What can I do in on-page SEO for a landing page?

Answer 1

Beginner’s Guide to Landing Pages

A well-designed landing page can greatly increase conversions for your PPC or email marketing campaigns. Rather than directing visitors from those sources to your general website (where they may have a hard time finding what they’re looking for), you can direct them to a specially-designed landing page that steers them in exactly the direction you want them to take.

But creating effective landing pages isn’t the same as crafting a successful website or email newsletter. There are certain guidelines you should adhere to in order to maximize your page’s success.

What is the Goal of Your Landing Page?

Landing pages, like any other part of your online marketing arsenal, need goals. Without concrete, specific goals, there’s no way to create an effective page. Your goal should be clear before you begin designing your page.

You also need specific expectations for your landing page, on which to gauge its success. These expectations can be based on previous experience, anecdotal evidence, or simply wishful thinking. But it’s helpful to have a specific number to compare your actual results with. This could be the total number of conversions, or the number of people who make it past your landing page, or some other number, based on your own goals.

A Clear Call to Action is Vital

Once you know what your goal for the page is, you need to come up with a clear call to action. This is possibly the single most important part of any landing page. Your call to action should be specifically tied to your goal, and should be supported by everything else on your landing page, from headline and body copy to images and overall layout.

The Backpack home/landing page has a very clear call to action, though they opt to first direct visitors to more information about their plans and pricing, rather than going straight for the signup.

Simple is Best

Landing pages need to be greatly simplified compared to many other website designs. This is because landing pages have very specific goals and shouldn’t include any extraneous information that might distract your visitors and prevent them from converting.

Clear and Concise Copy

Your copy should be clear and concise. It should be persuasive, too. Landing pages are not the place to show off your creativity, unless that creativity is clear, concise, and persuasive. Leave the creative turns-of-phrase for your blog.

It’s pretty safe to assume that most of the people who visit your landing page are already interested in what you have to say, because they’ve likely clicked through from a PPC ad or email. But just because they’re interested when they arrive doesn’t mean they’ll stay interested if you don’t get to the point.

Every single sentence and word on your landing page should serve a purpose, and that purpose should be to support your call to action. If it doesn’t do that, cut it. Be ruthless in editing your copy. Tell your visitors what they want to know in as few words as possible, and get them to respond to your call to action as quickly as possible.

The VideoWizard landing page has a simple design with clear copy that has definite goals.

Only Ask for the Vitals

If your landing page includes a form, make sure it’s only asking for the most vital information. If you’re trying to get visitors to sign up for an email newsletter, make sure you’re just asking them for their email address. Anything more than that decreases the chances that they’ll finish and submit the form.

If you’re asking them to buy something, make it as easy as possible. Just ask for the vitals: billing and shipping information, plus a confirmation screen before placing their order. Keep it as simple and concise as possible. Wait to ask them for additional information until after their order has been placed.

This form only asks for name and email address, neither of which are likely to deter sign-ups.

This form, on the other hand, has too many fields. Do they really need a phone number and company name? And wouldn’t it make more sense to just ask for a name in one field, rather than two?

Design Considerations

The design of your page is just as important as the copy. A good design supports the call to action, while a bad design detracts from it. This is why, when it comes to landing pages, less is definitely more. The simpler your page and its design, the more likely it is to convert.

Remove Navigation Elements

The first major difference between your normal website and your landing pages is that your landing pages shouldn’t have your usual site navigation. Instead, the only clickable links should be your call to action, and possibly a link to more information for those who are undecided. Linking your logo to your regular home page can also be a good idea.