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Landing pages are an important part of any marketing mix, but especially marketing campaigns that are focused on inbound leads. The impact of generating clicks through adverts or traction on social is often lost if potential leads are directed to a home page rather than a focused ‘landing page’. They enable firms to display targeted messages, demonstrate a proposition and capture the data of leads who have self-identified as requiring your service. 

But what makes a great landing page? There is lots of advice about small changes that should be made to incrementally increase conversions, but how do you build a good one?

Clean and simple with a call to action

It’s important that any landing page is clean and simple. This is not an opportunity for you to convey your extensive business background or your entire suite of consulting services. In a clear layout, a landing page should demonstrate its purpose and have a visible call to action – whether that is a lead picking up the phone or downloading a thought paper or e-book – it must be obvious what you want the visitor to do. Choose one or two key images, make sure that text is readable and have a stand out headline. And above all make sure your layout works on both web and mobile devices.

Ensure your headline and copy gets straight to the point

Like all good marketing, your headline should be waffle-free. Crucially, your headline and any important copy should be visible, obvious and communicate the basic marketing concepts of:

  • What does it help them to do?
  • What problem does that help them overcome?
  • What goal does that help them to achieve?

Your headline needs to make it clear that they are in the right place and that their questions about your service or their need are going to be answered.

Always have an offer

Potential leads won’t just hand over their details. Have a clear offer – in exchange for their details, you’ll send them a free report, or they’ll receive a free audit – and make it compelling.

Information should be above the fold

In line with points 1 and 2, structurally it’s important to have all your key information “above the fold”, or visible on screen when a visitor lands on the page. A poor landing page won’t display this key information, or it will be hidden at the bottom of a long page. Visitor’s attention spans are short, so your headline, offer and call to action should be visible as soon as someone finds your landing page.

Align branding to your business

Although a slight side note, keeping your branding aligned to your company is important advice for any landing pages. Despite being a standalone page, this is still a marketing tool for your consultancy and the landing pages must look like they were designed by your company. If a lead converts into a customer, they’ll be dealing with your firm directly, so ensure that landing pages and the rest of your marketing collateral matches up.

GDPR compliant

Make sure that all your landing pages are geared to collect information correctly, that visitors know what they are signing up for and that you are storing the data in a compliant way.

Use testimonials

Social proof is a powerful phenomenon, and it’s still relevant in marketing today. If you have clients from a specific sector or names that people will associate with, be sure to use them on your landing page. Testimonials can help your visitors be certain that your offering is legitimate and that you are trustworthy, ultimately helping to drive conversions.

Test

There are so many variables with landing pages; multiple campaigns, layouts, design, messages and offers to name just a few. It’s important to continually use a combination of metrics to understand the performance of your landing pages and to optimise them accordingly. Changes to any of the features of the page may affect individual campaigns, so find a template that works for your brand and experiment with it over time.

Landing pages are a brilliant way to drive targeted interest and generate leads. There is lots to think about when laying out your landing page and it can feel like a bit of a minefield, although once you’ve developed a template, landing pages can provide a platform to increased growth. 

For support on developing your landing pages or to find out more about our marketing support, contact us here.

Doug Norman

Author Doug Norman

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