Landing Page Optimisation: You Have 5 Seconds to Comply...

First impressions really matter. Once your visitors land on your website, you have approximately 5 seconds to convince them to stay. With such a short timeframe, your landing pages need to be fully optimised. You have to communicate your message and make sure your users feel like they can trust you. The objective is to convert these prospects into leads and sales.

Landing page optimisation is an effective way to drive conversions to your website and increase your advertising’s return on investment (ROI). Although there is no magic formula to create the perfect landing page, the best practices below will help you optimise your pages.

Tip #1: Create strong calls-to-action

Optimising your call-to-action on a high traffic landing page can have a big impact on your conversion rate.

- The button has to be prominent and encourage visitors to complete an action (purchase, call, or submit a form).

- The text has to be action-oriented. Visitors should clearly know what action they are going to take and what they can expect once they have clicked. Generic CTAs like “download” or “buy now” do not add any value to your potential prospect. We recently tested a generic CTA for one nationwide B2C and B2B company. We tweaked some words to make it more engaging and we saw a click through rate increase of 200%.

- You need to highlight what benefits they will receive if they are clicking through. Being personal will convince your users that your product or service is going to solve their problem.

- Finally, the design needs to stand out and be at the right location on the page (usually above the fold).

Tip #2: Your headlines should grab instant attention

What makes a title stand out? Your main job is to stop readers scanning the page and make them pay attention to your message.

- Your headline should instantly communicate what you offer, the problems you solve and the benefits you provide. Benefits are the keys of your visitors' expectations. They have to be unique and different from your competitors. You want to leave readers with a positive experience and encourage them to spend more time on your site.

- Your headlines need to be visually appealing and impossible to miss. Test several headers and see how your audience responds (i.e. a question-asking vs a simple headline, introduce numbers etc...).

- You can also personalise your landing page’s headline to suit the ad your users clicked on. It is an experiment we are currently running on our site (see screenshot below) and it was a successful test for Optimizely themselves!

Tip #3: Reduce anxiety

During their visit, you will have to reassure your users and convince them that your products/services are credible.

- If you have an association with well-known brands, you should introduce their logos on your landing page, in order to reduce your visitors’ doubts.

- Testimonials also overcome buyer scepticism. They give you the opportunity to prove your product or service’s benefits. To remove trust barriers and convince more users to convert, we introduced and tested reviews on a client’s e-commerce site. We saw an increase of 6% on the “add to basket” CTR.

- Finally, highlighting your phone number and social media links will make your company more accessible and “open” to visitors’ feedback.

Tip #4: Communicate only one clear offer

Your landing pages and homepage have to be different.

- Your homepage was designed to promote your brand and values, including links and navigation to other areas of your site. It is supposed to entice your visitors to delve deeper into the website.

- Your landing page was created for only one purpose (either generate leads, promote your product/service or push a free trial etc.…). Each link, banner or call-to-action that does not contribute to this main goal is a distraction and will deter your message. It can potentially affect your conversion rate.

On the optimised landing page (fast track), the contact form and submit button are prominent. There is no distraction.

On the less optimised landing page (Webuyanyhome.com), there are visual elements (icons and numbers), a navigation menu and a “find out more” CTA that takes users’ attention away from the contact form.

Tip #5: Use urgency and scarcity

Have you ever been on easyjet.com and felt the pressure of buying your flights during your visit?

- If you display a specific time window (i.e. the free delivery offer will end in 5 minutes) or limit your product/services availability (i.e. Hurry! Only 3 seats left at this price), then you will create a sense of urgency. You will encourage your visitors to make their decision now so they don’t miss out on the deal.

- You can test different wording like “Don’t miss out”, “Only two days left”, “Buy now” etc.

Test, test and re-test:

Every tweak you make on landing pages, either big or small, can have a huge impact on your conversion rate. If you do not want to lose revenue, we strongly recommend to test every change you planned to implement. We can support you in your landing page optimisation using the tool that is right for you. If you're interested in hearing more about our services, getting a demo of the tools or just bouncing some A/B testing ideas off us, just give us a call.

To view this blog written by Megane Bellod on the Periscopix website, please click here.