How do you make a landing page work for you? The idea of one is simple; your landing page is the page your visitors go to after they’ve clicked on an advertisement, QR code, or web address with a call-to-action (click here for 20% off!). With that said, how can you ensure your landing page is effective?

Do Away with Navigation

Your landing page is not meant to represent your more extensive company website. It should be a close cousin. While it should look like your brand, it shouldn’t carry with it the multitude of options, pages, and pieces of content that your full-fledge site has.

With that said, you should remove your main site navigation from your landing pages. There’s no reason to divert the attention of a potential customer when they’ve already expressed interest in one of your lead-generating ads. Instead, your landing page should have little if any navigation; it should have everything the customer needs to buy or sign up right there on the first page.

More Landing Pages Make More Leads

With landing pages, the more pages you have connected to calls to action, the more chances you have of generating a lead. Think of it this way; how do fishermen catch the most fish when they’re out on the open waters? They cast multiple fishing lines or multiple nets. When you have multiple ads running, all with an enticing call-to-action (CTA), and all going to a unique landing page, then you have numerous avenues to catch new business.

Moreover, multiple landing pages allow you to differentiate between your campaigns. If one landing page is more effective than others, you are given the opportunity to identify why that is happening and further refine your marketing.

Keep it Concise & Informational

With landing pages, the adage “less is more” certainly comes into play. I like to explain to clients that a landing page should be laser-focused toward getting a visitor to take action, whether that’s to buy a product, use a promo code, or sign up for a newsletter.

If you bog the page down with too much information, you run the risk of your visitor losing sight of why they visited in the first place. Think of the landing page journey as a funnel, and it should start wide (an advertisement) but quickly narrow. Once they’ve landed, the funnel should be so narrow that the easiest way to go is forward.

Match Your Call-to-Action with the Landing Page Header

Your CTA is what brought your visitor to your page in the first place. Typically, it’s a direct request found in an email, social media ad, or another piece of advertising. Whether it’s “BUY NOW” or “USE PROMO CODE 20 PERCENT OFF NOW”, it should bring with it a sense of urgency and clarity.

However, if your landing page does not reflect that CTA, then you risk losing your lead. Imagine you’ve clicked on a banner ad promoting a 20% off code. Yet, once you clicked on the CTA, you’re taken to a nondescript landing page. What happened to your 20% off? Where are you, anyway? Your next impulse might be to feel betrayed and look for the exit. Whatever your CTA is, make sure your landing page reflects that in its header.

Add a Lead Generation Form, but Keep It Simple

For businesses looking for long-term customers or for businesses that provide a service that can’t be instantly purchased, a lead generation form is an important way to collect customer information. You can use that information to build that relationship either through email or the phone.

If this is the case, then your landing page should feature a lead generation form. Keep the form both prominent and simple. Don’t ask for too much; just enough to quickly get your customer’s contact information. After all, you can get additional information when you reach out to them.

The faster a customer can reach out to you and feel that their message went somewhere, the more confidence they’ll have when it comes time to hit that “submit” button.

Write Copy that Resonates

Anyone can write copy that sounds like a salesperson. You know your product or service in and out. It would be relatively simple for you to list the benefits and features. However, if you overload your visitors with drab descriptions of your brand, you’ll lose them.

Instead, put yourself in the shoes of your customers. By now, you should have an idea of your ideal customer and even understand how they speak. Appeal to them in that way; use their language, appeal to their needs, and find clear, friendly solutions to the kind of problems that brought them to your page in the first place. I always like to close my eyes and try to imagine how a customer would talk about a product or company; I then mirror that language when I write copy. In the end, people like to hear themselves when they read; it builds trust.

Landing Pages Are Concentrated Doses of Branding

Overall, your brand should feel light and airy. It should be able to spread out. You don’t want to smother your customer base. However, landing pages are little concentrated pockets of branding. They should feel a little urgent. They should be fairly direct. Most of all, they should captivate your visitors from beginning to end. An effective landing page is like a Disney ride; your customers sit down, strap in, and go on a little, magical journey that takes them right back out when they’re done!