Inbound Best Practices: Landing Pages

3 min read
Aug 12, 2014 11:37:00 AM

A landing page is the link between a call-to-action button and the content that it offers to viewers, and it  allows you to convert visitors into leads by asking them to fill out a short information form. (Don't worry, it's usually just name and email address. I'll buy you a drink before I ask for anything juicier than that.) Gathering information on your website visitors is essential to building a relationship with them, as you will be able to reach out to them via email and provide further information related to the content that they sought out from you initially.

Landing pages can be tricky, however, since many people are often deterred by an online form submission request. Whether its concern for privacy or just plain laziness, ("Type in my whole email? Nah that takes too long; I can find this information somewhere else") it can be difficult to convince savvy Internet users to provide you with their contact info. In order to get this valuable lead information, you have to create landing pages that sufficiently incentivize a visitor to fill out the form. Follow these 6 landing page best practices to increase conversions! 

1. Length Should Match the Goal
The length of both your form and your copy should relate logically to the goal of your landing page. What kind of information do you want from your visitors? What kind of content are you giving them in exchange for it? These two things should be in balance so that you are neither asking too much from your visitors nor giving away your high-value content too easily.

2. Does it Pass the Blink Test?
While copy length can vary, the layout of your page should be straightforward and easy to understand no matter what. Sit in front of your landing page and give it the "blink test": can you figure out what it's about in the time it takes between blinks? Don't lose potential leads with a landing page that takes too long to understand! 

3. No Distractions
Convincing someone to take the 30 seconds to fill out a form is even more difficult when there's competition for their attention. A Hubspot study shows that you should exclude your website's navigation bar from your landing pages, as people may get distracted and click on your site's "about" page or company blog rather than filling out the form. 

4. Actionable Language
Your landing page should consist of actionable, value-driven words that encourage viewers to do something, i.e., fill out the form. Your copy should incentivize conversion by indicating the value of the offer behind the landing page. To this end, make sure that the landing page headline is similar to the language of the CTA that links to it in order to maintain visitor expectations of what they will see after clicking on the CTA.

5. Smart Content
Just because someone is already a contact doesn't mean that they can't help you generate more leads! Delight existing leads by using smart content to acknowledge their previous engagement with your website. Employ progressive profiling for people who have already filled out a landing page, which will present them with a new form to gather different information rather than asking them to fill out a page they've already completed. This not only means avoiding repetitive forms, but it also will allow you to get more information from people who have shown an interest in your content or product. You can also ask existing leads to "pay with a Tweet" (or any form of social sharing) to access content, which will bring in new website visitors. 

6. Mobile Formatting
Test your landing page for mobile devices to make sure that it's mobile accessible (and not showing up in an annoying format — nobody wants to have to squint or do the frantic pinch&scroll to read your content), because an increasing number of people are using their phones to visit websites, read articles, and buy things. 

If you can grab visitors' attention with landing pages that have a clear, easily accessible offer, you will convert more visitors into leads and start to gather more information on your website visitors. If you're in need of some creative inspiration, check out these awesome landing pages!

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