How to optimize your landing page
A landing page is a page where a user is required to take action. An example is a purchase page or a page to download content, such as an eBook or white paper.
The primary function of the landing page is to generate a conversion. What's a good conversion rate, you ask? According to Wordstream, the average conversion rate is 2.35%. The top 25% convert at 5.31%. I want to show you how I build and optimize landing pages that convert at 40-60%.
A thorough analysis of your landing page is the first step toward improving it. Go under the hood and take a peek at your data.
Key Metrics
Measurable landing page metrics include:
· Calls-to-action Performance
· Visits-to-leads Conversion Rate
· Leads-to-Customer Conversion Rate
Calls-to-action Performance
Calls-to-action performance is an indicator of the number of visitors who end up on your landing page via a call-to-action. For instance, is your CTA driving enough visits to convert? Determine a benchmark metric for your click-through rate. Then, seek to improve low-performing CTAs with a few simple tweaks.
Visits-to-leads Conversion Rate
So now that visitors are finally on your landing page, are they actually converting to leads? The visits-to-lead conversion rate signifies the percentage of visitors who end up becoming leads. A good understanding of these metrics helps identify opportunities to optimize the landing page conversions.
Leads-to-Customer Conversion Rate
This is the amount of leads who become customers. Just as you consider how visits lead to leads (*drumroll*), it is crucial to measure the effectiveness of the landing page in turning leads into customers. Which landing pages generate the most customers? What are some offers associated with the top landing pages? What are some areas that need improving?
Common Landing Page Issues and How to Fix Them
The best thing about marketing analytics is that they provide the insight necessary to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a campaign. For instance, insights can tell us how well a landing page is performing. Isn’t that what marketing is about – making adjustments to improve success rates?
So what are some of the common challenges associated with landing page marketing? Let’s examine a few and how to fix them.
a. Low Click-through Rate
Problem: You are suffering a measly click-through rate on your landing page. This could be because your content is not aligned with the preceding call-to-action.
Solution: Put on your customer hat and review both your call-to-action design and the landing page layout through the eyes of a prospect. Repeat this exercise through the eyes of your top competitor. Make sure that the content and the CTA are perfectly aligned. For instance, check to see if the language in your call-to-action accurately describes the offer that waits on the landing page. You only have three seconds to engage a visitor on your landing page, so make your offer tantalizing and visible.
b. High Bounce Rate
Problem: Your landing page has a high rate of abandonments. Visitors get there and immediately click off, sending your bounce rate through the roof. Not cool.
Solution: Remove distracting navigation. If your landing page has a navigation menu or site widgets competing for attention, customers will likely get distracted and start clicking around. The easiest way to combat this problem is to make the landing page clean, compelling and distraction-free.
c. Low Visits-to-leads Conversion Rate
Problem: Your landing page enjoys a high click-through rate, but the number of leads it generates is low. This is sometimes an indication of a poorly designed landing page.
Solution: Try A/B testing. Set up the original landing page as your “control,” keeping the unaltered design and copy intact. Clone the control and modify it with optimized copy and design. Let the testing begin.
If your visitor-to-lead conversion rate has taken a dip, the problem lies in the design and copy of your landing page. Shake things up and let the customers decide.