Introduction
Landing pages are an essential tool for any startup looking to drive conversions and turn website visitors into customers or email subscribers. Unlike regular website pages that contain lots of navigation links and information, landing pages have a singular conversion-focused purpose. This allows startups to target their marketing campaigns and track results far more effectively. With the right landing page software, startups can quickly build beautiful, responsive pages that capture visitor attention and drive higher conversion rates.
For example, a startup launching a new SaaS tool could create a dedicated landing page just for collecting beta signups. They could drive traffic to it from ads and social media posts. By keeping the page focused only on convincing visitors to sign up for the beta, they're able to optimize every element for that conversion goal.
In this post, we’ll cover the key elements of effective landing pages, compare some of the top landing page builders designed for startups, and provide tips to optimize landing results. The goal is to help startups, particularly those with limited design skills or development resources, find the ideal landing page solution to establish and grow their online presence. With user-friendly and affordable options like Unicorn Platform, even the newest startups can create high-converting landing pages that support their growth.
Defining Landing Pages
Landing pages are standalone web pages that have a singular focus of converting visitors into leads and customers. Unlike regular website pages, they are not cluttered with site navigation and other distracting elements. Some examples of common landing page types are:
- Signup and lead generation pages to capture emails or leads. Unbounce increased form conversions by 212% for a social media management startup using a dedicated landing page.
- Product or service promotion pages to drive purchases. Fabletics boosted sales 69% with targeted landing pages for each of their monthly clothing collections.
- Webinar or event registration pages. HubSpot created a landing page for a specific webinar that generated over 50,000 registrants.
The benefit of dedicated landing pages is they allow startups to send targeted traffic from ads, social media posts, email campaigns, etc. to a page designed specifically to convert that audience. Startups can then track conversion metrics on each landing page to optimize their marketing and funnel visitors towards key goals.
With a clear, conversion-focused purpose, landing pages help startups engage and persuade visitors more effectively. They draw attention to the most relevant information, product benefits, or call-to-action. Shorter, scannable copy and multimedia like videos keeps visitors engaged. Overall, landing pages improve conversion results by targeting, simplifying, and streamlining the decision process for customers.
Benefits of Landing Pages
Here are some of the key benefits startups see from using dedicated landing pages:
- Increased conversion rates: Landing pages can double or triple conversion rates compared to sending traffic to general website pages. Their singular focus and streamlined design significantly improves conversion performance.
- Better traffic segmentation: Sending different ad campaigns or traffic sources to targeted landing pages allows startups to capture more granular conversion data on each segment.
- Detailed tracking and metrics: With landing page analytics, startups can identify which elements on a page best resonate with visitors and drive conversions. This allows for continual optimization over time.
- Focused visitor attention: Landing pages remove navigation and other website distractions, keeping visitors focused on converting through your call-to-action.
- Easy testing of variations: Using a landing page builder, startups can quickly test alternate versions of pages with different copy, designs, offers, etc. to determine what converts best.
Key Elements of Effective Landing Pages
To maximize conversions, landing pages should be highly focused and direct visitors towards a clear call-to-action. Here are some key elements to include:
- Succinct, benefit-driven headline and copy: Communicate the value proposition and benefits clearly to capture visitor attention. Use concise sentences and bullet points for scannability.
- Prominent call-to-action buttons/forms: Calls-to-action should stand out and encourage visitors to convert. Reduce form fields to only essential info.
- Relevant images and multimedia: Visuals like photos, charts, videos, etc. should align with the page’s messaging and keep visitors engaged.
- Minimalist, clutter-free design: Remove unnecessary navigation links, footer content, etc. so all focus stays on converting visitors.
- Fast page load speed: Quickly load all page elements for optimal engagement across devices.
Copywriting
Compelling copywriting is crucial to landing page success. Follow these copy best practices:
- Communicate benefits in headlines: Use emotional hooks and emphasize customer benefits in headlines to capture attention.
- Use concise, scannable body copy: Break up long paragraphs. Use bullets and short sentences for readability.
For example, a startup could use a benefit-focused headline like "Automate your social media marketing in just minutes a day" and break up any long sections of body copy with bulleted lists of product benefits.
- Target visitor interests: Ensure copy speaks directly to the audience’s needs and concerns. Include relevant keywords.
- Inspire action with CTAs: Use action-driving language like “Start Your Free Trial” that motivates visitors to convert.
- Keyword optimize for SEO: Research relevant keywords so landing pages attract more search traffic.
Design
An effective landing page design quickly directs visitors to take your desired actions. Here are some key design tips:
- Lead the visual hierarchy: Make call-to-actions and forms the visual focal point.
- Improve scannability: Use whitespace, text styling, and bullets to make copy easy to scan.
- Ensure mobile responsiveness: Pages should adapt seamlessly to any device size. Test on mobile.
- Use minimalist layouts: Remove header/footer navigation and avoid sidebar content.
- Leverage design psychology: Use principles like contrast, proximity, and white space to guide visitors. For example, ensure CTAs stand out with high contrast buttons and keep them in close proximity to relevant copy.
Multimedia
When used effectively, multimedia like images, videos, and graphics can boost engagement on landing pages:
- Show don’t tell: Use images and video to demonstrate product/service benefits visually. HubSpot includes product demo videos on landing pages.
- Align with message: Ensure imagery reinforces what the copy says about the offering.
- Optimize load speed: Compress files and leverage caching to ensure fast load times.
- Provide alt text: Use descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO.
- Limit file sizes: Keep videos short. Use thumbnail galleries if needed.
Top Landing Page Builders for Startups
With the right landing page software, startups can quickly build and optimize high converting pages without code. Here are some top options to consider:
Unicorn Platform
Unicorn Platform makes it easy for startups to create beautiful, mobile-responsive landing pages with its intuitive drag-and-drop editor.
- User-friendly editor and customizable pre-made templates
- Seamless form, email, payment integrations
- Advanced analytics for ongoing optimization
- Affordable monthly pricing starting at $29
With an intuitive editor and analytics, Unicorn Platform provides all the essential tools startups need to build landing pages, accept payments, generate leads, and drive conversions without web development.
Leadpages
Leadpages is a robust landing page builder with hundreds of templates suited for different industries and niches.
- Extensive template library for variety of use cases
- A/B testing capabilities
- Integrations with email, webinar, and payment platforms
- Advanced analytics and lead generation options
- Pricing starts at $37/month
The wide selection of professionally designed Leadpages templates makes it easy for startups to quickly build targeted landing pages. But the platform may have more complexity than a brand new startup needs.
Instapage
Instapage is feature-rich option focused on landing page optimization and personalization.
- Robust A/B testing and personalization
- Hundreds of integrations with marketing platforms
- Advanced analytics and tracking
- Geotargeting and custom audience creation
- Pricing starts at $99/month
For startups with more complex needs, Instapage offers powerful optimization and personalization capabilities. But its interface may be overwhelming for first-time users.
Tips for Optimizing Startup Landing Pages
Here are some tips for continually improving landing page conversion rates:
- Perform keyword research to attract high intent visitors from search engines. Identify terms commonly used when searching for your offering.
- Use emotional hooks and benefits-driven copy to compel visitors to convert. Emphasize the outcomes they will achieve.
- Minimize form fields to reduce friction in submitting leads and sales. Stick to essential info only.
- Ensure fast page speed as delays will cause visitors to abandon pages. Use performance testing tools.
- Continuously A/B test elements like headlines, designs, offers, etc. to find what resonates best with your audience.
Testing Variations
A/B and multivariate testing allows startups to experiment with different variations to determine what converts best. Some elements to test:
- Headline and copy variations
- Page layouts and placements of CTAs
- Types of calls-to-action
- Offer variations like pricing, discounts, free trials
- Image, video, and graphical elements
For example, a startup could test "Start Your Free Trial" against "Get Started Today" CTAs to see which converts higher.
Analytics Review
Frequently review landing page analytics to uncover optimization opportunities:
- Analyze visitor demographics and traffic sources
- Identify high converting visitor segments to target
- Track conversion rates through the page funnel
- See which elements attract most engagement
- Check performance differences across device types
- Set up automatic reporting to monitor results
For instance, check if conversion rates dip on mobile and optimize for those devices.
Conclusion
Dedicated landing pages are essential for startups to convert website visitors into customers and drive growth. Using a specialized landing page builder like Unicorn Platform, startups can quickly build beautiful, mobile-responsive pages that capture attention and turn visitors into leads. Conversion rate optimization through continual A/B testing and analytics review will ensure startups maximize the results from their landing pages. Focusing on crafting compelling copy, streamlined design, and fast load times will further improve conversion rates over time. With the techniques covered in this guide, startups can leverage landing pages to fuel their growth online.
