A step by step guide to the five essential ingredients in a high converting landing page
A dedicated landing page is a key tactic when developing marketing campaign strategies. Landing pages that align with paid ads convert at higher ratios than just directing visitors to your website or a product/service page. Your website isn’t the best marketing tool when conducting specific campaigns.
Want to know how to write headlines for your landing page? Check out our article on seven psychological tactics to writing headlines.
As attention ratio goes down, conversion rates go up
Our websites are so full of information and links that it is easy for a visitor to get distracted from taking action on the ad they clicked on in the first place.
So, we use landing pages to keep the user experience streamlined and laser focused on the our single call to action.
For example, if you ran a google ad for a lobster and steak dinner special and when a customer clicked on the ad the they were taken to your website’s homepage they might be confused thinking they made a bad click.
On the other hand, if they were taken to dedicated landing page with a call to action like “Reserve your Table now” it would be clear they landed in the right place.
Like any great recipe there are core ingredients that make any dish and we can add our personal touches to best suit our customers.
Key Concept: Attention Ratio
The things you want a visitor to do on a webpage VS. the things they can do.
Research shows that people are more likely to follow through on an action if their attention is not split between a number of competing elements. Too much choice leads to overstimulation in the brain and can lead to distraction, indecision and even frustration.
This is your main headline. In 15 words or less describe the benefit you offer, how it solves your customer’s needs, and what distinguishes it from the competition.
Sometimes called your “Unique Selling Proposition.” While it sounds simple enough Value Propositions can be very challenging to write. expect to spend a lot pf time crafting this messaging.
It is very important the message matches your ads messaging. For example, don’t run an ad advertising oceanside condos for sale and when the visitor clicks through the messaging is focused on retirement communities.
In 25 words or less provide additional context and speak directly to the customer. The sub heading should be designed to encourage your visitors to scroll further down.
Test: After reading the USP and its sub heading visitors should be able know exactly what your page/offer is about. After you have these sections completed test them out on 5 of your closest friends or family who aren’t intimately familiar with your offer and ask them to tell you what you sell.
This is your main graphic on the landing page. It needs to be contextual to your Value Proposition. Think of it as another way to provide additional context. If a picture is worth a thousand words this is your chance to say a lot about your offer.
Let’s take our steak and lobster dinner special as an example.
You could show an image of your restaurant, or of your dinning room, or people enjoying a meal, but to be contextual you should show an image of the steak and lobster dinner. If your Value Proposition focuses on people getting away from the kids, then include a romantic couple with the steak and lobster. On the other hand if it focuses on a family dinner show everyone enjoying the meal.
It helps to think of the Value Proposition and Hero shot as the same and working together rather than as separate items.
Maximum 3
List the three main benefits of your offer followed by supporting features. Benefits are pains your offer solves or gains your offer creates. Features should illustrate how your offering helps produce the benefit. This is not the place to start listing technical specifications. While these can be differentiators of your product, you want focus on provoking an emotional response that is connected to solving problems.
Having buyer personas already completed will help the construction of this section enormously.
The features and benefits need to speak directly to the persona the landing page is designed for. There may be benefits and features of your product that appeal to a wide range of people. You want to focus only on those that solve problems for a particular persona. It is perfectly acceptable to create multiple landing pages for the same product.
Your ad, the Value Proposition, sub heading and the benefits/features section should all tell a narrative with each section reinforcing the an overarching story.
Key Concept: Buyer Personas
Buyer personas are profiles of fake people that help you focus marketing copy and creative. Check out our Persona Creation Framework
2-3 testimonials/quotes that demonstrate your offer’s value and give credibility to your statements about solving a specific problem.
Social proof helps those who remain skeptical about your Value Proposition to convert by showing your offer works for real people.
These can be reviews, quotes from past customers, Case Studies or badges from a third party (for example, Facebook Partner, Google Partner, education credentials etc.)
Usually this is a button, but it could be a form field asking people to book an appointment or sign up for a newsletter.
If you doing a simple button consider how the button copy can feed into the narrative. “Buy Now” is easy and ubiquitous, but ask yourself if it is best conclusion to your ad’s narrative?
If you are using a form, be certain every field is absolutely required. Fewer fields will reduce user friction to filling out a form. In some cases you may want to use the form as a gatekeeper to qualify prospects. Whichever approach you take will depend on your larger campaign strategy.
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Angle eCommerce Consulting
Nanaimo BC
250 882 9415
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