In honor of spooky season, here’s a five-word horror story: you’re doing landing pages wrong. Landing page design is crucial for your ad campaign—for leaving a great first impression and boosting conversion rates. What’s more, you only have 8 seconds max to make a good impression. What can we say? That’s a lot of pressure.
If your landing page strategy has fallen by the wayside, don’t worry. We’ll talk through the basics of landing pages, and what makes them different for ad strategy than your typical website. We’ll then examine the best uses for each, and share our advice for doing landing pages right.
What’s the Difference Between a Website and a Landing Page?
The difference between a website and a landing page is all about the focal point. Websites are about the journey; while still being easy to navigate, you become something of an explorer, digging for treasure. The landing page, on the other hand, should cut to the chase far sooner than your web pages do.
We know what you’re thinking: Focal point? That’s a little abstract, isn’t it? Think of this page as where you define your target audience and call to action, with the end goal being conversions. Everything on that landing page should be geared towards making a sale, converting a customer, and boosting user experience right in the door. The fewer distractions, the better.
What Are the Best Uses for a Website?
While your landing page is all about driving those customers to action, your typical website will have a more universal appeal. Calls to action and company goals are just fine, but you’re allowed to stray off the beaten path once in a while. For some, that means multiple calls to action and varying multimedia channels.
Just remember, though, that less of a focus isn’t the same as no focus! Your clientele should still be able to define what your company does or sells, especially if they’ve never heard of you before. Give customers reasons to explore, but don’t leave them all mixed up in the process.
What Are the Best Uses for a Landing Page?
If you gain nothing else from this article, remember this: landing page = focus. Imagine you’re a new customer. Can you clearly define your brand’s mission? Can you quickly locate the call to action? Is completing a transaction a straightforward process? Is there anything that distracts on your page from these objectives—anything at all? Clear communication really is half the battle.
How Can I Create the Best Landing Page Design?
Ready to get started and watch those conversions soar? Here are some quick pointers for creating a landing page that genuinely boosts your ad campaign.
Keep It Simple
We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating. Perhaps less obvious is that simplifying your page is a great way to improve your site at a minimal cost. COVID-19 budget cuts, anyone?
Simplifying a landing page can mean any number of things. For some, it’s clearing out repetitive text or dead links. For others, it’s removing pop-up ads or popping that CTA at the very top of the page. Save that maximalist design for other web pages, once your customer has already been swayed and is off to explore what you have to offer.
Speed Up Those Loading Times
Remember what we said about 8 seconds? That counts for page load times, too. Seriously, our attention spans are pretty shot these days—load times should take no more than 1 second. More than two, and you’re almost guaranteed to have a disgruntled customer on your hands.
Make it Mobile-Friendly
Speaking of horror stories: only 50% of landing pages are mobile-optimized. Egad! Luckily, that gives you a significant leg up on the competition. Ensure that your landing page is mobile-friendly, and you’re already performing above average. If you’re looking for a landing page builder with mobile-ready pages, we recommend Wishpond and Unbounce.
Develop Superior Copy
A minimalist landing page? Great. A page with little to no text—or worse yet, text that’s mediocre or poorly-written? Not so great. Original, flawless copy lends your brand that air of authority and boosts your chance of conversions. To ensure that your written content is free of errors and is genuinely engaging to read, connect with a digital marketing agency today.
Speaking of Digital Marketing Agencies…
Snap is an award-winning digital marketing powerhouse. We fully believe that developing a landing page doesn’t have to be a horror story. In fact, it can be quite a refreshing experience. If you’re ready to perfect your page and watch those conversions skyrocket, let’s chat! We can’t wait to help you find your focus.