For marketers, landing pages are a familiar concept. We’ve all encountered landing pages that were too confusing or lacked sufficient information, leading us to abandon them. These experiences often teach us what to avoid when designing our own landing pages.

However, what steps can we take to retain those visitors? Regardless of whether you employ a user-friendly platform like Marketo, Hubspot, or Unbounce, or rely on an in-house development team, these 11 landing page best practices can enhance your pages and boost conversions.

Essential Landing Page Best Practices

While 11 best practices may seem overwhelming, most are minor adjustments that can significantly impact your results. Optimizing your conversion rate is simpler than you might think!

1. Ensure Your Landing Page Aligns with Your Ad Campaign Goals

Personally, I find landing pages more challenging to create than ads, suggesting this tip should be reversed. However, opinions vary. When crafting a landing page, focus on the objective. Which ad campaigns will direct traffic to this page? What is the intended outcome? Ensure the language on your landing page mirrors that of your ads, or vice versa. If your ad proclaims, “Enjoy free internet! Discover how here,” your landing page should provide clear instructions on obtaining free internet. Just like that, you’ve gained a new customer.

2. Streamline Your Forms

While forms are crucial in landing page design, we won’t delve too deep here as we have a dedicated (and more comprehensive) blog post on the topic. As a general rule: Only request essential information. Aim for no more than seven input fields, embrace white space, and always prioritize simplicity. For inspiration, you can explore these landing page examples to get a sense of what your form should encompass.

3. Experiment with Your Copy and CTA

Speaking of simplicity, let’s discuss landing page copy. When writing copy for a designed page, consider the layout. Avoid overwhelming your audience with a dense block of text. Utilize bullet points, headers, and subheads to convey your message concisely. Always test your copy and CTA. And then test some more. You’ll only discover what resonates with your audience through data-driven insights. Trust me, this landing page has undergone rigorous testing with various copy variations, forms, and CTAs. It turns out that competing effectively in AdWords (without simply increasing bids) is quite persuasive.

4. Prioritize a User-Friendly Design and Navigation

Have you ever encountered a webpage that left you disoriented? It happens to the best of us. You might be searching for concert tickets, but the “Buy Now” button seems elusive amidst a cluttered layout of dropdowns, display ads, and distractions. Don’t let a convoluted design hinder your conversions. Your landing page should reflect your brand identity and seamlessly integrate with your website. In addition to simplified forms, prioritize effortless navigation throughout the page.

5. Utilize Case Studies and Social Proof

This tip is straightforward. Whenever possible, showcase positive feedback from your customers. If you lack an extensive collection of testimonials, leverage logos instead. Just ensure you have permission! Various platforms like Yelp, Google My Business, and Trustpilot can be integrated into your landing pages to display fresh reviews. You can even employ simple embed codes. Position these reviews strategically at the bottom of the page, avoiding distractions from the desired user action. Ensure these reviews align with the headline describing the action to prevent confusion. Munchery effectively incorporates Trustpilot reviews on their landing page, creating an appealing and informative section without detracting from the call to action above.

6. Ensure Mobile Responsiveness

As with any marketing endeavor, your landing pages should be accessible across various devices and screen sizes. Many plug-and-play landing page solutions offer built-in responsiveness, allowing you to preview common screen sizes before launching your new page. To be safe, position your buttons and forms centrally on a full-size page with a single-color background. This minimizes the risk of important elements breaking when the page adapts to different screen dimensions.

7. Optimize for Fast Loading Speed

If you’re a seasoned marketer, you likely have multiple landing pages running alongside your website. If a particular page exhibits a high bounce rate, slow loading times could be the culprit. While it’s tempting to cut corners with standalone landing pages, ensure all elements are optimized for speed. Avoid excessively large or heavy files, as resizing can be time-consuming. Slow loading times can also negatively impact your page’s SEO efforts.

8. Display Essential Information Above the Fold

Just like an email, prioritize displaying crucial information prominently, ensuring it’s immediately visible upon arrival. This is especially critical for action-oriented pages, such as those for purchasing tickets or entering contests. Content that can be placed below the fold includes testimonials, case studies, client logos, terms and conditions, and suggested content (e.g., “If you enjoyed this, you might also find our guide on creating engaging lead forms helpful!”). Guideline’s page exemplifies this practice effectively, featuring minimal text, a straightforward form above the fold, and additional details below.

9. Regularly Update Your Landing Pages

User experience and landing page trends evolve over time. Similar to blog posts and website content, keep your landing pages current. If a previously high-performing ad experiences a decline, outdated landing pages could be the culprit. Even minor updates like refreshing background colors, introducing a new CTA, or incorporating fresh copy can prevent fatigue and signal to Google and ad platforms that the content is up-to-date.

10. Implement a Thank You Page

While it may seem like these tips aim to minimize confusion for your audience, thank you pages are a crucial part of this process. Once a visitor completes an action on your landing page, provide visual confirmation that their information has been received and the process is underway. This can be as simple as a thank you message: “Thank you. Your information has been submitted.” Alternatively, redirect them to a dedicated thank you page with additional content, such as the extras you may have placed below the fold on the previous page.

Explore these 16 examples of effective (and not-so-effective) thank you pages to optimize your own.

11. Optimize Your Landing Page for SEO

This aspect is crucial for landing page longevity. If you aim for lasting visibility, incorporate some of your SEO muscles. If you manage a blog or website, you’re likely familiar with these fundamentals:

• Unique URL: Assign a unique URL to your landing page, not just for accurate navigation but also to optimize for relevant keywords.
• Title Tag: Distinct from the header tag, this is the page title. Plug-and-play landing page solutions usually provide an option to customize this.
• Header Tag: This tag represents the page title. Use a concise version of your landing page headline.
• Meta Description: Often overlooked, the meta description is crucial for landing pages. It’s the text displayed beneath your search result on Google. Craft a compelling description that accurately reflects your page content.
• Image File Names: Use descriptive image file names that reflect the page’s purpose and, if possible, incorporate relevant keywords.
• Backlinking: Once your page is live, link to it from ad campaigns, blog posts, website pages, affiliate partners, etc. Increased visibility enhances Google’s perception of its relevance and authority.

Embrace These Landing Page Best Practices!

To recap, here are the 11 essential best practices:

1. Align your landing page with the goal of your ad campaigns
2. Simplify your forms
3. Test your copy and CTA
4. Keep the design straightforward
5. Leverage case studies and social proof
6. Keep your landing page mobile-friendly
7. Make sure it loads quickly
8. Put important information above the fold
9. Update your landing pages regularly
10. Add a thank you page
11. Build your landing pages for SEO Best of luck in the world of landing page optimization! Feel free to share any secret tips you’ve discovered along the way.