Inbound marketing strategies depend a lot on landing pages. In fact, well-optimized landing pages are one of the most crucial ingredients of a solid marketing plan.

This is why there is no surprise that more and more companies are increasing the number of landing pages from 5 to 30, and they’re actually seeing 7 times more leads by doing that.

But does raising the number of landing pages automatically translate to better conversion rates?

No, not really.

The key is to optimize and test your landing page and ecommerce sites until it starts converting better. For example, a typical landing page is capable of converting between 1 percent to 3 percent only, while a well-optimized landing page can convert at almost double that number.

Landing pages are tough to optimize, and you’re likely never going to get them right the first time around. Only after extensive testing, trial and error can you actually boost the conversion rate.

Expert B2B online marketers admit that optimizing a landing page for better conversions is one of the top five challenges they face including link building and technology integration.

So how can you optimize a landing page for improved conversions? We have put together 10 ways (as revealed by internet marketing experts) to help you get started.



1- Know Exactly Who Is Going to Land on the Page

Imagine walking into a motorcycle dealership. An energetic salesperson greets you, but he doesn’t really ask you any questions about your specific wants and needs. Over the next several minutes, he shows you sports bikes and other expensive bikes, praising their quality, speed, and other gorgeous elements.

Finally, agitated, you say ‘I’m a college student. I need a low profile motorcycle for day to day use.’’

This should be enough to give you an idea of why your target audience matters. Selling fancy and expensive motorbikes to a college student isn’t going to help you make any sales.

2 - Add Relevant Videos On Your Landing Page

You may already be aware of a very popular phrase ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’, but have you ever imagined what a video can do?

Most people prefer watching to reading because it’s easier. This is why it is no surprise that using videos on landing pages can improve conversions by 80% or more.

With a relevant video, you can easily engage the interest of your target audience and force them to stay on the page longer, ultimately resulting in better conversion.

3- Avoid Putting Multiple Offers

If you want to make sure that your landing page is as effective as possible, remember this very important rule: ‘less is more.’

Have no more than one offer on any given landing page. Putting multiple offers on your landing page can decrease conversions by up to 266%!

So focus more on your single best offer rather than trying to confuse the reader with multiple offers that give no real value.

4 - Don’t Let Them Leave

Did you know only 16% of landing pages don’t have navigation? Convincing readers to spend some time on your landing page is already very hard - don’t make it impossible by giving them the means to leave the site.

Avoid using outgoing links that give the user a chance to leave your landing page without completing the form. This is actually pretty bad for your conversion rate. Therefore, it is in your best interest to get rid of all navigation from your landing page.

5- Use Compelling But Straightforward Headlines

Let’s be very honest - you’ve only got 7 seconds to grab the attention of your visitors. How do you do that? It’s simple! The first thing they’re going to read is your headline. And if your headline is bold and straightforward, it will compel the visitor to read what is further down the copy.

Make sure your headlines are short and to the point. Here are some very simple to use tools that can help you create a killer headline.

6 - Write a Convincing Copy

Jon Morrow puts this very beautifully when he said - ‘’Your readers are the dead batteries. You are the live one. The written word is your pair of jumper cables.’’

Bring emotion within yourself, shut your eyes and just imagine yourself as a customer, feeling his anguish that your service/product solves. If you can do that, you’ll instantly connect and convince your reader to make an action.

7 - Speed Up The Page

You can spend hundreds of hours crafting the perfect landing page with the content that converts but none of this will matter if your landing page doesn’t load quickly. It is crucial that the page loads within seconds because a 1-second delay in page loading can send away 53% of users to another site.

You can get a lot of insights on page loading time through Google PageSpeed Insights. Make good use of it!

8 - A/B Test Your Landing Pages

Fine-tuning your landing page is an important part of increasing your conversion rate. By extensively testing your landing page, you can get a chance to increase the conversion rate by up to 300%.

A/B testing will let you test several landing page layouts and content to see what works best for your target audience. But this isn’t an easy task unless you have the right A/B testing tools.

9 - Remove Unnecessary Distractions

It’s quite common to go overboard with landing pages. But marketing experts advise to always go for as few distractions as possible following good UX design principles. You’ll want to get straight to the point without causing a visitor’s attention to be grabbed away from the goal of your landing page.

To do this, remove the navigation bar, don’t add outgoing links, and limit your form fields. Also, your logo should appear somewhere in the landing page. It should be consistently in every page of your website. You can try this online logo creator to get you started.

10 - Have a Powerful and Compelling CTA (Call to Action)

Once a visitor lands on your page, reads the first paragraph, watches a video, or sees an image, they will need direction to the next step. Use a clear call to action that will not only help visitors navigate your site, but will also help them take action which converts them into customers.

Building compelling calls to action can help add a 40% improvement to your overall conversions.

Conclusion

Landing page optimization is without any doubt, a very tough task. There are really no proven formulas or a cheat sheet that makes them always work. The 10 points you learned today are the building blocks of a landing page that converts well. Use them wisely.


About the Author: Marsha Kelly
Marsha Kelly is a serial entrepreneur who sold her first business for a million dollars. Read her small business blog Best4Businesses.com where she shares her real-world experiences to help other entrepreneurs launch, build and succeed in their own businesses.