Landing pages can make or break your online marketing campaigns. Maximize conversion rates with our guide to 10 tried-and-tested landing page optimization tips:
1. Front-load your content. Pull important content as high as possible above the fold. Start your headings and paragraphs with the key selling points and other important information. Write in order of diminishing importance, with supporting arguments, examples and detailed product features lower down the page. Front-loading makes it easier for people to scan your text and still come away with your argument.
2. Highlight buying criteria. Use larger font sizes, styles or colour to highlight important buying criteria. It should come as no surprise that Amazon, Walmart and other online retailers highlight prices, savings and product availability in larger fonts. However, larger fonts, capitalisation and bright colours will only draw user attention when used in moderation.
3. Calls to action. Make your calls to action prominent with larger fonts and button sizes. Style them in complementary colours to the ones used on your landing page to help your calls to action stand out in a harmonious way. Place your buttons above the fold where they are immediately within sight. Check your landing page in different browsers to get a feel for where the fold lies.
4. Text links. Links also act as natural calls to action, prompting users to click-through to the next page. When using text links, keep them underlined. Avoid using purple as the colour is traditionally associated with visited links.
5. Narrow choices down. When confronted with too many choices, people tend to make none at all. Consumer research has revealed that providing too many choices causes fatigue and decision paralysis. Consider testing landing pages with fewer product alternatives, and conversion funnels with fewer steps. Match.com provides new members with just one call-to-action featured prominently above the fold: a 'Continue' button.
6. Benefits and features. Use bulleted lists or check marks to convey product benefits and features. Lists also are an excellent way to break up text and optimise your page for skimming and scanning.
7. Make comparisons. Use tables to compare options and alternatives. Table templates come into two styles – ‘vertical tables’ list options one below the other, while ‘horizontal tables’ show options in columns side by side. Vertical tables work well when you need to rank a large number of options, such as results on a price comparison site. Horizontal tables work well for comparisons across a smaller set of options, such as package alternatives on a merchant website.
8. Headings. Use headings to group related sections together and facilitate scanning. Standards compliant headings such as H1 and H2 tags can also help search engines process your pages.
9. Write shorter copy. Studies have shown than people scan Web pages rather than read them word by word. Write for online, not for print: make your landing pages easy to skim and scan with shorter copy, linking to additional content if necessary. Optimal copy length varies with the nature of the content and your conversion goal.
10. Use blank space effectively. Blank space helps structure a page and break content into sections. Use headings, paragraphs, lists and tables to break content into smaller units. However, large amounts of blank space can waste precious screen real estate and give users the impression that your page has ended before it really has.
Test, test and test again. Use tools such as Google Website Optimizer to test variations and see which ones work best for your business. Small changes in button text, font colour and sizes could improve conversion rates above and beyond expectations.
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