If you’ve ever visited a website and muttered to yourself “what’s the point,” remember that your visitors will ask YOU the same question when they visit your landing pages.
A website can exceed all Quality Score guidelines, employ stunning design, and be oozing with quality content… but if it doesn’t convert, what’s the point?
If your conversions aren’t what you hoped for, these tips will help you revamp your landing pages:
TIP #1 - Think like a visitor, not like YOU. Your likes, dislikes, tastes, and hot buttons don’t matter - only your visitors’. If you’re not sure what will grab their immediate attention, research the top sites for your keywords in both natural search and first-page PPC placements. Study those landing pages carefully and take notes.
TIP #2 - Remove obstacles. Getting out of your visitor’s way is one of the easiest ways to improve a landing page. Try this exercise: load a copy of the page into your favorite html editor, then start cutting. Ruthlessly slash away anything that distracts from the main purpose. You must keep everything that contributes to a quality user experience, such as links to relevant content pages. But it’s worth seeing just how much stuff you can cut — and it often results in a much more “to the point” landing page.
TIP #3 - Put the Most Desired Action (MDA) front and center. Every landing page should have ONE goal in mind - and that’s the most desired action you want the visitor to take. Whether it’s joining your opt-in list, clicking the “Learn More” or “Buy Now” buttons, or making good on the promise of your PPC ad, that’s what should hit your visitor right between the eyes.
Finally, confused about your MDA? If you’re not sure what your Most Desired Action really should be, ask yourself these questions:
- What’s the “in your face” message of this landing page? Is it the answer to the visitor’s problem, question, or need? Is it the best price on the product they’ve searched for? Is it a coupon or free shipping deal? Is it five key comparisons between product X and product Y? Whatever it is, it needs to be the most prominent thing on the landing page.
- What do you want EVERY visitor to do? In a perfect world, what would do you want from every single visitor to your page? Of course they ALL won’t do it, but thinking about the ideal result often helps you eliminate static and clutter. It also helps you get clear on the next point…
- What’s the ONE RESULT you desire the most? Give your visitors too many options, and you’re asking them to make decisions. And if they can’t decide immediately, they’re likely to bail out — which will kill conversions. The key here is choosing ONE goal for the page and making that the most obvious choice for your visitor. Don’t make them think — make them ACT.
- What are your competitors doing, and doing well? Don’t reinvent the mousetrap, just build a better one. Scope out your competitors’ pages and ask yourself, what’s their strongest message? What’s the one in-your-face item that hits you immediately? Is there one obvious action, or are you being asked to bounce around and make decisions? And most importantly: If you were in the market for this product, would YOU do what this page asks you to do?
Landing pages don’t have to be slick or pretty to generate sales. But they do need to have ONE crystal clear purpose that get the response you want. So find that purpose. That’s the real point of your landing pages.
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