Successful Landing Pages: the secret to Lead Generation

A successful landing page is one that fulfils its main objective: getting the people who land there to convert. In other words, effective lead generation requires an effective landing page, one that is well structured and well designed. Pages of this kind are more than a set of graphics, a short piece of text and a call-to-action. In this article you'll find some interesting figures to bear in mind before you go ahead with your landing page, along with the basic elements it should contain.

One page, one objective.

Landing pages are traditionally built around a single objective. For that reason they can and should exist independently of the corporate website. Only traffic directed to the campaign should reach this page. That separation is extremely valuable for your business, because it lets you focus on one specific objective, gather information, analyse it, draw conclusions and put them to work in your favour.

Your landing page can be used to capture emails, sell a product, invite people to a conference and register their attendance, offer a discount… You name it!

Whatever the case, your objective should be clear and reflected in an appropriate call-to-action.

48% of marketers working with online stores build landing pages for every new campaign, according to Hubspot.

Elements to include

The offer

Before asking for any information from the people who reach your page, you need to win them over with an offer. That's how you capture their attention, so they don't leave within a second.

The offer should therefore appear immediately in the landing page headline and be reinforced in the subheadings. Studies show that 8 in 10 people only read the opening sentence of a page. In other words, as a rule only 2 of them carry on reading the rest. That statistic shifts the more striking and compelling that first sentence is.

The headline should be short, direct and appealing. It may seem obvious, but it's worth pointing out that the headline should be truthful. Make a promise you're going to keep.

At this stage it's crucial to know the landing page's target audience. What are the needs of your campaign's persona? If you can answer that question and deliver value in the very first words on the page, you've taken the first step towards winning the conversion.

The content of the offer

Once the offer has been announced in a headline, it's worth giving more information about what you have to offer. If you promised an ebook, describe what that document contains. If you promised a discount voucher, describe the conditions for using it. If the explanation is very complex, set the text aside and record a short explainer video instead. If you go with text, remember to make it as engaging as possible, following best practice:

• Small blocks of text, with short sentences and simple words.
• Whenever possible use lists with bullet points, which makes reading far more pleasant.
• Highlight important sentences or put words in bold, to give the text some rhythm.
• Focus the text on the benefits this offer holds for readers. List the specifics that set this offer apart from similar ones. Always adopt a genuine, considered tone.

Call-To-Action

The landing page CTA is fundamental. It's usually a button (ideally clickable) that encourages users to take a particular action." Some examples of copy commonly found in CTAs are:

• "Read More"
• "Buy now"
• "Download"

The combination of copy, colour and button format should be handled carefully and, if possible, put through A/B tests. It's essential that the CTA is clear and to the point, and that it communicates exactly what action the user is taking.

Visual content

Attractive, informative images (combined with assertive, coherent copy) will make your landing page a success. Video can play a major role here. A study by Eyeview states that the likelihood of conversion increases by around 80% if the page opens with a short explainer video about the offer. Why? It's easy to consume, usually very informative and saves reading time. Do remember, though, to follow best practice when using video, particularly for mobile visits, to make sure the page performs at the same speed as a page without video.

Before making a decision, weigh up the pros and cons of this format for your specific campaign.

The form

Finally, the form. It's the part that matters most to your company, because this is where you collect your potential customers' details. The form works as a kind of "payment" for the offer. In other words, in exchange for their details, readers receive something useful from your company. Ideally you want as much information as possible about the user who reached your page. That said, a long, overly intrusive form can put people off filling it in. So only include the questions that really matter. Name and email are the basics but, if it's strictly necessary, you can ask for two or three more pieces of information.

In this part of the landing page you need to pay particular attention to GDPR.

A successful landing page is, without doubt, the driving force behind qualified leads. From a well-structured page, with all the elements mentioned above working together, you'll be able to:

• Capture qualified leads
• Reach a "warm" target audience. That is, an audience that already has some information about your brand and its offer – which also matters for their journey through the conversion funnel
• Segment your audience more easily.

Count on us to bounce ideas around and build the successful landing page for your campaign. Our team of strategists, web developers, web designers and copywriters is at your disposal – get in touch!