This post is also available in:
We’ve talked a lot about the importance of a decent social media strategy, the impact email marketing has on your business and we’ve even covered the basics of a solid USP and core strategies. All of them are designed to do 1 thing and 1 thing alone – bring people to your website.
However, what good are any of those things when your bounce rate is high and misplaced copy or visuals butcher conversions?
That’s right, your landing page needs as much attention (if not more) as any other element of the business strategy.
That noted, how does it ensure people come to your page and book the appointment instead of leaving immediately? I have an answer or even 7 of them for that matter. Please welcome my list of 7 impressive landing page optimization hacks destined to skyrocket conversions!
#1 – Focus
The page has to be laser-focused if you wish for them to succeed. Your home page won’t do the trick a lot of the times given it is usually too vague and covers a lot of ground.
If people wish for a manicure – send them to a page about nails and polish, not the one where they are forced to find their way to the goal by scrolling through makeup and haircut offers. This may seem like additional promotion on paper, but in reality, it is a frustrating journey that leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth.
Have a separate page for every service you offer and make sure people get what they want where YOU want it.
#2 – Consistency
People come to you having certain expectations. Attention to detail is always one of them. What will they make of your website if the fonts change in every block of text and the images jump around the page like crazy?
Design, tone, visuals, and elements of the page have to be the same throughout the page. Even better – the whole website.
#3 – Clear points
Do you know what people hate about sales? The process! If they are already on one of your service pages the odds are they’ve come to spend money. There is no need to convince them in what they are going to do anyway.
Remove everything describing the sheer awesomeness of your business and stick to the points: specific benefits, available timing, the price and confirmation-specific data.Anything else makes a landing page into a lengthy blog post and, trust me, people don’t buy from blog posts. Otherwise, I would have been as rich as Bill Gates (if not more) right now.
#4 – No me-me-me talk
What would you feel like if a random dude would approach you at a party with dozens of tales about how amazing his life is. “What a jerk”, you’d think and you would be right.
Words like “state-of-the-art”, “exquisite”, “groundbreaking” and “revolutionary” are to be left aside. I am sure that your business is all of those things and more and I have the right to say them about you.
You don’t have such a right.
Positive insights about a business are the prerogative of its clients. Encourage them to share how amazing you are and those words will be heard. Say them yourself and you are a beautiful piece of garbage in the eyes of any audience.
#5 – No room for escape
This tip is simple: a landing page must skip on the navigation part. The only place where a user can click should be the place where you want them to click.
Why does it work? Primarily because you remove distractions and temptations from the page. If there is only one button available at the page a person will press it even if it is an attempt to leave. When there are other comforting and familiar options, the odds of conversions drop through the ground.
#6 – Sharing?
This one is rather short: if one of your pages is outperforming the others and is going viral then you should enable social sharing functionality on it. If not, why leave the extra buttons? They are also a distraction from the objective.
And remember – not everything that can be shared on the internet should be shared on the internet, especially if it is an exclusive offer for only a handful of users. Why let others think they are being overcharged?
#7 – Encourage trust
A landing page is either trustworthy or not. What differs the first from the latter? A series of content elements that seem useless/boastful and hence should be removed, according to tips #3 and #4 but in reality, all they do is more sales.
Elements like quotes or testimonials have to be on the landing page. Sure, they will be telling about how awesome your business is but it is not your mouth that spells out the obvious.
A phone number and an address, email address also seem excessive as there is a button for direct interactions with your site, right? Wrong. These elements are designed to boost credibility and tell your clients that you have nothing to hide.