Goal conversions are such a beautiful thing to the online marketer.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my years as a web marketer is a value in getting higher conversions from your site’s published web pages in order to gain sign-ups, inquiries or sales conversions.
Optimized landing pages don’t just convert more sales. They attract better quality prospects, enhance the perception and credibility of your brand and inspire people to share your web content with the Internet community.
By the end of this post, I want to give you the action steps that will allow you to make changes to your site’s landing page so that you will gain more conversions, credibility, and wealth.
Why you need to make sure your landing page is optimized?
This is the most important factor when implementing your landing page strategy.
You must know the problems, needs and wants froofur target audience so you can communicate it effectively.
Try to identify niches within other niches.
For example, Bemyhairmodel.com promotes free haircuts for men and women in the UK.
The reason this web page works so well is that it forces people to take a specific action.
When they land on the page, they have the option to search for a free hairdressing service or if they are a hairdresser, they can login and manage their ad.
Image source: Bemyhairmodel.com
Always give your site’s visitors the option to opt into something
The most important goal should be to get the web visitor to opt-in to a list.
This will allow you to remarket to the person in the future so they can purchase any products or services that you are selling. Consider using:
- Opt-in forms
- Opt-in buttons
- Opt-in pop-ups, welcome mats or scroll boxes
Use high-resolution images
“Pictures tell a thousand words.”
They also impact the professional impression of your website.
Use high-resolution images to improve your website’s aesthetics.
You can use any of the following sites to source high-definition images.
Use ‘easy-to-read’ typography and paragraph layouts
Many people forget to optimize the text that is used on their website.
The size and type of font that is used on the site can impact the site’s engagement and conversions.
This was demonstrated in a case study by VMO when they ran a split test of 2 different font sizes and recorded a 32.68% increase in clicks with a font size of 18.
Experiment with different fonts and sizes to improve the legibility of your web content.
Additionally, the spacing between the sentences and paragraphs also need to be optimized to improve the user experience.
Improve the credibility of your website
You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Web visitors leave if they feel that they haven’t received any value from the content that they visit. This can be improved by:
Using testimonials and reviews
What others say about you is ten times more powerful than anything that you will say.
Ask for testimonials or reviews from current and former customers to enhance the credibility of the landing page.
Image credit: Criminally Prolific
Referencing case studies
People want to see proof of the benefits that the product, service or content will offer. Case studies are a great way to illustrate this.
For example, if a woman wants to know why she keeps suffering from acne in her thirties, the content on the landing page can explain why it happens, the product used to improve her skin’s health and the proven benefits.
Using quotes
If there is a recognized expert in your field that you can quote, use it to your advantage to add credibility to your web content.
For example, if your site sells sprinting shoes, you could reference a quote from the 100m world record holder Usain Bolt talking about the importance of using the right shoes to achieve his fitness goals.
Optimize the web page’s titles and headlines
Advertising legend David Ogilvy once said that the heading that is used for your web content makes 80% of its success.
In monetary terms, that means 80 cents out of every advertising dollar is impacted by the headlines.
It’s important to test and tweak the headlines and title on your landing page to improve conversions.
Make sure your web page loads up quickly
People on the web love speed.
If your landing page isn’t loading up in 2 seconds, it’s likely that you will lose that web visitor forever.
You need to optimize your website and web pages to ensure that visitors to the landing page will see it load immediately on any device that they are using.
Here are some of the things that you should optimize.
Image sizes
Images that have a large file size cause the web page to load slowly.
Before publishing your web page, you want to minimize the file size as much as possible so that it will improve the web page’s loading time. To achieve this, you need to:
- Ensure that the image’s size dimensions are exactly to the specifications that’s required on the web page. You can find these dimensions in your CMS media library. Uploading the image in larger dimensions will still load the image in the heavier size, even though it might render on the webpage in a smaller size.
- Compress the image’s size using tools like Compressor.io. These tools should reduce the file size by up to 70% without affecting the quality of the image.
Use a reliable web host
The WordPress hosting provider and service that you partner with will have a significant impact on your site’s speed and the experience that you provide for your website’s users.
Ideally, you want to have your site setup on an isolated server (such as a dedicated server or a Virtual Private Server), so that you will have complete control over the hosting bandwidth and security.
You can opt to host your site on a shared server, however, there’s a risk that other sites also sharing the server might affect the bandwidth.
Before partnering with a web hosting provider, check their reviews to see how their current users rate their level of service. Some of the most popular services include:
- Bluehost
- GoDaddy
- Hostgator
- Ovh
Here’s an article that may help you find a reliable web host: 10 Best Web Hosting Companies
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Get your website uploaded to a CDN and then configure the site so that it serves the website content from the CDN.
Selecting the right CDN partner is important as their server’s location will impact the speed at which the web visitor will be served the landing page.
As a rule of thumb, CDN providers like Amazon who have CDN servers in several countries are ideal for websites that serve a global audience.
However, other factors such as SSL, support, and customizations should also be looked into.
Website theme
The theme that you are using on your website will either make or break your landing page’s success.
Check the web theme’s loading time and sequence by using Pingdom Tools and check for any recommendations from Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
The ability to moderate the theme varies, so it is important to invest or develop a theme that prioritizes speed to avoid any loading lags in the future.
Ideally, you want to invest in a theme that will allow the site to load in under 2 seconds.
Google AMP
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Project (AMP) is helping to serve web content faster across mobile devices.
These are specific pages that use the AMP markup so that Google can reference the content and serve web users quicker.
WordPress users can implement this by using Yoast’s SEO plugin, which will automatically configure the AMP code to the website.
You can also check this web page loading speed infographic to give you more insight to improve the landing page’s loading time on your site.
Make sure the landing page is optimized for all devices.
Google have publicly stated that they will favor sites that are optimized for mobile in the organic search results.
People are consuming more web content on their mobile devices and it is important that the user experience caters for the different types of devices, be it mobile applications or mobile responsive websites.
The easier it is for people to navigate and take action on the optimized design, which should lead to higher conversions.
Reward people for submitting their details.
When people give you their opt-in details, it’s a sign that they are prepared to trust you with their private information.
You can offer a free giveaway or reward for people opting into your list. This could be in the form of:
- An ebook
- Guide
- Prize
- Voucher
Use social proof
When people see other people interacting with the content, it brings more people. See if you can use things like Facebook likes or comments to show how popular the content on your landing pages are.
Buffer shared a thorough guide to social proof that can be used to convey more trust in your site’s landing page.
Consider using videos
Videos can be a powerful way to get your message across to your audience and boost your conversions.
Create a compelling video that will engage the audience and test the video presentation in different layouts for conversions.
Some web platforms you can use includes YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia.
Develop a landing page that clearly directs the visitor’s attention
Your landing page should instruct people what they need to do and provide them with few distractions.
Make sure the page uses a clear call to actions and formatting to grab their attention and persuade them to take your desired action.
We also recommend that you read the post “How to check if your web design is good for your site?” to learn more about the state of your website’s landing pages.
Conclusion
By optimizing your landing pages, your site should receive more qualified traffic and conversions on your website.
Each part that has been presented should be used as a building block to add credibility, trust and reduce risk so that web visitors are more likely to convert on your site.
Take a look at your existing landing pages for any optimization gaps and see how you can make changes to improve your site’s landing pages today!
Nathan is the branch manager at Digital Next, a full-service digital agency based in South Melbourne specializing in responsive Web design, SEO, PPC and social media marketing. He’s a passionate digital marketer specializing in business development and long-term strategy, with experience from a multitude of SEO disciplines combined into a role which supports and progresses online businesses.