How to increase your landing page conversion rates

Publication date: 04 May 2020

Conversion rates of landing pages can range from less than 1 percent to more than 50 percent. Here are some keys to maximizing your landing page performance.

Gain visitors’ trust
People have always been skeptical of advertising, and with the proliferation of spam and shady operators, they’re even more skeptical of what they read online. Your landing page copy must immediately overcome their doubt. Prominently display “credibility builders”: your logo and company name, and strong testimonials.

Capture the email addresses of nonbuyers
There are a number of mechanisms available for capturing the email addresses of visitors who click on your landing page but don’t buy the product. One is to use a window with copy offering a free report or ecourse in exchange for submitting their email address. This window can be served as:

• a pop-up (it appears when the visitor arrives);
• a pop-under (it appears when the visitor attempts to leave without making an inquiry or purchase);
• a floater (it is a window that slides onto the page from the side or top; because the floater is part of the site’s HTML code, it’s not stopped by the blocking software).

Use lots of testimonials
Testimonials build credibility and overcome skepticism, as do case studies and white papers posted on the website. Ask customers if they could record a brief testimonial on video. Combine testimonials into one video clip and post it on your site. Require visitors to click Play to watch it, rather than have it play automatically; autoplay videos are generally disliked.

Use bulleted lists
Highlight key features and benefits of your service or product in a bulleted list of short, easy-to-read items. Convey what your clients will get for their money.

Arouse curiosity in the headline
The headline should either arouse curiosity, make a powerful promise, or otherwise grab the readers’ attention so they keep reading.

Use a conversational copy style
Most corporate websites are unemotional and sterile: they just offer “information.” But a landing page is a letter from one human being to another. Write it that way. Even if your product is highly technical and you’re selling it to techies, they’re still human beings, and you cannot sell something by boring people to death.

Incorporate an emotional hook in the headline and lead paragraph
Logical selling can work, but tapping into the prospect’s emotions is much more effective—especially when you correctly assess how they’re feeling about your product or the problem it solves. Another effective tactic for lead generation landing pages is to stress your free offer in the headline and lead.

Solve the reader’s problem
Once you hook the reader with emotional copy dramatizing their problem or making a powerful free offer, show how your product can help solve their problem. To maximize conversion rates, you have to convince visitors that the quickest route to solving their problem is taking the action indicated on the landing page. Landing pages with no navigation serve this purpose best; there’s no menu with links to other pages to distract the reader from the offer.

Make the copy timely and current
The more your copy ties in with current events, the higher your response rates will be. This is especially critical when selling financial and investment information, as well as regulatory compliance products in fields where laws and rules change frequently. Periodically update your landing page copy to reflect current business and economic conditions so visitors see that your company is on top of what’s happening in your industry.

Stress the money-back guarantee
If you allow customers to order directly from the landing page, make sure you have a money-back guarantee clearly stated on that page. It is common practice which you should follow. If your product is good and your copy truthful, your refund rates can be less than 1 percent.