“My website gets a lot of visitors, but hardly anyone converts.” Does that sound familiar? This is a common complaint, and the culprit is usually the landing page. Imagine a skilled soccer team that can do everything except score goals. They’ll never win without getting the ball in the net. It’s the same with leads – you need to convert them! Marketers often get lost in the weeds when optimizing landing pages. They focus on minor tweaks like button colors and placement instead of essential elements like headlines and value propositions. It’s also important to remember there’s a big difference between a purchase/checkout page and a lead generation landing page. Getting someone to sign up on a lead gen page is just the first step. When your business needs a longer nurturing process, your lead gen landing page is crucial. It’s often the make-or-break point for turning a visitor into a lead.
Long sales cycles are challenging enough without worrying about poor landing page conversions. You’ll have plenty to do once a lead enters your system, so make life easier by implementing these 8 smart improvements to your lead generation landing pages.
#1: Short & Sweet Forms are Key
I’d guesstimate that 80% of landing page forms request more information than necessary. These days, it’s easy to find details online, so why ask for someone’s deepest fear or social security number? Even if your form isn’t that invasive, carefully consider each field. What information is truly essential for the next stage in your funnel? People are hesitant to share personal information – it takes time, feels invasive, and can be a hassle. The more fields you add, the more likely they are to abandon the form.
Campaign Monitor’s lead generation landing page, shown above, has a well-designed form. They only ask for four basic pieces of information to start a trial – it’s that simple! Requesting too much upfront is a surefire way to lose potential leads to competitors.
#2: Consistent Messaging is Crucial
Don’t turn away new visitors by breaking your initial promise. This isn’t about offering a white paper when you advertised a demo; it’s about the language and messaging used to attract people to your page. This is especially crucial for paid search campaigns. It’s easy to use keywords and ad copy that doesn’t align with your landing page. Maintain consistent messaging across your entire PPC campaign – from keywords to ad copy to landing page. Inconsistent messaging creates confusion, makes visitors feel misled, and ultimately drives them away. Your PPC keyword should appear in your ad headline and landing page headline. If someone searches for “affordable project management software,” both your ad and landing page should use that phrase. This may require creating multiple landing page variations, but the resulting increase in conversion rates is worth the effort. RELATED: 11 Landing Page Trends & Ideas You Can Actually Implement
#3: Make Your Copy Scannable
Your lead gen landing page needs copy that explains why prospects should sign up. But is your content easily digestible for someone with a limited attention span? We live in a world of multitasking and constant distractions. Visitors won’t be enticed by large chunks of text. Keep your landing page copy concise, compelling, and scannable. Think bullet points, arrows, and dashes. Here’s a great example from Core Power Yoga’s instructor course landing page. Imagine if those bullet points were crammed together in a long paragraph – nobody would read it! The list format makes the information much easier to process.
#4: Use High-Quality Visuals to Tell a Story
Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text by the human brain, according to this QuickSprout infographic. And content containing relevant images receives 94% more views than content without images. Great visuals can elevate your lead gen landing pages by instantly conveying your brand identity. Take Base’s lead generation landing page as an example. Their image not only adds a human touch but also tells a story about their company culture – they’re young, trendy, and productive.
#5: Showcase Big Brand Clients for Validation
Some brands, like Coca Cola and GE, are instantly recognizable. Others, while perfectly good companies, might not be as familiar to your audience. If your clientele includes those well-known brands, don’t be shy about featuring them on your landing page, like Upshot Agency does below. This builds credibility and increases trust. If a company as big as Google trusts this agency, they must be good, right?
#6: Consider a Chat System (If You Can Handle It)
This tip only applies if you have the resources to support it. If you don’t have a customer success team or can’t dedicate staff to live chat during business hours, skip this one. But remember, a chat system can be an excellent tool for providing top-notch service and boosting lead generation.
Answering questions about pricing, services, etc. precisely when prospects are seeking that information is a highly effective way to engage leads and even close deals.
#7: Incorporate Trust & Privacy Signals
Lack of trust is often a major hurdle when dealing with new leads. Why should they share their contact information if they don’t know how you’ll use it? Will your sales team bombard them with calls at all hours? Building trust can be even more challenging in certain industries, such as legal or medical. Regardless of your industry, always include trust signals and privacy policies on your landing pages. This reassures visitors that their information is safe, won’t be shared, and won’t be misused. Lead Pages provides a great example. Their landing page includes a statement guaranteeing 100% security and a link to their privacy policy, putting visitors at ease.
They even provide additional reassurance about data protection after you click the button!
#8: Eliminate Distractions
We’ve discussed what to INCLUDE on a lead generation landing page, but what about what to LEAVE OUT? Anything that could divert attention from the main goal – filling out the form – should be removed. While it might be tempting to include numerous links to other areas of your site, this often distracts visitors and prevents them from completing the desired action. Remove the top navigation bar, avoid internal links within the page copy, and eliminate all unnecessary distractions. Keep your leads focused on the ultimate goal. For seven more lesser-known lead generation ideas, click here.