Let’s get it out of the way right off the top: the #1 landing page mistake is sending ad campaign visitors to a homepage. And yet we still see it all the time.
But facts are facts, and a well-architected landing page is much more likely to convert visitors into leads.
The good news is a great landing page isn’t complicated or hard to create. For our latest digital marketing video, we put together some information on The Anatomy of a Landing Page That Converts:

1. Identify Customer Personas

Like any marketing technique or strategy, understanding who is interested in buying from you is as important as your product or service. Think about it like fishing: you wouldn’t fish in a lake without researching what type of fish live in the lake – you need to know which bait to use! Bass bait won’t help you catch fish in a like full of Muskie. Landing pages are like bait, so in order to catch your dinner, you need to understand what type of fish are out there.
Once you’ve identified the types of customers you’re after, you’ll have more information with which to build a landing page catered perfectly to your core audience.

2. Define A Goal

Homepages aren’t optimal landing pages because by definition, they consist of general information and act as the gateway to pages containing more specific details. Every landing page should have its own goal – if that means creating multiple pages for the same campaign based on the different outcomes you desire, that’s a much better option than directing every campaign to your homepage.
Landing page goals can include capturing email addresses, actually selling products or service, getting visitors to fill out a survey or even refer your business to a friend. Any action you want your potential customers to take is considered a goal and can and should be turned into a landing page!

3. Design For Conversion

There are several keys to designing a landing page with conversion in mind. The first is to remove everything on the page that could distract visitors from your main message (so things like your navigation bar and links to other pages should go right out the window). Next, unsure your headline – which should make your main message clear – should be the largest text on the page. The headline also needs to connect directly back to the ad or email campaign that sent visitors to the page. Copy should be kept short and, when possible, or short video or at least a custom image can increase conversions.
Finally, we come to the lead capture form, which is extremely important because if it doesn’t work properly or it confuses visitors, all the hard work you’ve done to this point means nothing. The form should be shirt and sweet: the more hoops a potential lead is required to jump through, the less likely they are to convert.

4. Measure

The point of a landing page is to convert as many visitors into new customers as possible. Since it’s a fact that some landing pages will perform better than others – depending on how well their conversion design convinces customers – measurement is an extremely important part of the process. Ensure you measure and test multiple landing pages for the same goal against each other – and then use the one that gets the best results!
If you would like more information on landing pages or professional help developing a conversion strategy, get in touch with your local WSI Digital Marketing Consultant today.