How to improve landing page lead gen conversion rates
People are spending more time online than ever before. Because people are always plugged in and online (largely thanks to smartphones and tablets), it can be hard to grab their attention.
But when you do grab their attention, how do you hold onto it? More importantly, how do you hold onto it long enough to capture their lead information? In this guide from Convert 4, we’ll go over a few ways to improve your website’s landing page to see lead generation conversion rates skyrocket.
What’s a landing page?
In order to optimize your landing page for more conversions, you need to be able to pinpoint what a landing page is. In the digital marketing world, a landing page is a standalone web page created for a specific purpose.
A user will usually “land” on your landing page after clicking through from another location, usually an email or an ad. Once the user is on your page, they are encouraged to take an action. Examples of such actions include joining your email list, subscribing to a newsletter, or purchasing a product.
Lead generation landing pages usually offer items such as downloadable content in exchange for the user’s contact information via a data capture form. They’re often used in the middle of the sales funnel when your customers are on the brink of moving towards conversion or walking away.
What’s a landing page conversion rate?
The landing page conversion rate shows the number of people who completed the page’s call to action out of everyone who landed on the page. In other words, it’s the proportion of users who converted into qualified leads.
What’s a good landing page conversion rate?
According to WordStream, the average landing page conversion rate across all industries in 2.35%. Before you compare your current conversion rates to that number, it’s important to remember that average conversion rates vary depending on the industry you’re in. Comparing your numbers to an average based on all industries won’t give you the clearest picture. Instead, you should focus on the average landing page conversion rate by industry.
Ways to Improve Conversion Rate
Clear and Concise Copy
To encourage interest, your landing page should clearly communicate the value of your downloadable offer. Try to keep your copy clear, simple, and free of too much industry-specific jargon, as using niche terms can often come off as exclusionist. Use compelling headlines and a body of text that gets straight to the point.
What is the content that you’re offering here? Why are you offering it? How will it help your users? What problems does it solve? What value does it provide? You should be able to answer all of these questions.
If you were offering a free social media template to download, for example, you might highlight how your template helps users avoid having to make one from scratch and also helps to keep things organized and easy to follow.
Use One Call-to-Action (CTA)
A landing page with different calls-to-actions splattered all over the place can look disorganized and spammy. A successful landing page will have one clear goal or if there is a secondary goal, it should be differentiated to not distract the user as explained in this video. With that in mind, every single element on the page, from the copy down to the visuals, should be consistent with your CTA.
Your CTA should be clearly presented and easy to find. Your potential customers shouldn’t have to spend too much time searching for it. Placing your CTA above the fold of the page and including messaging such as “download” or “sign up here” can easily signal a CTA.
Limit Navigation
Building off the recommendation of having one clear CTA, your landing page should also be easy to navigate. Don’t make your users go through any unnecessary obstacles or wade through extra fluff. After all, you want them to keep their eyes on the prize.
Your customers should quickly be able to determine the value of your offer or products, reinforcing the need for clear and concise copy. While we mentioned above not to include different CTAs, it may be a good idea to include your CTA button or link in multiple places across the page, such as the top, middle, and bottom. This could be helpful to those customers who are already further along in the sales funnel for whatever reason and may already have intent to complete your CTA without wanting to read additional copy.
Use Visuals
No one likes a bland page. Be sure to use compelling imagery and videos to catch their attention. Video marketing continues to grow exponentially, and according to one study, brands who incorporate video messaging into their campaigns experience 34% higher conversion rates. Another study by the Content Marketing Institute states 60% of B2B and B2C marketers utilize video in their marketing campaigns.
Test and Tweak
It’s no secret that many success stories have countless rounds of trial and error. If your landing page conversion rates don’t take off like you’d hope, try tweaking and replacing certain elements. Try moving photos around and experiment with new headings or copy.
