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Do you know what a landing page is? You may have heard of a landing page, but not know exactly what it means. A landing page is actually a type of Web page, used as part of online campaigns and often designed and developed separately from the original Web site. Chances are you've come across one yourself once. Once people click on an online ad, follow a link, or scan a QR code, they often land on a landing page.
To better explain exactly what a landing page is (and why people pay so much attention to it), it's smart to briefly introduce you to some problems. Perhaps they will seem familiar to you....
- Your website's conversion rate is much lower than the benchmark in your industry.
- PPC campaigns are yielding you nothing or too little.
- The bounce rate is very high on pages where you expect conversion.
And, recognizable?
A landing page solves the above problems. Nowadays you can quickly and easily create a landing page using specially developed software, but that's not all there is to it (unfortunately). A great soccer player once said, "Playing soccer is simple, but playing simple soccer is the hardest thing in the world... Something similar actually applies to creating landing pages. So a landing page is quick to create, but creating an effective landing page is quite an art (and science).
In this guide, I lay out all the key points that can help you, as a marketer, entrepreneur or specialist, get the most out of your landing page. I'll also show you how to use your visitor's data to optimize your landing page through segmentation and personalization. If after reading this article you still have questions or are curious how I can help you further, I'd like to invite you to schedule a (short) appointment at the bottom of the page. I would love to tell you more about it.
Ready to explore the wonderful world of the "perfect" landing page?
What is a landing page and why do you need a landing page?
A landing page cannot be missing if you want to be successful with online marketing. Sounds like I'm pretty convinced of my case, doesn't it? Let me explain why.
A landing page has only one goal: to achieve the highest conversion rate possible.
Conversion? What do you mean by that? I hear you thinking.
Conversion, simply put, is the process of transforming Web traffic into customers. In this description, the term 'customer' is somewhat broader, because someone can also become a 'customer' by signing up for a newsletter, for example. In fact, chances are you recognize this yourself and have a pretty full mailbox by now.
Landing pages can therefore be used for a variety of purposes: making a purchase, downloading a free e-book, signing up for a newsletter or registering for an event. In fact, the possibilities are endless...
However, the essence of a landing page is always the same: to move the visitor with a clear goal in mind toward a particular offer or action.
Do you have a campaign running for a webinar? Then all a visitor should be able to do on your landing page is sign up for the webinar. Other than that, there should be no distracting elements or other services or offers. This makes the visitor to your page more likely to take the desired action. So this "essence" and "focus" is very important to keep in mind when designing your landing page. You want to ensure calmness and remove all things that are not relevant to what you are currently offering. A lot of research has been done in this area, by the way. It turns out that when consumers are faced with many choices, it ultimately leads to fewer results and sales. In short, choice "paralyzes" consumers.
When you want to encourage your visitor to take a specific action (within your entire marketing funnel), you actually need to use a specific landing page per step - within your funnel. As mentioned, this can be anything as long as the page is optimized for that specific step. Leadpages research shows that as a general rule, conversion rates of landing pages are two to 10 times higher than the average web page. You may also be familiar with the power of email lists? Did you know that small businesses (with more than ten employees) are able to grow an email list twice as fast using landing pages? You see: landing pages are all about a focal point, and that focus pays off. Provided you get it right, of course....
In this article, my colleague Amy goes into detail about landing pages and why they are important for your business. Still, we want to ask you a few more questions to help you determine if landing pages should be a part of your complete digital marketing strategy:
- Does your organization or company like to think in terms of goals? Or would you like to achieve a certain (specific) revenue for a particular campaign? Then a landing page is a perfect fit. The design of landing pages makes them ideal for measuring these kinds of specific goals. And also within digital marketing, measuring is knowing.
- Want to get the maximum results from your advertising budget? Then you really can't ignore the conversion rate of landing pages. Landing pages work so well because they approach a very targeted audience with a specific offer. This offer is relevant and attractive, which makes the (average) conversion ratio of landing pages much higher than regular websites and pages.
- Modern retail and shopping experiences are all about personalization. Landing pages are very flexible and perfect for personalization. With the capabilities and technical tools of modern software, personalizing landing pages is very easy nowadays; even if you have no experience with it.
At AdPage, we believe that the future of landing pages is inextricably linked to personalization. That's why we're constantly working to make our software better at that. Soon, every AdPage customer will be able to get started with it. Imagine: your landing page adapts itself based on all available data; this can be data from an ad or from your CDP or ESP system. Now you often have to set adjustments in content manually, but soon this should also be possible using OpenAI, for example.
This functionality is expected to be available to clients in Q2 2023, but we are already looking for serious marketing agencies that would like to use this for their clients. Curious about it? Then schedule a meeting with us below!
Now that you understand why landing pages can be valuable to both very large companies, SMEs and even self-employed individuals, you no doubt want to get started quickly. Yet there are plenty of examples of both very successful landing pages, and very poorly converting landing pages... Why can the results of the same marketing tool vary so much?
When is it better not to use a landing page?
Up to this point, we have already told you a lot about the benefits of landing pages, but you may be wondering if there are also known cases where landing pages are not the optimal tool? Of course.
Think about the "About Me" page or "Contact Us" page. Does it sound logical to create a separate landing page for these? Not really. The purpose of these types of pages is to inform or educate. A page with information about your company history, mission or team ... is actually all about informing and not taking action. Even if you put a call-to-action at the bottom of that page.
Successfully deploying landing pages does not equate to creating as many as possible. In fact, if you are able to create many informative web pages then you can use them effectively to generate traffic to your landing pages.
What makes a landing page successful?
So a good landing page ensures that as many visitors as possible perform a desired action. But: this is certainly not an easy task. Did you know (according to HubSpot) that out of every ten people who visit your landing page, at least seven want to leave as soon as possible? Therefore, on the best landing pages, everything is tuned and formatted to entice the visitor to perform that single action. There are many different ways to entice your visitors.
In general, pay attention to good copy. Your goal is to come across as intriguing, informative, relaxed, concise, effective and reliable.
Most importantly, there should be a clear call-to-action on the page and the offer of the product or service should be immediately clear. In addition, you want the entire landing page to convey a unified message.
Finally, trust is very important. Do you yourself give away confidential information so easily? Probably that chance is slim. So what makes a person willing to leave his or her contact information on the Internet? For that, you need a well-designed landing page that also conveys trust.
In any case, you will have to meet the visitor's expectation on your Web site. When you click on an ad, you expect the message of the ad to match the message on the landing page. The conversion rate on a landing page is generally higher than on a regular website, because visitors on a regular website can become overwhelmed by choices. Your website is not set up to make people focus on a specific goal. Your Web site gives an overall picture of your company. The navigation elements allow visitors to click through to your products or services, your entrepreneurial story, your blog, and so on. When people land on your website, they actually have to search for your offerings themselves. Chances are that they will get lost and eventually even leave your website without having performed a certain action.
Therefore, the impact of an effective landing page on your business is often underestimated. If you create a thorough plan and give attention to all the important elements, an optimized landing page can provide extreme sales growth.
How much does a landing page cost?
The cost of designing and developing a landing page obviously varies from case to case, from software package to software package. It certainly pays to look around carefully for the different options. That's why we have listed and compared the most important software tools for you in a series of blog articles:
In general, the cost of developing a (single) landing page is - logically - significantly lower than developing a complete Web site.
How many landing pages should a Web site have?
You understand that there is no one-size-fits-all rule for this. After all, companies and organizations vary a lot, as do marketing budgets. Still, there is a rule of thumb:
- An organization or company should at least have landing pages for all active marketing campaigns (which it is currently working on).
For some companies, this will mean that teams can get by with three landing pages. For other companies, it will mean that, instead, hundreds - for different marketing purposes and different audiences - will need to be created. In this regard, creating successful landing pages is just a simple factor of time, budget and resources. At the same time, you could argue that every website should have at least a single landing page. One that focuses (exclusively) on converting "cold" traffic into qualified leads and that addresses the pain points of the ideal target audience. Later in this article, we'll take a longer look at determining your ideal target audience.
What different types of landing pages exist?
Landing pages generally fall into three main categories. Each with its own pros and cons and (specific) strategies:splash pages, squeeze pages and sales pages. For convenience, we'll stick with the English designations here because you'll come across them a lot if you do more research. Of course, a single marketing campaign can contain different types of landing pages, depending on the personalized steps and corresponding CTAs a lead needs to take through the different stages of the customer journey (or sales funnel).
Splash pages
A splash page is an introduction page that customers normally see before they are shown the main content of your Web site. Splash pages are also called "splash screens" or "welcome screens. They can be formatted as separate pages or as pop-ups.
Splash pages are popular and effective because they manage to grab the visitor's attention even before entering the website. With the help of these splash pages or screens, you can ask for the first contact information relatively easily, because the visitor has not yet received a first impression and therefore can only rely on the first offer. At the same time, some visitors might feel a bit overwhelmed, but in that case they can easily click away the splash screen and continue their way to the (main) website. A risk most business owners are happy to take....
The main purpose of a splash page is to collect "leads": cold traffic that leaves contact information. This can be achieved through a direct, low-threshold call-to-action in exchange for receiving an initial offer or by sharing more information about the brand.
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Squeeze pages
Squeeze pages are also known as lead capture pages. This is the most common form of a landing page, which is why you'll see them often. They are designed to "squeeze" information out of the visitor (hence the somewhat direct name): usually this involves the visitor's first name and email address.
The formatting of squeeze pages will differ in content, length and design depending on the purpose and call-to-action of the page. They will also differ based on the visitor's position in the customer journey. But often enough, a squeeze page contains at least the following components:
- A compelling headline
- A well-described offer
- An attractive call-to-action
- An opt-in form
- Customer experiences and 'social proof'
- Supporting images and videos
Sales pages
As the name suggests, sales pages are all about making the final "sale. Whereas a squeeze page normally targets new prospects, cold traffic or other visitors, a sales page normally targets warm traffic that has already interacted with your brand once.
Since the goal is to make a "sale," the copywriting on the page should be enticing. Also, the content should focus primarily on the benefits of the product or service. It should paint a good picture of the "life" or lifestyle of the brand and the offer or discount.
Although you would normally create a sales page for people who already have a relationship with you or your company, you can still use a sales page for new visitors if it is well designed. Therefore, a sales page is the perfect candidate to experiment with until you find the right conversion rate.
Lead magnets
An important part of converting cold audiences (into new customers) is a so-called "lead magnet. Lead what? A lead magnet is a mysterious term for a relatively simple psychological concept: for what goes around, comes around.
A lead magnet is therefore freely translated as a "gift. By leaving contact information, a visitor can receive that gift. This model only works well if a visitor derives relatively high value from this "giveaway. In that case, a visitor will not have to think long to leave name and e-mail address; after all, would you yourself let go of so much value if you only have to receive an e-mail once in a while in return? Keep in mind: everyone is obviously making this trade-off more and more, so you will have to be aware of the 'added value' of your offer.
What are known forms of lead magnets?
Lead magnets come in all shapes and sizes. From free video courses, to downloadable checklists or free e-books. You can't think of anything or there is a lead magnet for it. Still, it is possible to think of a shortlist of lead magnets that are popular today:
- E-books
- Checklists/cheat sheets/guides
- Worksheets
- Email courses
- Templates
- Webinars
- Calendars
- Industry reports/benchmarks
- Whitepapers
- Case studies
- Live demos
- Tutorials
- Online video training courses
- Matches
- Quizzes
- Product testing
- Product demos
- Consults
Before you get started with your own lead magnet, it's important to ask yourself a few questions:
- Who is your audience?
- How involved are they in your business?
- How hard are they willing to work to get value out of your offer?
- What specific problem are you solving for your audience?
- What solution do you propose?
- What is the ideal content format to display that solution in?
- What resources do you have at your disposal to create ( text, video, audio, images etcetera)
Which marketing channel fits your lead magnet?
Another important element of creating lead magnets is thinking about what marketing channel you will use to distribute them. The colder your audience, the easier your lead magnet should be to use.
How do you actually create a lead magnet?
Creating a lead magnet can feel frightening, but it certainly doesn't have to be. For example, you can start with the following actions:
- Focus on a single problem that concerns your audience
- Create content that solves a specific problem
- Commit to a format that fits the topic and your type of audience
- Create the opportunity for tying
- Create ads and landing pages to show your lead magnet to the world
Optimizing your landing page
A good landing page is actually never finished. That's why we explain here what you can do to optimize your landing page.
Defining the purpose for your landing page
How many leads do you want to get from your landing page? How much additional sales do you want to generate? These are all relevant questions that help manage expectations around your (new) landing page. Suppose you have a marketing agency. A client has commissioned you to create a landing page. Then it is smart to go into your client's expectations beforehand. Have an extensive conversation. The following questions can help you further define the goal and expectations:
- What all have you tried online? What worked? What were the results?
- Are there no results yet? Then be clear about how you are going to test and optimize your landing page.
- Do you want to receive leads structurally? Or is it a one-time action? A one-time action takes just as much time and gets you out of the flow. Turning off/on optimizing your landing page can't be done in practice. That's how your customer usually thinks. Often, one-time actions don't work out the way you thought of them beforehand and it's better to aim for a long-term partnership.
Determining the ideal target audience
Do you find it difficult to figure out who your ideal customer is? Then it is smart to start working with a so-called buyer persona. By creating a buyer persona, you can map out what your ideal target group looks like. Of course, demographic characteristics play an important role, but it works most effectively by focusing on the pain points and dreams of your buyer persona.
Who is your ideal target audience (ICP)? And do you know how to determine it? In this article you'll learn more about determining your ideal target audience.
We address a few relevant questions here, so that you already have a slightly more complete picture. What does my persona look like? How old are they? How do they dress? What are they interested in? The answers to these questions are important in determining the "image" you want to create on the front end. If you want to be relevant to your audience, the image generated by you must match the expectation of that of your ideal audience.
- How often do you speak to this target audience? What sources do you use to do so?
In short, engage with your customer. Ask why they chose your products or services and how they came to you. The answers to these questions will give you valuable information that you can then apply in your marketing and communications. You will notice that you can communicate much more effectively and specifically with your dream customer if you know what problems your target group has.
Want to know more about building the optimal landing page? Then check out this article from Toptal.
The elements of an effective landing page
A good landing page consists of a number of elements. In this article, I write extensively about which elements are important for a landing page. In this section, we briefly explain what you need to think about so you can get started in advance.
A well-chosen design
A heads-up perhaps, but every good landing page starts with the right design. This is the first thing you notice when your visitors "land" on the page. In fact, it should be immediately clear what the offer is. Have you ever noticed that landing pages never actually have a menu? That's quite logical; all other links can distract your visitor from your offer and that's exactly what you don't want. We don't really need to tell you how important it is to design your landing page responsive. The last thing you want is for a form to fail for visitors on mobile screens.
After all, did you know that desktop still has a huge impact on conversion? At AdPage, we process about 10 million visitors every month, with about 60 percent looking at landing pages on mobile screens and 40 percent via desktop. Our numbers show that conversion on desktop is about 3x higher... So don't stare blindly at the "mobile first" trend.
With web development, you always have the option of doing it yourself or outsourcing. This, of course, is just as true for creating landing pages. Doing it yourself gives you the most freedom, while outsourcing gives you the least worries (but spends the most). Nevertheless, there are plenty of software packages today that offer the ability to create good-looking and already tested landing pages in a fraction of the usual development time. At this point, then, we want to emphasize that there is no need to reinvent the wheel to start a successful landing page. In fact, you often get more results with a landing page that has already proven itself. Almost all major software packages offer these types of pages.
Cover photo (hero shot)
Opening with a good image is an absolute must. The cover is the part of the page that people see as soon as they open the page, even before they have had to scroll. Remember that these images need to convey a feeling. Actually, they should "demonstrate" how the visitor feels after they have purchased your product or service. Fortunately, you can always split-test the use of images.
Some sources recommend displaying your forms above the fold, that is, on your cover photo, for example. That is, the form should at least be visible immediately upon loading the page. You don't want your visitor to have to search for the form and then leave contact information.
Did you know that showing a video is also a very good option? The power of video marketing has been known for some time, but video continues to grow in popularity every day. Not only do customers like to see videos from companies, but 88% of video marketers report that video gives a positive ROI on marketing budgets. The key here is to create an effective video that does not distract visitors from the ultimate goal: namely, the call-to-action. Some of the reasons why video works so well are:
- A more personal way to convey a message and connect with prospects
- An opportunity to reduce the number of support messages or tickets
- Video is processed faster by our brain: up to 60,000(!) times faster than text
Headline
Start your page with a clear title. This can be your call-to-action or some other clear message or promise. In any case, this section should make it clear what problem your product or service solves. Focus on the benefits of your product or service. Consider the impact of positioning and focusing on a niche market.
Recognizable problem
By communicating a problem that is recognizable to your ideal audience, you ensure that the visitor gets confirmation about the situation. This is extremely powerful. Because the customer recognizes the problem, you create empathy in your visitor and this increases the likelihood of a purchase. In addition, it also immediately becomes clear what the customer needs the product for. It is therefore essential to address the visitor directly as you or you so that he or she actually feels involved. Remember, when describing this recognizable problem, don't sound too negative: problems are there to be solved!
It is important to name the biggest problem at the beginning of the landing page. Then you can choose to break this down further into smaller, concrete pain points. Another effective tactic is to turn pain points into questions.
By capitalizing on alternatives to solve your problem, you again create recognition about the product you offer. You position your brand in a different way and explain why it is unique from your competitors.
The solution/offer
By following up with the final solution, you complete the so-called PAS formula. PAS stands for Problem - Agitation - Solution. This method is often used by copywriters, on both landing pages and social media, to give a clear structure to the solution you offer. If you can demonstrate a clear line or "journey" between your visitor's problem on the one hand and how your product or service can solve it, you make the process very clear to your prospect.
These are a few relevant questions to determine whether or not you have a good offer:
- Does my offer solve a pain point for my target audience?
- Is there a clear benefit to the potential customer that this offer gives?
- Can my offer compete?
Often the solution is packaged in an offer that is temporarily valid, thus providing extra urgency. In doing so, you increase conversion because the visitor risks paying full price when the offer expires.
Are you familiar with the phenomenon of "fomo"(Fear Of Missing Out)? Undoubtedly. This is a well-known marketing tactic that capitalizes on fear, and whether we like it or not, fear is one of the strongest psychological forces. More specifically, this tactic plays on the fear of missing out on an offer. Entrepreneurs know this as well and, of course, make grateful use of it. By the way, the reason behind this is quite simple: people are simply programmed to want things that are hard to get. This means by definition that these things have high(er) value and are exclusive (and indirectly this reflects on the people who have obtained them).
To emphasize scarcity, you can mention how little of your offer or product is left, use a special "countdown timer," use descriptions such as "stops soon" or "last chance. Of course, it is important to be honest though, but rest assured: There are many ways to use this technique and still be honest. These were just a few examples, but it pays to look at these carefully (with or without the help of a good copywriter).
Describe unique benefits
By mentioning concrete benefits, you keep the visitor interested and make it clear what they stand to gain from your offer. After all, everyone wants to know what your success is based on. What exactly makes your approach different and successful? Suppose you've written an e-book: what topics exactly do you cover? Suppose you offer a service, what exactly can people expect (after purchase)? Give your potential customer pretty much all the information they need to make a good decision. Here it is important not so much to name features of your product or service, but the benefits. The benefits highlight how your potential customer's situation will be positively differentiated as a result of purchasing your product or service. Describe a vivid picture of how much better life will be after purchasing your product or service and your prospect will automatically begin to picture what that life would be like.
Social proof (customer experiences)
It comes across as professional to post a section immediately after your promise in which a customer or expert confirms that your product works well. You can tell yourself 100 times how good your product or service is, but that ultimately has little (additional) effect. Social proof is the actual proof that others are already convinced of your solution and is based on the psychological effect where you yourself only take action after someone else has already done so.
This effect, of course, has also been studied. It is not for nothing that you are more likely to sit on a terrace where a number of tables are already occupied as opposed to that terrace where no one can be found. So make sure your customers are telling you how good your product or service is. You will see that positive reviews positively influence the conversion rate of your landing page. The (extra) strong aspect of positive customer experiences is that you validate your offer in the eyes of prospects, without having to put in (extra) effort yourself. Two birds with one stone!
'About Us'
If you want to sell on your landing page, trust is very important. In addition to valid reviews, your visitors want to know who is behind the product. The more transparent you are about this, the more trust you generate.
How does it work?
Your visitor now knows what problems you solve, what the (specific) benefits are, who recommends the product and who is behind it. But what happens when the visitor chooses to purchase the product? What are the next steps? Nobody likes uncertainty and especially not in the buying process. So make sure you communicate clearly about the steps to take after purchase.
Examples and outcomes
Your product may solve specific problems, but of course it creates a more complete end result. Be sure to use good examples to show how your customers' lives have been positively changed.
Refuting (possible) objections
Chances are the visitor is now convinced, but there could always be some unanswered questions. You can add the questions that come back most often to your landing page in an FAQ ("Frequently Asked Questions") section. Maybe you don't have that many frequently asked questions yet? That doesn't have to be a problem.
For example, you can ask close friends to look at your page as a potential customer. What are any questions or concerns that come to mind? It is important to scrutinize the entire page when doing this. To then address these objections, you can also get creative. For example, you can integrate statistics on your landing page that support your messages. You can cite case studies that show satisfied customers. Finally, it is important to be approachable. Especially with digital offers, people want to know who they are doing business with. So admit any past mistakes, be open about uncertainties, and finally, be as honest as possible at all times. This may sound a bit excessive, so consider this: share only what is relevant to the customer.
Finally, you can also think about so-called "click triggers. Click triggers are specially designed to remove the last bit of doubt from a visitor. It is best to think of them as additional opportunities to sell something. They are often featured alongside key copy with the goal of giving your visitor the final push and taking the plunge. Examples of effective ways to use 'click triggers' are:
- Money-back guarantee
- The ability to unsubscribe from newsletters
- Quotes from satisfied customers
- Brief summaries of what to expect
- Offer prices
- A transparent privacy policy (although this is also simply a legal requirement)
Form or 'multistep'
A visitor to your page is obviously not immediately a "lead" or customer. So make sure visitors can leave data using a form. First, carefully determine what information is necessary for you. Keep in mind that the more information you ask for, the higher the threshold is for filling out the form. For example, if you ask for a phone number or an address, that is quite a threshold and will not quickly lead to an action by the visitor. However, if you keep the form short and concise and only ask for a first name and e-mail address, people are much more likely to perform the desired action.
Call-to-action (prompt to action)
A call-to-action (or: CTA) is perhaps one of the best-known marketing terms today. Your call-to-action is usually the button that ensures that visitors actually perform the desired action. This could be the send button on your contact form or the purchase button in your web shop. Make sure the call-to-actions stand out by using a different color. You can also use striking and larger letters. Of course, you don't have to overdo it (the Internet is full of beautiful examples of CTAs that go way over the top...).
Furthermore, it is important that the call-to-action contain a clear description of the action to be performed. These clear descriptions are often verbs, such as "Send," "Download," or "Sign up now. Our brain subconsciously puts us into "action mode" ourselves after reading these types of verbs.
Thank you page
Normally, a landing page also has a special "thank you" page. This is where visitors are sent once they have completed and submitted your form. However, sometimes people choose to leave out this thank you page. However, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to integrate a thank you page into your landing page. A landing page has at least three important goals:
- The page ensures that your visitor actually gets the offer they were promised. Often this is in the form of a digital download.
- It gives you as a business owner the opportunity to provide your "lead" with other interesting information and offers.
- It gives you a chance to actually thank your visitors (gosh!). This obviously ensures good customer loyalty in the long run.
The elements of an effective landing page: conclusion
As you have read, there are quite a few sections and elements to consider. Rest assured: you don't have to use all of them. The rule of thumb is: the higher the threshold of your offer, the longer your landing page will be (and the more sections you will have to add). After all, with a high threshold, you have to try harder to convince the visitor.
People are more likely to cross a major threshold when it is clear to them what they will get in return. That's why companies often want to send a significant offer, in exchange for your contact information. The value and relevance of that offer determines how easily people are willing to leave their contact information. At the same time, remember that the visitor doesn't actually know you yet. Therefore, you should ask for as little information as possible. Often a name and an e-mail suffice and you can ask for more information later.
The traditional way of creating a landing page
Many processes - within online marketing - are still handled in the traditional way. This, of course, also applies to the development of landing pages. To illustrate:
The client wants a landing page. You get to work on design, research, copywriting, legal and development until you have a first draft for your new landing page. Not surprisingly, this process can sometimes take months. In addition, you're also extremely busy testing what works and what doesn't. You then also need the developer for this and so you end up in an (unnecessarily) long vicious circle.
In contrast to this traditional work process, online marketers today also have the choice to flip the work process and tackle many things themselves. In this case, the result does not have to be perfect (immediately); the focus is on a quick development time so that afterwards all attention can go to the process of optimization.
The modern method for creating a landing page
Switching between colleagues can be a lot of fun for some, but when it comes to design or engineering modifications, I've never actually heard anyone say that they can get energy or satisfaction from that....
In an ideal world, you would want all facets of the development process such as design, copywriting, optimization and research at your fingertips. Then all you have to do is connect with colleagues when it comes to content, rather than adjusting text, photo or anything technical. Plus, you can extend your landing page with other elements of a complete marketing funnel by adding website pop-ups and quizzes. Fortunately, this new work process exists and is made possible in part by the many options available to you in the form of SaaS solutions for creating and optimizing landing pages. Did you know that we have already reviewed the main providers for you?
After the conversion
The conversion on your landing page has taken place! Hurray! Congratulations! And now...?
The most obvious action is to add a thank you page after the visitor completes the form on your landing page. You can keep visitors engaged in several ways on this thank you page:
- Put in a form or multistep form (yet). You already have the e-mail address or phone number, for example, but you're probably going to ask some questions about the visitor's situation. This way you can enrich the profile and sales or marketing can better follow up with the lead.
- Ask if visitors would like to follow your company on LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok or another social media channel.
- Refer your lead to your blog, where you share knowledge.
- Thank your visitor personally after they share data. It often works well to contact your visitor within 24 hours, by sending an (automated) email.
Testing your landing page
People often think that when a landing page is finished, traffic automatically flows to it. In practice, unfortunately, this is not how it works... There is a difference between theory and practice. Your market undoubtedly works differently from other markets and your target audience is also unique. So how do you know exactly if the copy you've chosen works best? Or whether the spot for your call-to-action is the right one? Or which colors work best for your target audience? Or which image to choose in the end?
The good news is: you don't have to choose that either. You just test it! You've probably heard of split testing, also known as A/B testing. In fact, this is nothing more than testing your landing page on all key elements. A/B testing is simply splitting your traffic into two or more variations of your page to see which one performs better. Of course, you can do this manually, by running one variation of your page for a period of time and then uploading another. Then you can measure the results through. Fortunately, there is software that can make your life a lot easier in this regard.
The most important aspect of split testing, is testing a single element each time. An example: you'd rather not split test with different versions of both your header and main images. That way you can't say anything meaningful about the conclusion. After all: did the change in copy or the other image cause a higher or lower conversion?
Therefore, it is better to start thinking like a "real" scientist and stick to testing a single variable. Have you completed this test? Then you can then test another new element. You simply repeat this process until you achieve a conversion rate that you are satisfied with (or that falls within the benchmark of your industry).
That sounds good, of course, but what exactly are you testing? Actually, you can test anything you want. Still, it is good to focus on some fixed, well-known elements, which we also discussed earlier in the article. These are elements such as:
- Header copy
- Images
- Colors
- Call-to-action(s)
- Click triggers
- Content blocks
- The length of your form
- The fields of your form
You will probably see the biggest increase in your conversion rate when you start working with these elements. Start with the simplest changes: like a header, a color or a call-to-action. Then you can move on to bigger changes like content blocks or other elements.
The key KPIs of your landing page
The ultimate power of your landing page lies in data and what insights you are able to unlock from this data. It is difficult to predict in advance exactly what works and what does not work well on your landing page. By testing and measuring, and then accurately tracking this, you can quickly get a picture of what actually works and what doesn't. While measuring through KPIs is a science in itself, here is a list of the most important metrics:
Page visits
One of the all-important results needs little explanation: how many visitors actually come to your page? The more visitors, the greater the chance of a conversion. It's as simple as that, but then again it's not... Every online marketer knows how difficult it is to generate a lot of (organic) traffic to your page. Still, you can achieve small adjustments by focusing on other keywords, for example, both paid and organic. Another effective way of increasing traffic towards your page is by informing your current customers and followers. This can be done through email, social media and, of course, through your website.
Traffic sources
If you know what works, it naturally makes sense to put more time and energy into the traffic sources that are already producing success.
Conversion rate (sign-ups)
This is the percentage of people who end up filling out your form and landing on your thank you page. There are many different variables you can test here, but the most important ones have to do with the layout of your form. Therefore, experiment mainly with different, shorter versions of your form.
New contacts
Of course, the number of new "leads" or new contacts you get through your form does not have to be the same as the total number of signups you received. The reason behind this is quite simple: existing customers can also take advantage of your (new) offer and form, but obviously do not count as a new contact.
Heat mapping
'Heat maps' are not 'hard' metrics, but they are a very important research tool. Heat maps give a good idea of where people scroll and move on your page, what they read and what they don't, and how they interact with your page. This can be very valuable data when thinking about the layout and structure of your page.
Bounce rate
What percentage of your visitors get to your page, but also leave immediately? That number is determined by the bounce rate. Do you have a high bounce rate? Then you need to investigate whether the content you have on your page matches the offer. For example, are you able to hold your visitors' attention and clearly convey to them what they need to do on your page?
Form abortions
This measurement result tells you how many people were busy filling out your form, but ultimately did not complete that process. If this number is reasonably high, then by making some logical adjustments you can probably increase the conversion rate relatively easily. In any case, visitors should always have a good idea of the steps they need to go through in your form.
Benchmarks
Are you familiar with the key benchmarks in your industry? Benchmarks also don't come directly from your own landing page itself, but are metrics that can help you get an idea of what realistic conversion rates are on your page compared to standards and in the industry.
The impact of your landing page speed
Website load time refers to the time it takes your website or landing page to fully load. As you can imagine, a page that loads faster produces much better results than a landing page with a slow load time. Site speed affects your search engine ranking, bounce rate and conversion rate. Several studies have been done on the impact of longer site load times.
For example, did you know that (according to HubSpot) even a single second means a difference of 7% fewer conversions and 11% fewer page visits?
So in general, the faster the better. Therefore we have also written an extensive article on this topic.
Driving traffic to your landing page
One of the most difficult disciplines within digital marketing is generating the right amount of traffic needed to make your project or campaign a success. Besides the fact that there is a huge amount of incorrect (or at least incomplete) information about this, successfully generating traffic turns out to be as much an art as a science. Sure, you can drive a lot of traffic to your landing pages with a huge marketing budget using PPC ads, for example, but the relevance of your campaigns to your flow of visitors ultimately determines the success of the campaign. So you understand that knowing the source of your traffic is essential to achieve a successful ROI. Therefore, here we briefly explain to you the most important traffic sources:
Email lists
Email lists are to this day one of the most effective forms of digital marketing. Because people choose to receive your newsletters themselves, their readers are among the most engaged followers of your business.
The big and most common problem with e-mail marketing, though, is that the supply is huge. Every day you receive dozens of newsletters. Many of them end up in your recycle garbage can, usually unseen. Therein lies the biggest challenge for you as an entrepreneur or marketer: How do you make sure that as few people as possible unsubscribe from your newsletters? This is where personalization and profile enrichment play an important role. In this article we discuss this in more detail. Want to watch an interesting case study on this topic? Then be sure to check out this webinar on profile enrichment.
Social media
Did you know that nearly 77 percent of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile? In the Netherlands, that percentage is even slightly higher - 79 percent. Therefore, we don't need to explain how important social media can be in getting traffic to your landing page. Social media works effectively for businesses because marketing teams can use engaging visual elements and custom copy to create a community. Followers within that community can naturally speak to and for your business. As such, they are perfect platforms for gauging interest among your supporters for a specific offer.
Google Ads/Facebook Ads
Pay-per-click ads come in all shapes and sizes: from paid ads on social media platforms to display ads and search engine ads. Depending on which platform you use, you'll have limited ability to grab people's attention, convey a message and entice them to take the next step. Therefore, landing pages can help optimize that experience and deliver content designed specifically for the target audience and traffic source.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, or search engine optimization. Not entirely unjustifiably, SEO is often seen as the "holy grail" of traffic. This refers only to the organic search results in the search engines, with Google, of course, being the largest. In addition, Bing and Yahoo are major search engines.
Organic findability means that you are visible in search engines without having to use paid campaigns. If your organic ranking is in order, you can generate traffic for free. What many marketers seem to forget is that developing quality, sustainable content also costs time, money and energy.
Yet SEO can be hugely profitable, especially in the long run. Landing pages that are optimized for search engines are pages that are focused on long-term results. These landing pages are often much more comprehensive and are designed to share information with the visitor. In doing so, these landing pages are written with the goal of ranking higher in the search engines. In this article, we will discuss SEO for landing pages in detail.
Some final tips:
I have given you an enormous amount of information in this article and I understand that you need to let it sink in; and rightly so. Still, I want to give you some useful tips to make your landing page even better in the future. You can regularly ask for user feedback to gain insight into how you can make your landing pages even stronger. You can do that, for example:
- To add a survey pop-up
- Add live chat
- Invite friends/family/acquaintances and of course customers to take a 5-second test (physical test). In this, you ask someone to look at the page for 5 seconds, close the page and then simply ask what the page was about.
Landing page examples
Now that you're (almost) at the end of our ultimate guide on landing pages, you may be a little dizzy. No worries, after all, sometimes a picture says more than 1,000 words! Finally, we would like to inspire you with an overview of the best landing pages we have found. That way you can quickly get a feel for the key elements of an effective landing page.
We have listed some inspiring examples for you for different industries:
And now?
Time for action! Do you dare to roll up your sleeves in the coming weeks? Are you ready to discover who your ideal target audience is, think about the message you want to convey to your visitors, create the right images, put together the landing page and drive traffic to it? If you are willing to do that and want to get it right, you need to take your time. Fortunately, in this article we've explained to you step by step how to do that. Still, we understand if you still have questions at this point. Or that it's all still dizzying and has overwhelmed you. That's why we are always ready to help you further! At the bottom of this page, you can easily schedule an appointment - without obligation, of course - with one of our enthusiastic AdPage team members!
What is AdPage?
AdPage is a Dutch-made software tool that lets you create landing pages, website pop-ups, profile enrichment and quizzes. The software is known for its speed and extensive support.
If you want to design and optimize effective and fast landing pages, you've come to the right place at AdPage. The landing pages you've designed can then be segmented and personalized (which increases conversion by up to 40 percent).
Thereby, you can present your questions to your visitors dynamically, based on answers and data. AdPage helps you easily get started with these 'multisteps' and therefore you no longer need a separate tool, such as Google Forms or Typeform. You will also find various options for creating pop-ups or offering discount codes to your visitors.
The templates offered by AdPage are created and tested for the Dutch market. They are also completely up-to-date with the latest AVG regulations.
You can seamlessly integrate AdPage with existing tools like Mailblue, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Salesforce, or any of 500(!) other tools. You link your landing pages with the likes of Copernica, Datatrix, Hubspot, and other major ESPs and CDPs.
You can even start with AdPage for free and switch to the next package as your business grows.
I'm sure we'll talk soon!