Build Landing Pages That Convert (Without Blowing the Budget)

How many times in your life have you stumbled upon some random, poorly-designed, vague website, and said, “You know, I think I need to buy something from these people?” Count them. Oh, zero, you say? Sounds like you might have respect for the good old-fashioned landing page.

Landing Page, Conversion, And All That Jazz

A landing page is a webpage used to make a first impression on a visitor. The landing page says:

• “You are here.”


• “Here’s why it matters.”


• “Here’s what we’d like you to do.”

I can’t emphasize that last one enough. Here’s what we’d like you to do. The number one goal of a landing page is to convert; to get a user to make a move, whether that’s opting into your mailing list, telling a friend about your company/cause on Facebook, or – the big one – buying your product or service. (Note: these are just a few of the things that can be accomplished by a good landing page that converts.)

The Two Keys to Landing Page Conversion

Creating a landing page that converts is all about (1) the design and (2) the copy. Both of these elements are so intimately connected that it’s difficult to talk about one and not the other. When our team at BuzzPlant sits down to create a landing page for a client, here are a few of the things we try to focus on…

#1 Big, Engaging Headlines!

Don’t give the audience what they expect. Give them something more. A headline should make the user want to read the paragraph that follows. (And, yes, in most cases the – as in singular – paragraph is the best approach. Don’t overwrite yourself.)

#2 Short & Sweet Copy

A good salesman knows not to waste time with a long spiel. Condense your message into 80 words or so. Go shorter if you can.

#3 Be Big on the Visual

Headlines and copy are necessary, but so is the visual. Giftrocket.com, for example, has a great visual display that’s attractive, informative, and even interactive

#4 Make a Request

This might seem fast, but it’s time to ask for something: a purchase, social share, newsletter opt-in. Make your request in no unclear terms.

#5 Stay Above the Fold

The average web user spends 80% of their time above the fold. That being the case, the above four items should always, always, always be above the fold. As more users are browsing with tablets and phones, condensing the above four items becomes even more important.

Creating Affordable Landing Pages That Convert

Does all this sound highly technical or expensive? It doesn’t have to be. Make your landing pages work for you by making them highly-focused. If your landing page is getting in front of the wrong audience, then no headline or image in the world is going to get them to convert. Non-buyers are non-buyers. (Here, I’m not talking about window shoppers, but the traffic that’s outside your market/industry.)

Start by creating a specific landing page that is fed via a targeted PPC campaign. WordStream advises, “Start with one landing page per campaign. As you have the time to build a new page, add it in and slowly convert your ad groups to all have specific targeted landing pages.”

Using this strategy, you start strong with one great landing page and slowly segment leads into newly created pages that are well-fed with targeted PPC campaigns. In other words, your first landing page becomes more specific, and some of its traffic is redirected to a secondary niche landing page, and so on and so forth.

Remember, landing pages that convert don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Build smart, using the above tips and strategy, and you’ll have a page that offers serious returns!

What are your top landing page strategies?

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/build-landing-pages-convert-without-blowing-budget-0662111?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=build-landing-pages-convert-without-blowing-budget