What to include when building a landing page
Daria Isanska - 16 July 2018
If you are running an online advertising campaign, whether it’s via AdWords or social media, you will need to include a link to direct people to your website. When you do this you will often be advised to create a specific landing page for them to visit. This is usually recommended because it gives businesses the chance to build a page which has been designed to co-ordinate fully with their advertising campaign. It also allows brands to give customers far more detailed information about the particular product or service that they are providing than they would be able to include on their homepage. Because a landing page can be tailored exactly towards the customer demographic that you are aiming to reach through your campaign it is far more likely to lead to conversions than simply directing potential customers to your website home page or product pages.
Digital marketing experts know that getting your landing page right is a key element of a successful online campaign. A landing page that doesn’t work cohesively with your advertising campaign can have a negative effect on both your business and your website optimisation. You need to capture people’s attention instantly and keep them on your page if you want to convert click-throughs to sales. There is also the risk that if people can’t find what they want on your landing page they may leave your website quickly contributing to a high bounce rate for your site and a fall in your search engine ranking.
Our team have had many years’ experience of creating compelling landing pages and so we’ve put together a guide to some of the key elements that we think you should include when building your landing page. This will help you to create a landing page which will engage customers and, most importantly, lead to increased sales for your business.
1. Make it clear to customers what your landing page is all about
Many online customers are time poor and don’t want to waste time searching websites for information. Your landing page needs to tell them quickly and clearly what your business is all about and what products or services you are offering them. Create a bold and catchy headline for your landing page which gets your point across effectively and offer customers a brief but clear description about what you do. You could back up your message with a compelling image which links in with your products and your advertising campaign branding. It’s also a good idea to make sure that readers do not need to scroll down or click into different sections of your site to get the key information that they need.
2. Clearly signpost the actions that you need your customers to take
When you create a landing page for a specific ad campaign you need to ensure that you know exactly what action you want potential customers to take, and to clearly signpost them in this direction. Whether you want them to buy a particular product, sign up to a mailing list or download a fact sheet, your landing page should enable them to do this in as few steps as possible. The more navigation they need to follow the more likely they are to give up and drop out of your website. Use banners and buttons to guide customers along the path you want them to follow and make it as clear and as easy as possible. It is worth taking the time to do some user testing to ensure that this process works effectively for the demographic that you are targeting.
3. Don’t distract your customers with unnecessary page elements
Whilst it may be tempting to start thinking about all the clever and interesting things that you could include on your landing page you need to remember that it is actually very important not to distract your customer from the path that you want them to take. Too much content such as forms and pop up boxes could divert the customer away from converting to a sale. Additional elements could also make your landing page look confusing and badly planned out, meaning customers won’t fully understand the message that you are giving them and they may then decide to leave your page or give up on the sales process.
4. Use your landing page to offer added value to your customers
If you’ve read some of our previous blogs you’ll know how much Google loves sites which aim to add value to their customer’s lives and your landing page should be no different. Have a think about how you can use your landing page to help your customers and what it is that they could be looking for when they visit your website. If, for example, you are advertising a new restaurant, maybe you could include recipes or a video demonstration of how to cook a particular dish. Make sure that you show off your industry expertise and let potential customers know why your business stands out from the rest.
5. Make sure that your landing page works in harmony with your advertising campaign
When you plan your advertising campaign and landing page it is crucial to make sure that they work together to give a unified message to your customer. Because your online advert will have encouraged people to click through to your website you need to ensure that the branding, copy and images all work holistically together for a co-ordinated campaign. This will increase the impact that your advertising has on potential customers. It’s also vital that your landing page delivers to the customer what your advertising campaign has promised them. For example if you are advertising a particular product or service make sure that it is well highlighted on your landing page.
An effective landing page can lead to an increase in sales and means that you get the best value for money from any paid AdWords or social media advertising that you undertake. You should always co-ordinate your landing page with your advertising campaign to make sure that they support each other with similar branding and copy. Encourage people to stay on your site with a landing page which clearly sets out what your product or service can offer them and maximise conversions with a simple and easy to use conversion path. Don’t risk distracting potential customers with off-putting pop up boxes or complicated forms as this could cause them to give up and leave your website. Finally think about how your landing page could offer value to your customers and how you can use it to help them and show off your expertise. If you are planning an online campaign and would like some help or advice on your landing page then get in touch with Wagada HQ. We are experts at building compelling and engaging landing pages which help to boost sales from your advertising campaigns.
