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The landing page is a crucial part of your digital and content marketing because it's one of the first things your visitors will see when they come to your site. It's a chance for you to make a strong first impression, so you need to ensure that it gets their attention and encourages them to take action.
This is especially important when you're just starting and have a limited advertising budget, as the average conversion rate for most landing pages across industries sits around 2.35%.
Before diving into the anatomy of a high-converting landing page, here at the BBB, we think it's important to understand why landing pages play such a vital role in your digital marketing strategy.
The purpose of a landing page
A website landing page is an individual web page designed, engineered and developed to achieve a single goal: to generate maximum web traffic and conversions. While approximately 77% of landing pages are positioned as a home page, the remaining 23% are split between subpages that are designed to achieve a specific objective, such as driving conversions.
Like a traditional offline billboard, a website landing page is an effective way to deliver a single, focused message to a targeted audience. The goal of a website landing page is to:
- Increase your online visibility
- Drive qualified traffic to your website
- Increase your sales
When used strategically, website landing pages can significantly increase your web traffic, sales and ROI.
5 components of a high-converting landing page
If you’re serious about growing your business, you need to build landing pages that convert. Here are the 5 components of a high-converting landing page:
1. Your headline
The headline is an essential part of your landing page. It's what will capture the reader's attention and encourage them to click on the rest of the page. A good headline will include keywords that customers are searching for, but it should also be compelling and interesting enough that the reader wants to learn more.
Studies show that eight out of 10 people will read your headline. However, only two out of 10 will make an effort to read through the rest of the page. So, make sure that you're providing enough value for them to continue reading. Therefore, it's important to include action-oriented verbs and to make sure that your headline is descriptive enough to understand what the content will be about.
2. Subheaders
The subheaders are the smaller headings underneath your headline. They're there to provide additional information that the reader can use to understand the page’s content better. This is also an excellent opportunity to add more keywords to your page so that you can improve your search engine optimization.
The subheaders should be short and to the point so that they don't get in the way of the main body of your content.
3. Page copy
The page copy is where you get to deliver your message. This is where you should provide the most value to the reader, so make sure that the content on this page is focused and targeted. You should also include action-oriented verbs and a clear call to action at the end of the copy so that the reader knows exactly what to do next.
4. An eye-catching CTA
Studies show that approximately nine out of 10 viewers who read your headline will also read your call-to-action (CTA). That means you need to take some extra time to ensure that your CTA is eye-catching and encourages the reader to take action.
The best way to do this is to include a clear, concise copy that states exactly what the reader needs to do to take advantage of whatever you're offering.
Make sure you are taking the time to carefully test several different CTA combinations to find the one that works best for your landing page. This will ensure that you're attracting the right type of traffic and generating maximum conversions.
5. Social proof/testimonials
The social proof is the evidence you include on your landing page to back up what you're claiming. This can consist of images of past customers, testimonials from other people who have used your products or services, or even a video of a satisfied customer.
With 37% of top landing pages including testimonials, the importance of using social proof cannot be overstated. The testimonials you include on your landing page should be genuine, engaging and relevant to your audience. This will show the reader that you're being honest and will increase the amount of trust that they have in you.
Get more tips on building an effective website
The best way to build an effective website is to continuously test different variations of your landing page until you find the variations that work best. This will ensure that you generate maximum conversions and that your search engine optimization is effective.
Looking for additional suggestions on building effective landing pages for your website? Then check out the BBB business news feed and our BBB HQ for more tips and tricks!
BBB of Southern Piedmont and Western N.C. contributed to this article.