10 Tips for Creating Landing Pages That Convert Like Crazy

As Landing page optimisation becomes more popular among digital marketers, there are lots of new tools, methods and practices to help you get better results from your landing pages.

You've spent countless hours building your landing page, and you've even spent a few dollars putting together a quality graphics package. But your page has been getting less and less traffic for months now. 

You may have even tried testing some new offers or headlines, but your conversion rate remains below 1%. After a few months of trial and error, you're ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat. 

Then you stumble upon a secret tip from a friend or perhaps an article in an online marketing forum that recommends a different approach to landing pages. In either case, you decide to implement the new approach and see if it does the trick. 

It turns out it did. Your conversion rate went from 0% to 4% overnight. It looked like magic. But in reality, you stumbled onto a secret formula that any marketer can use to improve the conversion rates of their landing pages.

This article will show you tips for creating landing pages that convert like crazy and drive more qualified traffic to your site.

1 – Make sure the copy is clear and concise

Before you make your first landing page, you must first write a compelling headline. This is the first thing your landing page visitor will read and determine whether they want to read more. 

This headline should communicate the main benefit of your product or service. You should ask yourself: Am I selling my visitor something they want? If not, what are the main reasons they visit my site? Why is this visitor coming to my website? 

If you're unsure what your visitor wants, you could use a survey form and ask them what they want. Once you've got an idea of what your visitor wants, you can proceed to make your landing page. 

It's essential to understand what your landing page is supposed to do. Your landing page should not have too much information. It should only have a single purpose. You should only put in information that is relevant to that purpose. Also, your landing page must be as short as possible.

Create a sense of urgency

I created an email campaign for my new business that included a click-to-download link to a page on my site. The email itself was great; it included a clear subject line (“This is important.”) and a short paragraph of text describing the problem my customers had solved. 

But when I looked at the page that the email led to, I realised that I hadn't communicated the urgency of the offer as effectively as I could have. 

The page looked like an ordinary landing page: it featured a headline, some text, a list of bullets, and links to other pages and resources. It had no sense of urgency at all.

When creating a landing page, people often don't give much thought to creating a sense of urgency. This doesn't mean that urgency isn't an effective sales technique, but you can only use it if it's a natural fit for your brand. 

Some brands are meant to sell on the concept of scarcity. Products such as Amazon are built on the premise of their availability (it's never available in stores, and you have to order online) and the perceived cost of purchasing the item. 

Other brands, such as Apple, build their image on the concept of exclusivity. They have a limited supply, and you have to purchase directly from them.

Define the objective of the page

Landing pages don't always have to be lead generation pages. They can also serve as informational pages or even as marketing pages. A good rule of thumb is defining the page's objective you're building. What do you want your visitor to do once they've landed on your landing page?

Landing pages are often used to encourage people to sign up for a newsletter or download a report. They can also encourage them to sign up for free trials of services or keep a user on your site. 

To effectively use landing pages to drive conversions, they should be clear about their objective, and it should be something that the visitor understands.

Choose the Right Headline

The most important thing about making a landing page is understanding whom you target. It is vital to understand your product or service and how it will benefit the customers. You have to communicate the offer's benefits, the value proposition, and the value you offer to the target market. 

A call to action (CTA) is critical for any marketing campaign. It is a specific action you want the customer to take. 

It can be a button or link that takes them to another page, such as a sales page, or an action to buy a product, sign up for your newsletter, or share the page on social media. 

You want to use CTA's to keep your visitors on the page and focused on the conversion you want them to make. Another thing you need to think about is the language you use. 

You should use conversational words and phrases that your visitors easily understand. For example, “Free Consultation” is not a compelling headline. 

Instead, you should try using phrases like “How Does It Work?” or “Why Us?”. You should try to make your headline more exciting and enticing than the standard “Free Consultation.” 

Make sure your headline is clear, concise, and to the point. Make sure that it is something that would make your readers want to click on your link. Ensure that your landing page contains a clear CTA that says what you want your visitors to do when they land on your page. 

You need to get your visitors to understand that clicking on your CTA will lead them somewhere. You can create a different page for each type of CTA you use.

Focus on the Keyword (Keywords = Traffic)

You might think that all you need to do is create a landing page that matches up with the keywords in your ad group or campaign. But that's only half the equation. 

You also need to create content and copy that resonates with searchers. So what can you do? Think about your audience, and understand what keywords they're using to find your products or services. 

Then, think about how that audience will react to your content and copy. Finally, think about what types of products and services you offer and what you're willing to commit to writing about to convert more leads.

2 – Create a Clear Call to Action

Creating a landing page with a clear call to action is easy. Just make sure that it has a strong CTA. A strong CTA means something clear and straightforward, easy to say and easy to understand. 

In other words, it needs to be a promise, a statement, or a directive. And it needs to be very specific and offer real value to the visitor.

Use Microcopy to Capture Attention

So many businesses fail to realise how important their landing page microcopy is. They emphasise creating the perfect landing page layout, design, and colours that they lose sight of what's important — creating a compelling message for visitors.

On page copywriting is an art form, but sometimes it doesn't take much to draw attention. Microcopy can improve the page's overall success with landing page design. 

Microcopy is the type of text that appears on the page, such as headlines, calls to action, or messages that describe a product.

Make Sure People See the Button

This point is significant, and it's something that many people overlook. They assume that if a landing page has a call to action, it's a successful landing page. 

While there's no doubt that a call to action is critical to landing pages, it's not enough to just have a call to action. You need to make sure that it stands out so that people notice it.

One way is by using text that highlights the CTA. Another is by adding a button that has a straightforward visual design. Still another is by highlighting the CTA with a larger font or colour than the rest of the content on the page.

3 – Offer a Freebie or Discount

Offering a freebie or discount to create a landing page is a popular way to encourage web traffic to your website. 

This is often a lead magnet that gives people something valuable for free in exchange for their email addresses. 

Landing pages have become an essential part of almost every marketing strategy because they can provide a highly targeted way to connect with specific audiences.

Make your offers compelling

The landing page should convey why someone should make a purchase. One example of a landing page offer could be, “We will send you 10% off your next purchase if you sign up for our newsletter.” 

Another could be, “We will give you 20% off your first month of subscriptions if you sign up for our mailing list.” Landing page offers can be an effective way to drive traffic and leads to your website.

Build Trust and Credibility

One of the keys to a successful landing page is trust and credibility. For a landing page to be successful, the user must feel that they can rely on the site. 

This means that users must feel as if they have no reason to worry about its legitimacy. Users should feel that the site is being operated by someone legitimate and trustworthy. 

People generally don't trust marketing sites, so landing pages need to be perceived as something that they can trust.

4 – Create multiple landing pages

This is another tactic that is often overlooked. Creating multiple landing pages is a great way to optimise your landing page traffic. This strategy has increased conversions by 40% (according to Neil Patel). 

The key to this strategy is to create multiple versions of your landing page that appeal to different audiences. Doing this will increase the likelihood that the audience you are targeting will find your website/landing page appealing.

To help your users decide whether or not to make a purchase, you need to show them the difference between your different products, services, and pricing points. 

By creating multiple landing pages, you give users the option to choose. Once they choose one of the options, you'll take them to a specific landing page. If you don't offer multiple pricing points, you could lose business by showing customers an expensive product when they wanted a cheaper one.

Optimise Your Page For Search Engines

When you're ready to optimise your page for search engines, you need to start by determining your primary goal. For example, if your goal is to sell leads for real estate agents, you'll need to look at the keywords people use when searching for real estate. 

They use broad terms like “real estate agent” or precise keywords like “Jacksonville Florida Realtor?” Consider adding many related keywords to your page titles, alt text, and content if they use many broad terms.

Choose the Best Page Layout for Your Audience

A common misconception is that all landing page layouts are created equal. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Landing page designers must understand their audience and choose the best-suited layout for their goals. 

If you're designing a landing page for a business, you'll want to design a landing page that emphasises branding and elements and offers your audience something to latch onto. 

If you're building a landing page for a brand new product, you'll want to design a landing page that focuses on making a strong first impression.

Use A/B Testing

Landing page optimisation isn't easy, but there are some simple tests you can do to increase conversions. One of the most common optimisation techniques is A/B testing, which tests two versions of the same web page. 

In one version, you include an element that appears when the visitor clicks on a button or image on the page. If visitors click on this element, they are directed to a second page. 

The second page includes different content, a different visual layout, and different copy. By analysing which version performed better in conversion, you can improve the landing page design.

5 – Be ready to pivot and scale when necessary

Whether you're building a website, launching an email campaign, or developing an advertising strategy, the final landing page needs to be optimised for conversion. 

But the problem is that the landing page you're working on today may not be the same landing page you'll be optimising for in two weeks. This is why it's essential to plan for a variety of scenarios. 

Think about the following: 

• How many forms of content do I need to capture my visitor's attention? 
• How do I track the visitor's actions on the site? 
• What action am I trying to persuade the visitor to take?

You can learn many lessons from the history of startups and big brands alike. Landing page designs that didn't succeed weren't flexible enough and didn't evolve along with the times.

So what happens when something goes wrong? What if the numbers don't work? Maybe you need to tweak a few elements, or maybe the entire landing page needs to be redesigned from the ground up.

You can't predict the future, so you need to be ready to adapt. It's better to start small and see how your landing page converts than to wait until you've blown your budget on a massive redesign to realise that your strategy wasn't working as planned.

Create an Email Newsletter

There's a big difference between creating landing pages just for conversions vs landing pages that you use to build email lists and nurture existing leads. 

If you're building a landing page to sell a service or product, you'll need to include all the information about your service or product on the page itself. That means you'll need to have the page optimised for conversions. 

However, if you're building a landing page to gather emails, you need to provide information that is more focused on getting people to subscribe to your newsletter or fill out a form that will allow you to build your email list.

Start with a Welcome Email

This is the point in the conversion funnel where the buyer starts considering making the purchase decision. 

The welcome email should help a potential customer feel more comfortable moving forward. It should give them the information they need to decide whether or not to make a purchase. 

The first few paragraphs should include some of the information they'll find most valuable: why your brand is different and what makes your products and services unique.

Make Sure Your Emails are Personalised

The difference between sending and receiving emails is that the latter has a personal touch. 

A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that personalising emails improved response rates by 28 per cent. It would be best to always use people's names or familiar titles in your emails. 

This personalisation helps readers feel more connected to you, making them more likely to open and read your messages.

Do you know what else happens when your emails are personalised? They're more likely to get opened and clicked on. To achieve this, make sure that you're personalising your email marketing campaign by focusing on their interests and needs and using language that matches.

6 – Include testimonials

We all know the power of testimonials to convert leads into sales. But how do you write a winning testimonial for your landing page? 

Start with the goal: Are you trying to convert a lead or persuade someone to buy a product or service from your site? If so, your testimonial should be very targeted. 

• What's your business about? 
• What's unique about your company or service? 
• What do you stand for? 
• What does your company do? 
• Is it free? Paid? 
• What are your goals? 

These questions help answer the following: Is your testimonial a good fit for your landing page, and do you understand how to effectively communicate your product or service?

Use Social Proof to Build Trust

Social proof is a psychological effect in which a person believes something is true because many people believe it is true. Think about a time when you've visited a restaurant or department store and seen multiple other customers who have made a purchase. 

You're more likely to go there because other people have gone there. Social proof is powerful in online environments where we don't always have a direct connection with someone. 

For example, if a friend recommends a site, we are more likely to click on the link. We also trust reviews that come from sources we recognise.

The point of building trust in your website or landing page isn't necessarily to create a guarantee that your visitor will sign up or buy. Instead, it's to build trust in your brand, website, and landing page. Trust doesn't mean certainty, but it does mean a feeling of comfort, security, and confidence.

Use Negative Copy to Drive Sales

We all know the adage, “If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.” However, it's usually better to be negative than neutral regarding sales and marketing copywriting.

When you write sales copy, you're selling something to someone likely to buy. The best salespeople always speak in the best interests of their prospects. 

They're the ones who use words like “fears” and “doubts.” But they never talk down to their audience. Instead, they treat their customers as equals and always focus on what they'd like to get out of their relationship with the company.

So, what's negative copy? That is, negative content that's written with a positive message. 

You can make this work for you in two ways: first, you can create negative copy that leads your visitors down a path of getting the information you offer to them. For example, if you sell weight-loss products, you can write negatively about how some of your competitors may help people lose weight but don't care about their customers' health. 

You can also write negatively about how your competitors' products or services are dangerous and ineffective.

7 – Make Sure Your Page Is Mobile-Friendly

People expect a seamless online experience while browsing websites, but too often, businesses fail to make their websites mobile-friendly. 

The bottom line is that your landing page should not only be accessible across multiple devices and browsers but also optimised to provide a pleasant user experience.

Even if your website is built to optimise for desktop browsers, you need to make sure your landing page is mobile-friendly. 

Google is beginning to penalise websites that aren't. Landing pages have become the new home page for many businesses, and there's a good reason: they are mobile-friendly and optimised for conversions. If your landing page isn't mobile-friendly, it could be affecting your conversions.

Use visual hooks to get visitors to click

Landing page creators should use visual hooks to get people to click through to their web pages. Some of these visual hooks include images, icons, and text. 

However, most landing page owners tend to miss the mark regarding the kind of images they use. They often use generic stock photos that don't sell their web pages. 

This is not a good idea because generic images are generally not memorable. If you're selling a specific product or service, you'll need to take a picture of that product or service. This can help your web visitors remember your page.

8 – Measure conversions, not clicks

One of the most important parts of marketing is finding a conversion path. If people aren't converting to your desired action, you need to know why. 

• Why aren't they clicking? 
• Why aren't they signing up? 
• What do they see when they arrive on your landing page? 

Once you answer those questions, you can then decide how to tweak things so that they convert better. 

Conversion-oriented landing pages make all of this more manageable because they include a clear call to action.

Clicking through to your website is not a conversion. Clicking on a banner ad, “like” button, or “download” button may lead to a conversion, but clicking through to the next page is not the conversion. A conversion is something a consumer does (or attempts to do) once they are on your landing page.

Include Conversion Tracking on Your Pages

Landing pages should include tracking pixels for conversion measurement. Landing page software like LeadPages and Unbounce both include tracking functionality and are good choices if you want to quickly and efficiently track your conversions.

You can see how many people visited a page and then clicked on a button or submitted an email address with conversion tracking. This can help you understand how visitors engage with your content.

Don't just rely on Google Analytics

Google Analytics isn't a substitute for knowing how people respond to your web pages. The key to effective landing page optimisation is to understand which page elements are most effective, whether an offer, a call to action, a video, or an image. 

Testing different offers and calls to action with A/B testing is essential. This is where your analytics data can help. By looking at your conversion rates, you can see which elements on the page are most effective. With this information in hand, you can create a landing page that attracts the visitor who converts.

9 – Send Email Follow-Up Messages

Most of us know the importance of email marketing, but many people don't know that the same rules that apply to regular emails apply to landing page emails. 

Landing page emails should have a clear call-to-action (CTA) to ensure visitors leave with a specific action. Landing page emails should follow a logical sequence of thought, too. 

Start with an introduction that makes the reader feel comfortable with the topic. Then, offer the reader some value or promise before telling them exactly what they need to do next. Once you offer up the CTA, make sure it's a clear one and easy to click on.

Provide a reason to contact you

This is another critical piece of landing page strategy. Why should someone contact you? It's essential to answer this question because you want to ensure that you provide a reason for people to contact you. 

Your landing page must encourage people to call you, not just read your content. If you can't answer this question, you should consider a different format. 

You need to know what you're offering to entice them to reach out. If you're offering webinars, then offer webinars. If you're offering access to a product or service, then offer a discount for the service or product.

Don't overthink your design

This is a tough one to swallow for some, especially if you're a perfectionist. The reality is that most website owners and web admins are not artists. They don't have the same artistic ability as a painter, illustrator, or photographer. The truth is that no one will ever judge your design, so don't worry about whether it's ugly or not.

Sometimes we get too caught up in perfecting our landing page design. While the design is essential, don't spend more time worrying about it than you need to. If the design isn't working for you, just change it.

10 – Use Facebook Ads to Promote Your Landing Pages

Facebook ads are a great way to promote your landing page if you want to bring in conversions quickly. While the initial goal is to get people to click on your ad (or to like your page), the ultimate goal is to get them to convert. 

One of the best ways to do this is to run a paid Facebook ad campaign targeting specific people interested in the same thing as you but haven't signed up for your free offer yet. 

By targeting people who are already interested in what you're offering, you'll be able to give them a reason to act immediately.

Facebook ads have the potential to become one of the most powerful tools in your sales funnel. There's no doubt that the ads themselves can convert, but what you need to be looking for is a conversion. You know exactly which ad is creating conversions if you can measure that.

You've probably heard that Facebook's “lookalike audience” is the second-largest social media giant's user base segment. But, did you know that Facebook's algorithm allows marketers to bid on their ad campaigns and reach that audience at any point in their purchasing journey? 

The key is to identify your best customers and create ads that target people similar to them. By creating ads that appeal to the specific demographic characteristics of your best customers, you can increase the likelihood of converting them.

Include a clear value proposition

Creating a landing page with a clear value proposition (what the landing page does and the benefits) can be one of the most challenging tasks startups face. 

Most people have a hard time thinking through why anyone should want to spend money on a service or a product they don't know anything about yet. 

Value propositions are a vital part of the sales funnel because they're the piece of copy or information that helps define why someone needs to buy your product or service and what it will do for them.

The second psychological principle is based on the fact that the average visitor doesn't read past the headline on your landing page. So make sure that your headline communicates a compelling value proposition. 

In other words, what does the visitor need to understand to decide whether or not to click on your link and take action?

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember when creating landing pages is that they should reflect who you are and what you do. 

The best landing pages for conversion include a call to action and a specific offer to close the sale. Ensure your landing page is engaging and includes a CTA so visitors know where to go next. 

If they click through, make sure they can find what they need in one place—not buried on multiple pages. And make sure your offers are relevant and clearly communicated. 

Landing pages need to include both the benefits and value of the product or service, so they don't seem too good to be true. 

And finally, if you can add some personality to your landing page, all the better.

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