Conversions and generating sales leads are important in every small business marketing strategy – and one of the most effective methods of capturing leads is through the use of a landing page.
A landing page gives your promotions a place to live on your website, and can make it easier to generate new leads. It also provides you with valuable insights into how effective your marketing offers are performing when you track the analytics.
In this post we go through everything you need to know about landing pages, how to create them and how to apply them to your own marketing plans.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a stand-alone page on your website that lets your visitor complete an action of value, such as capturing their information through a form, downloading an ebook etc. A visitor usually lands on this page after they’ve clicked through from an email, advert or social media post.
There are two common types of landing pages: click-through and lead generation.
Click-through landing pages give visitors the info they need about an offer they’re interested in. The ultimate goal here is for them to buy something.
Lead generation landing pages are specifically designed for you to collect information through a form and often offer something in return for a visitor’s information, such as a discount.
How to create a landing page
Once you’ve identified which landing page you need for your business, you’ll need to create one.
A good landing page should include the following elements:
A headline
This is the first thing visitors will see when they land here and a good headline sums up your offer. If you’re unsure what it should say, ask yourself this question: “What will visitors who convert receive?” The answer will help you write a compelling headline.
Concise copy
The copy on your landing page should explain the value of your offer in a simple but compelling way. You can use bullet points to break up large chunks of text.
Relevant keywords
Don’t forget to include keywords in your page title, header and text so that the page will be optimised for search engines and appear in common searches.
Social sharing buttons or links
Adding these links lets visitors share a landing page with their connections on social networks, which increases the reach of your landing page beyond your network of followers and email subscribers.
The conversion form
This is where your visitors will enter their information in exchange for something, which helps convert them into viable sales leads.
An image
Include an image that gives visitors an idea of what they’ll receive. It also adds to the visual appeal of a landing page.
For ease of use, Managed WordPress Hosting customers can simply add a new page to their Starter Site of choice and use the WordPress Block Editor to drag and drop the above elements into place.
How to use a landing page
There are a few things you’ll need to consider when creating a landing page that will convert. Here are three best practices to guide you.
Offer something great
You need to offer your visitors something in return for their information. What this is, will depend on what business or service you offer on your website. If you’re selling products, for example, visitors are more likely to convert if you offer them a discount on a future purchase.
Add a clear call to action that sits above the fold
A call to action (CTA) tells people what you want from them, such as signing up for your newsletter so you can grow your subscriber database. Make sure you add the CTA above the fold (the top half of the screen), so visitors don’t have to scroll to find it.
Focus on your benefits rather than features
Someone who arrives on your landing page is probably here because they’re looking for a solution to a problem. Focus on the benefits to a potential customer instead of listing all the features that your product or service offers.
Getting visitors to your landing page
Once you’ve created a landing page and identified your goal, people will need to find it.
There are a few simple ways you can drive traffic to your landing page:
- Include a CTA and the URL in a newsletter
- Use paid search advertising, such as Google Ads
- Share the URL with a CTA on your social media pages
- Optimise your landing page for SEO so it appears in searches
- Add a CTA to your home page or in relevant blog articles
POPIA considerations
Any personal information you collect has to be POPIA compliant. This means you’ll need your visitor’s consent before you can process any of their personal information. For example, when a customer checks out on your online store and enters their email address, you need to ask for their permission before you can save it to your database to use for future marketing. Make sure all personal information you collect and keep is safe, and that your customers can access, correct or delete any of their data. You also need to give people the option to opt-out at any time.
Now that you know what a landing page is and how you can use it for your business, consider using one of our Managed WordPress Starter Sites to get started.
