Taking this one step further, in order to ensure that these efforts are revenue generating campaigns instead of just branding efforts, landing pages must be created to turn site visitors into actual sales leads or incentivize them to visit the brick and mortar location to purchase products or services. A recent interview with Search Engine Watch blogger, Tim Ash, included his thoughts on landing page practices and his “Seven Deadly Sins of Landing Page Design”. Here’s a quick snapshot of landing best practices as they have worked for our clients.

1 Message | 1 Purpose – Users should land on a page that is clearly relevant to what they have searched for; don’t confuse them with an all purpose contact form that just makes them want to leave and find better answers.

Look Professional – You wear your best suit for a business meeting, why would you dress your first impression on the web any differently? Use aesthetically pleasing images and go easy on the text. Make it love at first ‘site’.

Don’t Make Me Think – Within 5 seconds, the user should know why they are there and what you want them to do. KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. The headline should tell them that they are in the right place and what you’re going to offer them. The call to action should make it clear “If I click here, I get this…”

Make the Page Easy to Scan – Lightbulb moment! Users do not read all the content on a page, they scan it to find what they want. Place the most important messages and information in the top left and always above the fold.

Anticipate Objections – Assume the user is going to think ‘what’s the catch?’ Predict what their questions will be and answer them simply and clearly with bullets or sub headlines that make it difficult for them to leave.

Gain Trust – Utilize association logos, credentials, and testimonial quotes to highlight assurance of a positive experience  - these are support to the main purpose, however, so place them to the far right or bottom of the page. 

Obtain Only Critical Info – More sites lose leads to lengthy forms than anything else. Users are most often willing to give a name and email, if they know you aren’t going to call them or SPAM them. If necessary, include a comment box with a statement like, “Is there anything else you would like us to know?”

Things to Avoid:

•  Long Load Time
• Light Colored Text on Dark Background
• More than 3 Columns
• Excessive Copy
• Unrelated Images or Copy
• Long Forms or Too Many Options
• Links and Navigation to other Sites/Pages
• Placing Content of Value Below the Fold

 
And finally, test everything! Utilize free and paid website tools to evaluate landing page effectiveness and test multiple offers to determine efficacy. Check back later this month for Ryan Caroll’s post on Website Tools for more help with this one!