In a previous Blog post we explained the benefits of adding PURLs to your marketing mix.
- Increase Web traffic from traditional marketing initiatives
- Boost Web conversion rates and improve ROI on marketing communications
- Accurately Track every Web response to direct market campaigns
- Increase speed and efficiency of lead retrieval
Notice we’ve highlighted reason number two, ‘Boost Web conversion rates and improve ROI.’ This reason is critically important to your campaign’s success. Think about it – what good is sending more traffic to the Web if you can’t convert more than a handful of them? That’s where Dynamic Landing Pages come in. A few days ago, you may recall, we discussed why Landing Pages blow away regular websites when it comes to converting prospects into leads. If you didn’t get a chance to read that post, you may do so by clicking here.
When it comes to building landing Pages, Easypurl.com gives you access to an unparalleled set of tools to help you set them up for your campaign, quickly and efficiently. Beyond the technology, however, we also make it our business to let our customers know what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to creating effective and focused landing pages that drive results. We are the industry leader, after all! To help you out, we talked to our marketing and design teams and compiled a list of their top tips for making great landing pages that convert. Here’s what we found:
1. Clear Intent
Landing pages perform best when the content is promotion-based. As you can see from the Dodge landing page on the left, for example, the content is concise and focused on one appealing message: Getting $1,000 in Owner Loyalty Cash!
2. Visually Engage the User
Tell a story or sell a product using impactful imagery, rather than simply explaining the purpose with lengthy copy. Who doesn’t love a big chewy chocolate chip cookie? Now I’m getting hungry!
3. Focus the User Experience
Feature clean navigation and succinct calls to action. Landing pages should be used as a teaser to easily point the customer to the desired action. Remember your objective: getting users to fill out that lead capture form!
4. Use a Clear Direct Headline
Remember, this is direct response marketing after all. Studies have shown that you only have seven seconds to make an impression and engage a user before they close the browser and move on. in other words, making a good first impression is just as important online as it is in the real world. A clear and direct headline should be the first thing the user notices upon viewing the page. Make sure the headline is a direct and simple statement of what the page visitor is trying to accomplish.
5. Leave Plenty of Whitespace
Visitors don’t read — they scan the text to determine if the page is relevant to their goal or not. Clean use of space allows visitors to scan quickly and understand key messages and call-to-action.
6. Deliver a Clear Value Proposition
Answer any potential “whys?” with value propositions. When doing so, keep them limited to three or four bullet points and don’t mince words. This is no time to get cute – if visitors can’t quickly and easily understand the benefits of your product or service, they will leave.
7. Amplify Buttons
Your lead is not captured until the submit button is actually clicked. Consequently, attracting attention to the main action buttons is crucially important. Make sure visitors easily notice where the button is upon arrival. And odd-shaped buttons typically don’t work well. Also, don’t skimp on button size. Location matters, although button placement should be tested on each page.
8. Convey Trust and Security
Branding, trust/security icons and assurances, as well as customer testimonials provide credibility and instill confidence – keys to high conversion rates.
9. Provide a Compelling Message
Every good salesperson says something to persuade prospects who are on the fence. Think of your landing page as your online salesperson. Make sure you have one compelling message directly above the call to action. “Bandwagon messages,” such as “Join thousands of people that use…” can also improve visitor confidence and increase conversions.
10. Soften the Call to Action
Direct words like “Buy,” “Add to Cart” or “Subscribe” indicate a commitment that the visitor may not be ready to make and can actually lower conversion rates. A softer call to action like “Try it Now” can drive users deeper into the funnel and result in more conversions. As a rule of thumb, the best calls to action are written in plain English with no more than 7-12 words.
11. And of Course, Personalize it!
Nothing is more powerful than personalization. With Easypurl, we give you the power to customize landing pages for each customer. Imagine welcoming each person by name, already having most of the capture form filled out, and having custom images and wording – just for them!!
So there you go! All of our best tricks to creating THE BEST landing page you’ve ever made. Have questions about landing pages for our marketing and design team? Let us know in the comments!
