’t identified any apparent problems with your page, try testing the ads or CTAs you’re using to bring people there. Remember, it’s vital that they accurately represent what your visitors are going to see when they land on your page.

If you need assistance to implement these landing page best practices, reach out to Spot On and schedule a time to chat about how we might be able to support your company.