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Do you want more traffic visiting your website? Of course you do. So what will happen when they arrive? Is there a welcome mat? It’s important that you have a dedicated ‘About’ page to welcome your new visitors. However when you are attracting inbound traffic as a result of a marketing campaign you might want to consider a landing page. Especially if you want your new visitors to take action. Landing pages are all about conversions and this post is to help you learn how to use landing pages to convert traffic into customers and capture important data about your target audience.
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Why use a landing page?
The most important component of a landing page is a form to capture your visitor’s information. The primary purpose of the landing page is to compel your visitors to complete and submit that form. There are a number of reasons that you might want to capture the data including: Market research, building a database or a list of email subscribers, and even to encourage visitors to make a purchase.
Identify your goal
A landing page should have a specific goal and should focus exclusively on that goal and desired outcome. There is plenty of space on the rest of your website for your other priorities. The inbound traffic arriving on your landing page will have a specific intent and it is critical not to distract them from that. Every aspect of the landing page should be geared towards achieving the pages goal.
The headline will make or break it
We live in a headline generation. That’s why Twitter and Infographics are so popular. People are time poor and have very short attention spans. The headline of your landing page will need to cut through and grab your audience up front. According to CopyBlogger 8 out of 10 people will read the headline, but only 2 out of 10 read the rest. I always write the headline first. Try using this tool: Headline Analyzer. Once you’ve nailed the headline, extend your offer with a punchy sub-headline.
Make sure it’s engaging
Your landing page will need compelling content. Not only to encourage the visitors to take the next step, but to make it shareable. Once your visitor has converted into a customer or subscriber we want them to tell their friends about it on social media. Consider using a professional copywriter or content creator. One of my clients is just putting the finishing touches on a video produced specifically for his landing page campaign.
Your call to action is vital
Every successful landing page should have visitors taking action within moments of arriving. Testing what works best will be a big part of reaching that level of success. A lot of that testing should be on your call to action button. Not only does it have to form a compelling request, it has to be the right colour. What colour is that do I hear you ask? That will be different for every page. It will depend on the campaign and you will need to try several versions before you get it right.
Other attributes of a successful landing page
There is no secret or set formula for a successful landing page. Having said that, there are certain things that are important to consider including:
Trust Builders
Including testimonials, guarantees and ensuring privacy security will help visitors feel comfortable to take action
Features & Benefits List
Be sure there are plenty of reasons why your visitors should sign up
Keeping It Above The Fold
Don’t make your visitors work (scroll). Make sure the important stuff is in plain view on arrival
A Great Design
The layout will be critical to the success and the design should reflect the brand and campaign
A/B Testing
If you don’t try to mix it up, you’ll never reach the landing page’s full potential
Resources
Here are some helpful links about how to use landing pages to convert traffic into customers:
15 Steps to the Ultimate Lead Capture Landing Page
The Resources You Need to Master Landing Pages [In Under 100 Words]
The Anatomy Of A Perfect Landing Page
How to Optimize Landing Pages for Conversion [Free eBook]
Conclusion
So as we endeavor to drive inbound traffic to our websites it is important to consider ways to convert that traffic into customers. A report from Econsultancy suggests that only about 22% of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rates. So I hope that with these tips and links about how to use landing pages to convert traffic into customers you will be able to increase your conversion rate and market share and encourage your visitors to take action on your site. If you have been considering a landing page and would like a few pointers or a gentle nudge please CLICK HERE. I hope that you have found this post helpful and useful and will share it with your social networks. Thanks for reading and sharing. As always I will look forward to seeing you back here next week.
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Check out this Landing Page Infographic from Scorch Agency:
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If you enjoyed this post you might also like:
Creating viral content to be shared
How To Create Content for SEO in 2013
How to Measure Your Social Media Marketing ROI
Image credits [Flickr, Wikimedia Commons] Infographic [Visual.ly]
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