Everyone wants more leads. You probably do, too. Unfortunately, for many business owners, it’s still not entirely clear how a landing page can help with that.
What many companies call a “landing page” is in reality just their home page, a loose service or offer page or a general information page with no clear purpose. The result? Visitors may click on your link in Google, but have soon left your website again. Without having taken any action.
In this blog, we explain what a landing page is : a targeted page that has one task (and performs that task properly). We’ll tell you more about why a good landing page contributes positively to your conversion rate and where most companies structurally go wrong. With all this knowledge, you can do better.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a strategically designed page that a visitor lands on, after deliberately clicking on a specific advertisement, email, social media post or search result. Such a landing page has a simple purpose, which is to prompt action.
Of course, what this action is completely depends on your business and business goals. Visitors who land on a landing page may be urged to sign up for a newsletter, request an intake, buy a product or purchase a service.
What is a landing page not?
As indicated earlier, the landing page is often confused with the home page or a services page.
A home page is meant to be an overview. It answers questions like “Who are you?“, “What do you do?” and “Where can the visitor find more?Generally, there are many Call To Actions and internal links on this page. This is not a problem for a homepage. You just shouldn’t expect a visitor to perform an action. After all, he will be sent in all directions.
A services page is primarily informational in nature. Here the visitor can read more about what they can expect and how much it will cost (approximately). Often these types of pages are fairly broad and general anyway.
A good landing page zooms in on one specific service, one specific audience and one specific action. Everything on the page is optimized to make that action as attractive and logical as possible.
Key features of a strong landing page
- Focused on one conversion goal
Everything on the page works toward one clear action. Don’t give visitors choice stress by offering multiple solutions.
- No distractions
You want your visitor to take action. So don’t distract them with too much fuss, such as gifs, large images or blog posts.
- Clear and Persuasive Text
The text on a landing page should not be “informative. Instead, the copy should be persuasive. When writing a landing page, focus on the visitor’s pain points, desires and objections. And always write with conversion in mind.
- Strong relevance with the clock source
The promise you make in your ad or link? That should match one-to-one with what you deliver on the landing page. Inconsistency kills both trust and conversion.
How landing pages are misused
Many companies think they have one or more landing pages. But in reality, it’s a standard page with no underlying strategy. We share the most common mistakes and tell you why they kill your conversion rate.
1. Home page is used as a landing page
The home page is meant to be a starting point for all types of visitors. But a landing page is meant for one specific audience with one specific intention. Those who land on your homepage from a search query or advertisement quickly get lost.
Imagine this: someone searches for “Website for real estate agents” and clicks on the corresponding search result. But instead of a crisp page about web design focused on real estate brokerage, that person lands on your general home page with all kinds of information about your team, mission, all your services and all your clients. This is way too overstimulating. It’s like walking into a bookstore asking “Do you have anything on architecture?” and the person behind the counter responds with: “Feel free to look around.”
In many cases, a home page is not clear, relevant or compelling enough to prompt action.
2. Too many distractions
A strong landing page is guiding. But many such pages are still too distracting. What should you be looking for when presented with menus, sidebars, internal links, images, icons, CTAs and long pieces of text?
Conversion requires focus. The page must align with your visitors’ search intent. Guide him in this and give them one clear choice at the end of the path under one clear button.
3. The promise from the ad is not fulfilled
If you promise something in your ad or meta description, then the landing page must deliver on that promise. It sounds only logical, yet it’s something that still often goes wrong. A meta description that shouts “Get a professional one-page website created: Sleek, fast and targeted” and then links to a general page about all kinds of websites, from web shops to multilingual platforms, causes the visitor to immediately lose the thread.
There is no match between the visitor’s search intent and the page they land on. This lack of connection results in a lack of action. All it results in are high bounce rates and low conversion rates.
4. The visitor is not included in the copy
Website copy is of enormous importance. Especially on a landing page. The biggest mistake many companies make is writing from their own perspective: “We specialize in…”, “We offer…”, “We believe…”.
But a visitor does not think in “we,” but in “I. What does the visitor get when he becomes a customer? What does it provide for him?
A good landing page shows that you understand your target audience. Not only in what you say, but also in how you say it. With language that matches their situation, their questions, their stage in the customer journey.
What a good landing page should look like
You understand now, but a strong landing page only does one thing. It leads the visitor purposefully to conversion. No distractions. No doubts and no detours. But what exactly are the characteristics of an effective landing page?
1. Connect to the intent of the searcher
Whether someone lands on your page through a search result, advertisement or email, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the content of your page should directly match the visitor’s expectations. If you show off a title like “WordPress specialist Amsterdam,” the visitor should see this reflected literally. In the headline, in the text and in the offer.
2. A single choice
A strong landing page is black and white. It is yes or no. There is no gray area, a maybe, the opportunity to look at other options or to come back later. The visitor must be presented with one clear action. He either does it or he doesn’t. It is precisely this clarity that gets results.
3. Visually clear, content compelling
The eye wants something too, of course. The design of a landing page supports the content (not the other way around). But keep in mind that you don’t want to distract the visitor. You want a visual hierarchy that directs attention to the right places. Headings that make scanning easy. White space that breathes. Text in clear blocks that persuade rather than inform.
In addition, make sure the texts touch. Make sure they are in line with the language of your target audience. Don’t be too general or descriptive, but rather specific, powerful, relatable and action-oriented.
4. Social proof in the right places
Social proof makes all the difference. It really does. Think customer reviews, client logos, designations or labels. But in strategic places. For example, right before the conversion button, near objections or under your offer.
5. Tested, optimized and measurable
Good landing pages are not built overnight. They are built, tested for some time and adjusted where necessary. Which title works better? What’s the perfect spot for the CTA? What sequence holds attention best? By making your landing pages measurable and regularly and actively optimizing them, you really get what’s inside them.
The perfect landing page: Here’s how to create it
You don’t have to (thankfully) overhaul your entire website to get more conversion from it. What you do need to do is create some targeted landing pages that fit your target audience, campaigns and customer journey.
1. Create specific landing pages for campaigns
Are you using ads? Or do you send traffic via email or social media? If so, make sure you have an appropriate landing page for each campaign. One message, one promise, one action.
2. Set up pages by service, target audience or search intent
Instead of one general page about “our services,” it is more tactical to create three different landing pages. One for “web designer Amsterdam,” one for “web developer Amsterdam,” and one for “WordPress specialist Amsterdam.” The more specific and concrete you are, the greater your chances of conversion.
3. Think from the funnel
Not every visitor is ready to become a customer. This depends on what stage of the customer journey the visitor is in. Therefore, adjust your landing pages accordingly.
In the awareness phase, someone wants to understand what the problem is. In the consideration phase, someone wants to know if your solution fits, and in the conversion phase, someone wants above all to be helped quickly and convincingly.
One landing page cannot serve all these phases at once, because the actions in the different phases are not the same. In this case, it is smart to create three targeted landing pages.
The ideal funnel
A landing page is not a home page or a prettier version of your services pages. It is a conversion machine built to do one thing: turn a visitor into a lead or customer.
By cleverly targeting intent, focus and relevance, you prevent people from dropping out before they’ve seen anything from you at all. And with targeted pages per campaign, target audience or stage in the customer journey, you don’t build a generic website, but a system that works for you.
Want to get more out of your traffic? Start with better pages.
