What is landing page optimisation?
A landing page is a page on your website that is specifically created to be where visitors ‘land’ when they click on a link as part of marketing activity. A landing page should never be a standard page on your site but one that is created to drive conversion. Therefore, landing page optimisation is refining these pages to perform at their best via AB testing and other CRO techniques to improve your conversion rate.
Where to start with landing page optimisation
Firstly, create relevant content which reflects the marketing activity from which it came within the first headline or paragraph. So many landing pages miss this fundamental concept which often leads to visitors being ‘disjointed’ from their original reason for clicking on the link.
Secondly, landing pages should be written within AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action) principles. The landing page should be seen as a transitional page to further stimulate the visitor to take a call to action.
Thirdly, the page content must be succinct even if you are providing access to informative and educational content on subsequent pages.
What techniques are good for landing page optimisation?
Having grasped those basics, there are a myriad of ways to optimise a landing page to engage visitors and encourage conversion.
Imagery
A picture paints a thousand words, so therefore test different images to see which resonates best.
Tone of voice
Try changing the way you describe what you are offering. Inject urgency messages and scarcity if required. Or use social proof techniques to validate your offering/product.
Layout/Colours
The landing page does not always have to conform to the overall website design, test different layouts.
Call to actions (CTA)
Experiment with different positions of the CTA, use bolder and/or more vivid colours and test different wording. Ensure that wherever possible the CTA is above the fold of the page where it can be easily seen on the initial view. You will be surprised how minor differences in the CTA has on conversion rates.
Personalisation
Consumer Psychologists advocate using personalised content as it improves engagement. So, look at utilising where they came from (perhaps PPC or a referral from another site) to add a personal touch. Welcome messages & hello bars encourage the visitor to engage.
Landing page optimisation with Webtrends Optimize
Landing page optimisation is possibly the most prominent area where testing and personalisation delivers the greatest value. However, the same formulae you use on one page, may not work as well on another page. So continuous testing of all landing pages, even after you have seen great results, ensures you maximise the value of your content.
