How Is Your Landing Page Working For You?

A landing page is the first experience your potential customers or clients will have with your brand, be it retail or your professional service. You are your brand. It has to convey information, encourage a call-to-action, and reflect your personality. Here are some basic tips I found and use that should help make your landing pages work for you and thus a better ROI.
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1. Have a goal in mind
The very first thing to consider when creating or making a landing page is the goal of the page: What do you want users to do when they “land” there?
·       Click a link
·       Watch a video
·       Enter information in a form
·       Make a purchase
·       Share on social media
·       Read or interact with content
Then everything on your landing page should be designed and directed at getting users closer to this goal.


2. Design for Your Audience
Landing pages have to be made for the users that will use them. It sounds pretty self-explanatory, but too often this doesn’t happen.
The people and images in the design should relate to users. Text and blocks of copy should communicate in a voice and tone that these users appreciate. It can take a deep dive into your analytics to understand who your key audience is.
·        Are they women or men?
·        Younger or older?
·        Do they live in a certain area?
Create a design that appeals to the audience you are connecting with to hopefully increase engagement and user conversions.


3. Use Images That Stand Out From The Rest Of The Pack
A strong image or video makes a strong first impression and goes a long way to helping get users engaged. Make the image eye-catching and make the video short and use sub-titles as much as possible as most watch a video without sound, specially on their smart phones these days.


4. Create Content That Stands Out
Most landing pages include multiple levels of copy. Every one of these levels needs to be compelling and work toward getting users to the desired action set by your website goals. Most landing pages use the following types of copy blocks:
·        Headline: It should be a few words that grab the attention of users.
·        Body text: This is your main message. It should be concise and direct.
·        Call to action: Often in the form of a button or link, this tells users what to do with the website. What’s the next step in the process and how do they get there? Provide clear actionable, communication.
·        Footer: Standard information, such as branding, contact information, and social media links can help establish credibility and provide a go-to resource for users.


5. Establish Keywords Through Navigation
Navigation elements on a landing page will help tell users what your overall website is about. Think of navigation elements as additional keywords that provide user information and direction.


6. Make the "Call To Action" Clear
Every user should know exactly what to do when they hit your landing page. Clear calls to action are vital. Don’t assume users will just do what you want them to. Good calls to action can be in the form of buttons, forms to fill out, user instructions (such as scroll for more) and even animations.


7. Customize Your Content
Landing pages by nature are designed to be somewhat specific and special. Often, they have a purpose or goal that’s a little more focused than your homepage. Customize landing page content to make the most of this concept.


8. Include Clear and Relevant Branding
One common issue with landing pages that makes them difficult is that they often don’t look like or include visual cues that connect to the main website. Landing pages should include clear and relevant branding so that users know exactly what or who they are engaging with. Make your landing page user friendly with working links to other parts of your website and especially make sure your landing page shows and explains it is your brand or company that they are visiting.


9. Consider the Source
When a user clicks a link from somewhere else on the web and arrives on a landing page, they have somewhat of an expectation of what they will find. The landing page should be designed so that the content is specific to what you are offering be it products or a service.


10. Establish Hierarchy and Flow
A good landing page makes usability obvious. Where are users supposed to look and what are they supposed to do on the page? Designing using common user patterns and behaviors can go a long way to establishing this flow. Add on levels of images, branding and typography to establish a clear hierarchy as well and users will know in an instant how to engage with the page.


In Summary
A key point to consider is that when you are thinking about a landing page, that’s not necessarily your homepage. Landing pages are the most common first stops for website visitors. Some of these top landing pages might be because of your marketing efforts and how you are driving traffic. But other pages can be popular because of the content therein, links from other sources and search. Knowing where this traffic originates and what users are looking for are a key factor when it comes to setting goals and designing a landing page that doesn’t look and perform badly for you. I hope these points help in creating or overhauling your landing page.
-Roy

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