So you’ve done your research and funneled a significant amount of money towards relevant ads. You’re getting some traffic on your responsive website, but for some reason you can’t see any evidence of conversion.
Does it mean that your marketing plan is ineffective? Should you change your strategy immediately?
Not necessarily.
What you should do first is to find out what people do after seeing your ads. If they click through but don’t convert, the problem may be with your landing page. Without an effective landing page, you’re like a person who goes fishing without bringing a net.
Here are some expert tips to keep your landing page simple but compelling.
1. Narrow your focus
Research shows that the more options on the landing page a visitor has, the longer they take to make a decision.
Therefore, the simpler and clearer your message appears, the more likely they are to take the action you want.
Consider the following:
- Is your navigation bar really necessary? Try to minimize it visually or take it out altogether, and proceed to clear out all clutter including links that aren’t your call to action (CTA).
- Do your visitors need a long block of text about your company philosophy? This type of content should be located in the “About” section of your website to minimize material that doesn’t serve to direct visitors along the funnel.
- How much information do you want to collect? Studies indicate that the more fields you have on your form, the lower the response rate. Keep the form on your landing page short and precise for better conversion.
Keep in mind that your homepage is in fact the most important landing page on your website. As such, it should be free of heavy text and extraneous links.
2. Create a good headline
When creating copy for display ads, it makes sense to include a catchy, clever, or even outrageous headline. This is because those types of ads are designed to distract the visitor from whatever they’re doing so they can look at them instead. The heading on a landing page doesn’t serve the same purpose.
Having done everything right to funnel the visitor there, the next step is to convince them to stick around a while longer. A good way to do this is to explain in clear language what your website is all about.
Here are a couple of examples:
- Do you sell pet collars? You can write this: “Fresh and snappy puppy collars.”
- Do you sell location apps? “Cool way to locate your friends.”
- How about marketing consultancy? “Proven marketing solutions for your business.”
Remember, when people are scratching their heads trying to figure out what your website is about, they are less inclined to sign up for anything, read your whitepaper, or download your new app.
Create a headline that stands out but make it short and succinct.
3. Include a clear call to action
Here are some examples of an effective call to action: Shop Now, Try It, Sign Up, Contact Us, or Watch a related video.
The mantra when creating your CTA should be “always be closing.” Whatever content you include should serve one purpose: to move the visitor further along the conversion funnel. The best CTAs online always accentuate a single CTA.
Here are a few considerations for design:
- Display the CTA once or twice in a centralized, visually distinct button, so that people don’t have to guess what they should click on.
- When using several CTAs on your landing page, always include a primary CTA and de-emphasize the rest so they don’t potentially confuse people.
- It’s okay to include other content below the fold, but that necessitates repeating the CTA.
This is a relatively easy area to test so play around with the size, color, and placement of the button to find a good balance.
A bonus tip
To entice people to take action, offer them a bonus. This can be anything you can offer them in exchange for them doing what you want on your landing page, including discounts, coupons, or a free version of the product.
The best landing pages draw people deeper into the conversion funnel and close the deal.
There aren’t any restrictions when you offer a service or sell products on your responsive website. Find a way to pull in visitors by giving them an extra reason to convert. Always keep the CTA clear and distinct so that no other content distracts from it.
Ready to take your business online? Get started with Bookmark website builder today!
Originally published at www.bookmark.com on October 3, 2016.
