5 Characteristics of a Good Landing Page

What makes a good search marketing landing page? It’s a popular question across the digital community, especially for those who are thinking past finding the right audience for your product and getting them to the website. I cringe every time I hear a search marketer say, “My job is done after getting the customer to the website,” or “It’s not my fault there was no conversion, it’s the website’s fault.” While it is easy to throw up your hands or turn a blind eye to what the customer does once they get to your website, it is definitely a path I encourage all search marketers to blockade.

You… yes, YOU can have an effect on the customer’s conversion journey with just a few easy steps. Here are some of the basic elements you’ll want to keep in mind when creating a landing page that converts:

Create a Clear Call to Action: Perhaps the most important tip you’ll see, creating a great call to action is a simple way to drastically improve conversion rates. The call to action (CTA) is what you want visitors to do. Maybe it’s: Call Now, Click Here to Learn More, or Sign Up. Focus on one call to action on each page, and make sure your messaging is consistent, in a prominent location, and easy to understand. When testing different strategies, CTAs are one of the most important parts of your landing page. Experiment with different colors, placements, and messaging.
Focus on the Customer Viewpoint: When you’re thinking about your landing page design and content, remember to think like your customer, whether it’s a business or person. Do your customers provide you with exactly what they were looking for in the search query? If so, give them that personalized content on the landing page. Remember, your website is really NOT all about you or your company. It is about showcasing your products or services in a manner that resonates with your audiences.
Construct an Effective Headline: If the headline on your landing page is not compelling, customers won’t be eager to stick around for long. This headline should be attention-grabbing, but not over the top. You have already gotten potential customers to your site; now you just need to help them find out if you are indeed offering what they are looking for. A typical customer will make a decision in less than 15 seconds about whether he or she is the right place—an effective headline can help with this.
Make Your Design Clean and Simple: Don’t let consumers be distracted by untidy visuals. Leave plenty of white space on your landing page, make your fonts easy to read, add interesting videos, and create bulleted content that’s easily scanned for important points. Your customer should never have to go digging around in search of what they need. Provide a clear path of navigation, and simplify your pages to contain on the information that is pertinent to your customer.
Show Off Your Social Status: Have a list of top-notch customers? Been mentioned in the press or given excellent testimonials from customers? Let others know! Add a tidbit on your landing page that shows you’re known for your great products/services. Give them the chance to read real reviews on the products and services you are offering.

Now that you have what you believe is a great landing page, it’s time to measure, analyze, and adjust. Website testing is a vital part of the conversion process; it’s important to ensure that what you have created really works, and not just in theory!

In my next several articles, I will discuss the key aspects of a great testing strategy, along with how display ads can help your company achieve the most conversions when they are pointed to relevant landing pages. We’ll get into the technical aspects of paid and organic search and how they work together to create value. Most importantly, we will discuss why analyzing the data provided by these initiatives is often more valuable than creating the campaigns themselves.