We all know the importance of landing pages when it comes to building a successful website. Not only do they provide thoughtful, useful information to site visitors, they help increase your conversion rate and make you and your business more money.
If landing pages are such an important part of customer conversion, why are there so many bad ones out there? Well, for starters, it can be easy to overlook a few simple mishaps that may not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to your landing page, they kill conversion.
The key to building out a high-converting landing page is simply put in the time and effort. Below you’ll find the five most common landing page mistakes that can cost you conversions and money. Avoid these at all costs—your customers and conversion rates will thank you.
Not Considering Mobile Devices
We’re living in a mobile world in which fewer people than ever before are viewing your website from a desktop computer. When people learn about your company, the first thing they’ll probably do is grab their smartphone and look you up—you do this all the time.
And there’s a reason for it—Internet usage on mobile phones makes up 17% of global web usage. If your website and landing pages aren’t optimized for mobile devices, then you’re losing out on a large percentage of potential customers and conversions.
You can easily avoid this common mishap by vigorously testing your mobile landing pages to make sure they’re both consistent and user-friendly. You should also include things such as:
• A series of social sharing buttons that are not only visible, but that actually work. The easier your site is to share, the more it will be shared, and the more people will see it.
• A highly visible, apparent call-to-action. In mobile optimized sites, the call-to-action button can often get buried or fall below the fold. If a user can’t find it, they act on it.
• All your pages, not just your homepage or landing page, are fully optimized for a wide range of mobile devices. Also, all embedded links should lead to optimized pages, as well.
Who’s Avoiding This Mishap? Kontiki.
Putting Aesthetics On the Backburner
If you’re more of a tech person, or if you enjoy the business side of your website, it can be easy to wave off aspects of design and your site’s overall aesthetics. However, the look and feel of your website is not something that you should ignore—an attractive landing page can help you stand out in your niche.
The design of your landing page can help bring a more narrowed focus to the page, which in turn can lead to more conversions. You should be considering things like the placement of your CTA, the color scheme you’re using, images and strong graphics.
It’s important to not be a sheep when it comes to design. Things like generic stock images, a boring font and an image slider should be replaced with creative, innovative design aspects. Think of things that reflect your company and show off its personality to your customers.
Who’s Avoiding This Mishap? Lyft.
Forgetting the Above the Fold Rule
It’s not just a fad, there’s a proven science to this whole, “Above the Fold Rule.” Most users spend 80% of their time reading content above the fold. While it’s true that many people do take the time to scroll down, only 20% of users’ attention is going to what’s below the fold.
What does this all mean, though? Simply put, you should place the most important aspects of your landing page above the fold—everything should be worth your users’ precious time. The majority of users are lazy—harsh, but true—and it takes work to get their attention.
Things like your CTA, headline, images and bold graphics should be the first thing a user sees when your landing page loads. Keep in mind that there’s a fine line between having just the right amount of information above the fold and giving your users a sensory overload—tread lightly.
Who’s Avoiding This Mishap? Winc.
Bombing the Headline
Hands down, the headline is the most important part of your landing page. Your headline can easily make or break your conversion rate. In fact, most people will read only your headline and make a snap judgement about whether to stay or go—we’ve all been there.
That’s why creating a catchy, attention-grabbing headline is crucial to an effective landing page. You want a headline that tells your users why they’re on your page, what to do and how they can do it. Spell it out for them loudly and clearly so they get the message.
Who’s Avoiding This Mishap? SellMax.
Confusing Your Visitors
It can be easy to overload your visitors with too much information or too ask too much of them at once. Your landing page should have a clear goal, and everything on the page should work together to get your users to make some sort of buying decision before they leave.
This is where the paradox of choice comes into play—while it may seem like a good idea to give your users multiple options to choose from, when faced with too many choices, users usually end up picking none of the above.
Some ways to keep your landing page’s focus intact and your conversion rates high is to avoid these overused and attention-diverting tactics:
• A side bar that acts only to distract them from your CTA.
• A navigation bar that could lead them away from what you want them to do.
• An overload of graphics or pictures that have nothing to do with your landing page.
Who’s Avoiding This Mishap? Muck Rack.
Wrapping Things Up
As can clearly be seen, there’s a great deal that goes into the creation of a highly effective landing page. Fortunately, knowing the mistakes your competitors are already making with theirs, you’re able to provide yourself with yet another winning edge—gotta love it.
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