What are the Best Practices for Landing Page Optimization?

Landing pages are essentially a bridge between the marketing message and a website. They generally result in fewer bounces compared to print ads, PPC ads and social media because the messaging is targeted and includes good keyword usage.

Why Landing Pages are Important in the Customer Journey

Imagine that you are a customer shopping for a vacation package to Florida. You click on an ad and you are directed to the main site of a travel company. The page is vague and includes vacations to many states. You get distracted and leave the site.

Now imagine instead that when you click on the ad, you are brought to a landing page that is optimized for Florida vacations. You have found a company that understands exactly what you’re looking for. You fill out the form and submit it.

Landing Pages are a Work in Progress

Landing pages are constantly a work in progress. You need to evaluate which tone, messaging, keywords, forms, layout and design are best for your audience. This can all be done with A/B testing. From time to time, it’s also important to refresh your landing pages. You can create entirely new pages or edit the ones you have.

Here are some of the best practices for landing page optimization.

• Include an image. Images make the landing page more appealing. Just be sure to keep it simple and related to your industry. You don’t want the landing page to be distracting.
• Reduce navigation. Or eliminate it completely. You want people to carry through with the desired action, and allowing them to navigate freely means there is a greater chance of them leaving the landing page.
• Keep landing pages consistent with the rest of your website. The tone and messaging should be an extension of your main site, and visitors should be able to immediately recognize your brand.
• Include a call to action. Nothing fancy, but do include something that tells the visitor what you want them to do. Also tell them what they will get in return for filling out the form such as a free trial, free consultation or entry for a free item.
• Minimize what you collect. In most cases, a name and email address is more than enough. If you begin asking for information like phone numbers, addresses, income levels or age, you may deter the visitor away.

Include privacy or security statements. If your type of offer does require some personal information, be sure to include a privacy statement. People want to know what you plan to do with their information, so adding this establishes trust – and keeps you covered.