Introduction: The Importance of Great Landing Pages
Landing pages are the first touchpoint for converting visitors into leads or customers. A well-designed landing page that clearly communicates your value proposition can drastically increase conversion rates compared to sending traffic to your general website. The good news is that creating effective landing pages doesn't require advanced coding skills. By following some key landing page best practices, you can optimize your pages for maximum conversions. Tools like Unicorn Platform also make building beautiful, high-converting landing pages quick and easy without needing to rely on developers.
Here are some of the reasons why investing time into creating great landing pages is so critical:
- Landing pages allow you to laser focus your message on a single goal instead of distracting visitors with unnecessary navigation and content.
- With a dedicated landing page, you can tailor the copy, visuals, and layout specifically to your target audience and their motivations.
- Less distractions and clutter results in higher conversion rates. According to Unbounce, landing pages have an average conversion rate of 5-15% compared to only 1-2% for standard website pages.
- Well-designed landing pages load faster than bloated homepages which reduces bounce rates. Quick load times are especially important on mobile.
- You can A/B test landing page elements like headlines, copy, and call-to-action buttons to continuously optimize conversion rates.
- Tools like Unicorn Platform make it easy to quickly build custom landing pages in minutes without coding. The pre-designed templates, drag-and-drop editor, and built-in integrations simplify and accelerate landing page creation for non-technical users.
In summary, investing in creating high-quality, optimized landing pages is one of the most impactful things you can do to improve conversions and grow your business. Let's explore some best practices for building effective landing pages.
Choosing the Right Landing Page Type
The first step in creating a high-converting landing page is choosing the right type of page to match your goals. Some common landing page use cases include:
- Lead generation to collect contacts
- Product or service promotion to drive sales
- Webinar or event registration
- Content downloads like guides or templates
Evaluate your business objectives and target audience to determine what type of landing page will be most effective. Each page type has a different focus when it comes to copy, design, and call-to-action.
Lead Generation
Lead generation landing pages emphasize collecting contacts and emails over directly selling a product. Effective tactics include:
- Strong, benefit-driven headline focused on what visitors will gain
- Highlighting gated content like guides, templates, or courses
- Prominent email signup forms above the fold
- Benefit-focused copy addressing pain points
- Social proof elements like testimonials
Lead gen landing pages aim to build trust and credibility before asking for an email address in exchange for valuable content.
Product Sales
Product or service landing pages focus primarily on showcasing features, converting visitors into paying customers, and driving purchases. Best practices include:
- High quality product images, videos, demos
- Pricing, buying options, calls-to-action
- Product tours, comparisons, customer stories
- Benefit-focused copy explaining how the product solves problems
- Offering free trials, discounts, or bundled packages
The copy and design should emphasize the value proposition and guide visitors towards becoming customers.
Webinars
Webinar landing pages highlight the benefits of attending the event to maximize registrations. Effective tactics include:
- Promoting notable speakers and topic value
- Including logistics like date, time, duration
- Describing key takeaways and learning objectives
- Using social proof elements like testimonials
- Simplifying registration with embedded forms
Webinar landing pages aim to get visitors excited about the event and make signing up frictionless.
In summary, aligning your landing page type with specific business goals allows you to craft targeted messages and optimize the experience for conversions. Let's look at how to create compelling content next.
Crafting Compelling Content
Once you've determined the goal of your landing page, the next step is crafting remarkable content. Your headlines, copy, and call-to-action buttons will make or break the conversion rate. Follow these best practices when writing landing page content:
Headline
Your headline is the first thing visitors see, so it needs to immediately grab their attention.
- Use emotional, benefit-driven messaging that speaks directly to the target audience
- Incorporate power words like "you", "free", "new", "introducing", etc.
- Keep headlines short - aim for 50 characters or fewer
- Use title case capitalization with lowercase letters for prepositions
- Test different headline variations and let data determine the best performer
An example headline for a lead gen page could be "Access Our Free Template Library to Launch Your Startup Faster".
Body Copy
The body copy has to quickly communicate key information about your offering, explain the benefits, establish credibility, and address concerns.
- Focus on concise, scannable paragraphs highlighting benefits
- Break up long sections into manageable chunks using section headers
- Use bullet points or numbered lists for complex topics
- Share relevant customer stories and social proof
- Pose and answer common questions from the prospect's perspective
Well-written copy provides just enough information to move prospects closer to converting while avoiding unnecessary details that distract from the goal.
Calls-to-Action
Calls-to-action urge visitors to take the desired action like signing up or making a purchase.
- Place primary CTAs prominently above the fold
- Use action-oriented button text like "Get Started" or "Sign Up Now"
- Make buttons large, colorful, and high-contrast for maximum clickability
- Limit to one CTA per page section to avoid confusion
- Ensure CTA matches landing page goal, like "Register Now" for webinars
Strategically placed and compelling CTAs will guide visitors along the conversion path.
In summary, dedicating time to crafting compelling, benefit-driven content optimized for your goals will directly impact conversion rates.
Optimizing Landing Page Design
In addition to content, designing an effective landing page layout and user experience is crucial for conversions. Some key design principles include:
Simplicity
Clutter and distractions will kill conversions. Strive for simplicity and minimalism.
- Only include page elements that directly support the goal
- Avoid unnecessary text, graphics, navigation, links
- Use clean, readable fonts and minimal color palette
- Group related info into concise sections
- Leverage pre-made templates like those on Unicorn Platform to accelerate design
Unicorn Platform's templates and drag-and-drop editor simplify landing page design.
Visual Hierarchy
Make important elements prominent using contrast, space and layout.
- Highlight CTAs and value proposition
- Use font size, color contrasts to create visual weight
- Draw attention with strategic whitespace
- Break up long sections with subheads and bullet points
- Guide visitors down the page with clear layout
Establishing a strong visual hierarchy quickly communicates value.
Testing & Optimization
Continuously test and optimize landing pages to maximize conversions.
- A/B test page elements like headlines, copy, images
- Track key metrics like bounce rates and time on page
- Iterate based on data - not assumptions
- Fix pain points uncovered in user testing
- Tools like Unicorn Platform enable easy landing page testing
The optimization process never truly ends. Always be testing and improving based on visitor data and feedback.
In summary, a simplified, focused design with strong visual hierarchy will engage visitors and guide them to convert. Conversion rate optimization is an ongoing process.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Crafting high-quality, optimized landing pages is crucial for driving business growth. To recap, here are some key tips:
- Choose the landing page type that aligns to your goals like lead generation or webinar promotion.
- Create benefit-driven headlines and copy focused on addressing visitor pain points.
- Simplify design with minimalism and strong visual hierarchy to guide visitors.
- Continuously test and optimize page elements to improve conversions.
- Leverage tools like Unicorn Platform to quickly build landing pages without coding.
Landing pages remove distractions and allow you to laser focus your message on getting conversions. Dedicating time to crafting optimized pages will directly impact your bottom line. By following these best practices, you can master the art of creating high converting landing pages. Check out Unicorn Platform's landing page templates and easy drag-and-drop editor to start optimizing your pages today.
