Businesses seeking to capture leads, boost sales, and fulfill their digital marketing ambitions understand the inherent value of high-converting landing pages.
As the landscape of online marketing continually evolves, one aspect remains constant – the necessity of well-written, properly designed landing pages.
In 2023 alone, the statistics show just how relevant landing pages are:
- 26% = the average conversion rate of a landing page
- 55% = landing page submissions that come from lead magnets
- 202% = how much better personalized call-to-actions (CTAs) perform.
- 17% = the number of marketers using A/B testing to optimize landing pages
- 10% = the improvement in landing page conversions by minimizing distractions
We think that part of the problem encountered by those creating landing pages in 2023 is the push to try and include everything. On one single little page. Sure, the devil is in the details, but as is often the case, less can really be more.
As Unbounce Co-Founder and landing page legionnaire, Oli Gardner, says, “There’s no real kind of single, universal element. I would say the clarity of communicating your value proposition is the one thing though.” This makes sense – conversions are, after all, what landing pages are built for.
From beginners looking to understand the requirements of a landing page to experts wanting to optimize their current landing pages, this comprehensive guide contains all the juicy details to sate an array of learning appetites.
We’ll look at the elements of a high-converting landing page, the best practices, and provide you with a trove of landing page examples to accelerate your own creations.
From gaining insights into the fundamentals of landing pages to demystifying the secrets of those that are most successful, this guide draws inspiration from Apexure, Hubspot, and other top-performing sites, helping you develop landing pages that deliver superlative results.
Landing Pages that Convert Explained
Before we deep-dive into the exact aspects that make a landing page optimized for conversion, let’s first ensure we’re on the same page regarding the purpose of landing pages for your website.
Functioning as dedicated web pages designed for just one, exacting purpose, landing pages should encourage visitors to take a particular action. This action isn’t always the same, but the most common goals for landing pages that perform well include:
- Lead Generation: obtaining contact information such as email addresses.
- Sales Conversion: persuading visitors to purchase or sign up for a service.
- Event Registration: motivating people to join webinars, events, or workshops.
- Data Collection: collating information for market research or customer profiling.
The Elements of a High-Converting Landing Page
For the creation of landing pages that deliver exceptional results, it is essential to pay close attention to a number of elements. These elements work in sync to deliver a smooth user experience and increase the likelihood of conversions.
1. Highlighting Headline
An enchanting, benefit-highlighting headline is the first thing visitor’s eyes land on when they arrive at your page. The value proposition should be clearly laid out and it should appeal to your target audience.
A good example of this would be a page that promotes a digital marketing course beginning with a headline, such as “Master Digital Marketing in One Month” – this would be more effective than a vague title.
2. Vibrant Visuals
Playing a crucial role in gaining visitors’ attention and disseminating information, images and videos have an essential role on landing pages. High-quality visuals that propagate your message and bolster your website’s aesthetics are great to use.
This is particularly relevant for high-converting e-commerce landing pages because, on these pages, your product imagery can be the difference between getting or missing out on a sale.
3. Compelling Copy
Your headline’s objective should be further expanded upon in the body of your landing page; this means explaining the benefits and features of your offer. Concise, persuasive language often works best for maintaining a visitor’s interest.
Answering FAQs to alleviate doubts while highlighting what makes your product or service the best choice are common practices on landing pages that convert.
4. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
The CTA is the soul of your landing page – landing pages for lead generation should embolden theirs by using a contrasting color, compelling text, and sleek design.
Give visitors clear direction on the action you want them to take, whether it’s “Sign Up Here”, “Order Today”, or “Click to Get Started”.
5. High-Converting Landing Page Templates
An effective landing page design can be created more simply by using high-converting, proven templates.
There are dozens of online tools and platforms offering pre-designed templates, customizable to fit your brand and goals. These templates often adhere to best practices, saving you time and design efforts.
6. Social Proof and Trust Signals
Establishing credibility is key to the efficacy of your landing page – elements such as customer reviews, trust badges, partner logos, and testimonials help establish credibility.
People follow other people, so your page is more likely to convert if visitors can see social proof of others having had a positive experience with your product or service.
7. Mobile Responsiveness
Hordes of people use their mobile phones to access the internet these days, which makes it critical for your landing page to be optimized and high-converting on mobile devices.
Responsive design helps your page look and function best on multiple screen sizes.
8. Succinct Form Success
When it comes to your lead generation pages, the best idea is to keep the form fields minimal.
Only ask for essential information and do your utmost to make the form submission process easy and expedient. The less effort required by visitors, the higher the chances are of converting them.
Insights on the Best Converting Landing Pages 2023
The digital landscape is continually evolving, so what worked for landing pages in 2022 may not yield the same results as the best landing pages in 2023. It is vital to stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in terms of landing page design.
Here are some insights to show you how to create high-converting landing pages in 2023.
- Minimalistic Design
Keep it as simple as possible; clutter only creates confusion. Employing a minimalist design that places focus on key elements while leaving room for white spaces can help get your message across with more impact.
- Personalization
Different audience segments can be catered to by tailoring your landing page in specific ways. Higher conversion rates come from personalized messages and offers – studying your audience’s interests, behaviors, or demographics can help.
- A/B Testing
Testing should never be underestimated or underperformed. Regular A/B testing will help you determine which elements are working to drive conversions as well as those that aren’t. Experiment with different headlines, images, CTA buttons, and forms to best optimize your landing pages.
- High-Quality Content
Content is almighty and is not limited to blog posts and articles. Optimally, your landing page content is informative, valuable, and easily digestible. Multimedia elements, like videos and infographics, should be used to engage visitors.
- Faster Load Times
In the age of instantaneousness, a landing page that takes too long to load can be a deterrent for potential customers. Compressing images and utilizing browser caching can help optimize your page for speed.
How to Create High-Converting Landing Pages
Now that you’ve been shown the essential elements of a high-converting landing page, we’ll take you through the practical steps of creating one.
1. Know Your Audience
Before you start designing your landing page, it’s imperative to understand your target audience. You should know who they are, what their pain points are, and what they need and desire. Your content should be created to resonate with their desires.
2. Craft a Compelling Value Proposition
A value proposition is vital and must be clear, concise, and emphasize the distinct benefits of your product or service. It should directly speak to solving a problem and making your visitor’s life better.
3. Design with Conversion in Mind
Your landing page should act like a homing missile, directing a guest’s attention to the CTA button. Visual cues like arrows or imagery gazing in the direction of the CTA work well. The CTA must be a prominent feature on the page.
4. Test and Optimize
Constant improvement is the most important ingredient for success. Running A/B tests on various elements of your landing page will help you determine what works best. Pay close attention to metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, and bounce rates.
Examples of High-Converting Landing Pages
It’s now time to draw inspiration from real-world high-converting landing page examples:
- Unbounce: heralded for its simple, clear layout, Unbounce’s landing page for its landing page builder tool is an excellent example. The headline, “Create irresistible buyer journeys with landing pages”, clearly shows the intent, along with a striking CTA.
- Shopify: for a masterclass in functional design, Shopify’s free trial landing page should be looked at. Offering a risk-free trial and emphasizing ease of use, it’s attractive to beginners as well as experienced e-commerce entrepreneurs.
- Slack: clearly addressing the issue of online collaboration, Slack’s landing page is clean, straightforward, and highlights the app’s benefits. The CTA is preceded by a short and powerful impact statement. The sign-up options are conspicuously displayed and accompanied by social proof of well-known clients’ logos.
Building Landing Pages for Specific Purposes
High-converting landing pages aren’t created by using generic structures.
Your landing page needs to align with your specific goals, and here are a few examples of bespoke landing pages created for distinct purposes.
1. Landing Pages for Affiliate Marketing
The most beneficial landing pages for affiliate marketers focus on the promotion of specific products or services. Included in these pages should be a detailed review, a highlighting of the products’ advantages, and the inclusion of an affiliate link or CTA for users to easily make a purchase.
2. High-Converting B2B Landing Pages
B2B landing pages frequently aim to capture leads from businesses.
They need to be professionally appropriate while providing in-depth information about how your product or service can help address specific business challenges.
3. Landing Pages for Lead Generation
These landing pages have the overarching goal of capturing contact information.
Compelling lead magnets such as e-books, webinars, or exclusive access can be employed to further motivate visitors to provide their details.
You’ve Got the Leads – Now It’s time to Nurture Them
- Email Sequences:
Once a user has converted via your landing page, it’s essential to nurture the lead. A series of well-crafted email sequences that offer extra value, tend to pain points, and help guide the lead towards an action or purchase, is mandatory.
- Segmentation:
Segment your leads based on their behavior and preferences. This helps you send highly targeted content and offers, boosting the chances of conversion.
- Personalization:
Your communication should be tailored to each lead’s interests and actions. Personalized messages have a stronger impact and increase engagement.
The Important Metrics When Tracking Your Landing Page
If you want your landing pages to get better over time, measuring their effectiveness by tracking key metrics is the fastest way to ensure continual improvement.
1. Conversion Rate
The metric that must be measured above all others – this tells you the percentage of visitors who performed the desired action, whether it’s signing up, downloading an eBook, or making a purchase.
2. Bounce Rate
A high bounce rate is indicative of visitors leaving your page quickly without taking the desired action. By analyzing this, you can identify potential issues with your landing page.
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR determines the efficacy of your CTA as it shows you how many people clicked on your call-to-action.
4. Form Abandonment Rate
If you notice visitors have started filling out your forms without completing them, this is an issue with your lead generation pages. Analyze this metric to optimize your form length and fields.
5. Time on Page
You can glean insights into the level of visitors’ engagement on your landing page by understanding how long they spent there.
Now You Know How to Create High-Converting Landing Pages
The creation of landing pages that convert has become somewhat of an art and a science in the digital marketing sphere.
Keeping up with the latest trends and best practices while understanding the fundamental elements that assist conversions will help you find success. A clear understanding of your audience, a compelling value proposition, and constant optimization lead to landing pages that drive results and secure your online presence.
As we move into a future where AI is ubiquitously present, this will play a role in the amount of effort expended on developing and tweaking landing pages. You can already use AI to help you gather information and technical expertise for developing these pages. Creators are also harnessing AI powered machine learning to help them with personalization.
Keep up to speed with emerging trends so that your landing pages don’t become antiquated. For example, a popular practice in 2023 is ‘mobile first design’, starting with developing landing pages that are mobile-friendly before optimizing for desktops!
Landing pages are often the first impression potential customers have of your business – how and where they land is, however, in your hands.
Need help building world-class landing pages? Kadima Digital Agency has you covered!