landing page optimization

Landing Page Design Tips

Article Submited by Pierre Zarokian, CEO of Submit Express

The one sure way to mess up a marketing campaign would be the landing page. Primarily the mismatch message after they are taken to the website. This fundamental item causes frequent failure in peoples campaigns and costing them money off the table. The proper initial message match is when the copy or offer in your ads maintains momentum throughout the conversion funnel. There shoul be consistency from any of your PPC ads, banner ads, email messages, Facebook ads, etc, through to the landing page, then the destination website or wherever you need them to go. Of course the ad copy should be enticing them to go to your landing page in the first place.

If you break the conversion momentum you are telling your visitors they may as well go somewhere else. Maintaining your message across the campaign touch-point saves you from failing in a big way.

If you’re doing it all yourelf, that’s fine but the problem comes when different people handle different aspects of a campaign. For example, the guy sending out emails doesn’t speak to the main campaign manager who in turn doesn’t know what the PPC team is doing. If so, get everyone together and discuss the marketing plans collectively with them. Draft the campaign flow and sales funnel on a whiteboard to ensure the plan transfers to everyone on onboard without changing direction. Research and SEO practice gets your page up in rank and helps boost conversion rates more.

Another issue, over looked by many, is a lead generation form that is broken or not installed properly. Imagine spending days creating the perfect landing page then you or your guys put a form in it for lead capure, but it fails. If you’re day dreaming about all the leads coming into your inbox, then test. Other times it ends up being the autoresponder not sequenced properly or failed to engage after people sign up. Always test your landing pages to ensure anything interactive works perfectly. Even the gurus become complacent, trying to get their campaigns out fat to make money, forget to test. So, these technical aspects could mean people seeing your ads or landing page once, not being able to engage so they leave. Worse off, the next time they see the landing page, they believe it’s a cam and won’t think twice to delete it quick. Also, don’t forget how much you could lose in cash if you you were running a PPC ad for example and nothing worked.

A/B test your page. Why? In many cases color, copy, type of photo, how you ad was devised, etc, could be a factor on how customers react to what you show them. A landing page conversion rate could also run tests to compare the following things:

*Video or non
*With and without photos
*Having few, many or no testimonials
*Capture name, email or both

Why a landing page is crucial? Your website may have too many distractions and different pathways that can lead people away from the all-important sign up you are looking for. These include:-

*Navigation to your entire site leaving them confused on what you are selling
*Additional banners on other offers you placed, taking them away.
*AdSense ads, although you earn money, in the long run could have nabbed you a long time customer instead.

So, the landing page without all other distractions and a clear definition of what people will get is you first line of attack. Remember, even if they end up at your website later and don’t buy immedeatly, you got their email address for follow up action or other offers.

When dealing with potential prospects get right to the point with a no fuss landing page. No one likes to read something the length of “War & Peace”. People’s attention span is generally short. So, focus their attention with a clear and concise headline
Like a magazine cover you see in a store rack. If you’re in a hurry and the headline grabs your attention, you may pick it up, browse and end up buying just so you can read it all at your convienience for its value. Happen to you?

End of the day, good landing pages are clean focused content that don’t need common elements of a full website. It allows people to see the benefits of what you offer in a brief summarised content format and helps them make the decision to get your offer. Think of it as a poster or trailer for a summer Hollywood block buster movie. Wouldn’t you buy a ticket to go after you saw one that stirred your interest? Simply, that’s what landing pages do.

If you are interested in professional help with Landing Page Design Services, please visit www.submitexpress.com.