While creating content for the sales funnel can help improve your conversion rates, the content on your landing page is also a key factor in buyers’ decisions. As the conversion point on the website, landing pages need to be properly designed to increase dwell time, increase engagement, and drive more sales. Therefore, you need to have an effective content strategy for a landing page. In this article, we guide you on creating an outstanding landing page that drives conversion.

What is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a standalone page on your website designed to serve a single purpose. This is where visitors will land after clicking from another source, such as a social media post, an advertisement, an organic post, or display ads. It differs from your typical pages because, instead of encouraging visitors to learn more about your business, it usually serves a single purpose.

There are different types of landing pages, such as:

• Click through. This type of landing page aims to provide visitors to your site with the information they need about an offer and guide them to the next steps in their journey through the sales funnel to conversion.
• Lead generation. This type of landing page is designed to help gather visitors' information using a form. The page has no navigation or links. Instead, they offer freebies, such as discounts or ebooks, in exchange for customers' information, and are one of the key elements of lead generation strategies.

Key Elements of a Good Landing Page

An outstanding landing page should have the following key elements:

Brevity

Social media users usually have little patience and often only scan content, so you need to ensure that your landing page supports this. Otherwise, if your landing page is cluttered, it will be hard for customers to find the information you want them to see most: your offer and how it benefits them. Use the CTA to encourage them to accept the offer.

While you may be tempted to include everything you think is necessary, you don't have to. Keep the landing page brief and fast-loading. According to statistics, a one-second delay can decrease page visits by 11%, reduce user satisfaction by 16%, and reduce conversion by 7%.

Outstanding Content

You should ensure the headline uses simple language and clearly explains what your target audience can expect. When doing that, make sure the terms used and the offer match where readers click from, whether a search result, PPC ad, or another website page. 

Include the benefits, showcasing what value they will get from the content. The supporting information should be brief, at a maximum of one or two sentences, followed by some bullet points. Add an image that shows the context of the offer or helps viewers visualize themselves using it. However, you can make the information more detailed by adding a brief video instead of images. If you decide to add a video, make sure it is not distracting.

Social Proof

The majority of social media users are followers rather than pioneers, so you need to nudge them a little to boost their confidence. You can do that using different content formats such as:

• A quote from a review or testimonials.
• Number of users who benefited from the offers.
• Leveraging user-generated content as social proof.
• Seals of trust, such as security badges, big brand customers, endorsements, and more.
• Influencer endorsement as social proof.

Call to Action

The CTA is an important element you can use to nudge your audience to take action. This could be downloading an ebook or making a purchase. A clear CTA (Call to Action) helps visitors understand what you need from them, enabling them to decide whether to take an action. At times, visitors may fail to convert, but when you help them understand the action you expect, they are more likely to take it. Make sure the landing page design and copy are very clear.

You can make the CTA a standalone button that serves as the link between your audience and the offer. However, be creative. Instead of saying “download now” or “click here”, use creative words such as “earn your $50 new customer discount” or "download your free ebook now”.

If your page's content plan focuses on lead generation, ensure you include an information-gathering contact form. This could be on your next CTR landing page. Ensure it remains brief, focusing only on the important information to build confidence and trust. You can get more details later via a mid-funnel landing page.

Design and Layout

The location of the key features can impact your level of success. This is why a page layout is a key element in determining landing page performance. Using contrasting colors and bold fonts can make your CTA and headline more effective. Add a logo to ensure consistent branding while also optimizing for mobile devices, as a third of mobile users access the internet on mobile devices.

When creating a content strategy for the landing page, remember that more is usually better.  The more numbers you have, the more ways you have to engage with your customers. Also, add an intuitive and compelling landing page to help users follow through.

Best Practices for Creating Outstanding Landing Pages

For the best results with your landing pages, make use of the following best practices:

A Great Offer

You need to provide visitors with something in exchange for them taking a desired action. For instance, you can use a lead-generation landing page to offer a free consultation or a free guide in exchange for the customer’s information, enabling them to enter the sales funnel without feeling they are giving too much for nothing.

Show the Benefits in the Headlines

Don't use the landing pages to highlight why your company is the best. Instead, use it to showcase the benefits of your brand or services, along with your product offering. In the headline, you can inform the visitors of what they expect from the landing page. If your headlines are unclear, your visitors will bounce off. Ensure all elements of the landing page meet visitors' expectations.

Ensure it Matches Your Ad

The landing page copy should match the offer and the messaging in your ad. This will make sure your visitors know they have reached the right place. The landing page's design elements should also be similar to provide a seamless experience and meet your visitors' expectations.

Add Social Proof

Social proof, such as reviews and testimonials, can help you build trust in your business, especially among customers who have never heard of it. Studies indicate that customers trust the words of other buyers more than those of brands. Therefore, adding social proof can be a great way of growing your customers’ trust.

Make the Landing Page SEO-Optimized

There can be different sources of visitors to the landing page, such as social media, email marketing, ads, and SEM. However, one of the most overlooked ways to drive visitors to your landing page is SEO. This is even though SEO will put it in front of Google and other search engines.

In Conclusion

A well-optimized landing page will be the final element contributing to the success of the sales funnel. It ensures that the audience getting to the landing page trusts your brand and has no fear of conversion. Therefore, use the above tips to optimize your landing page.