Landing page optimization is not the sexiest topic. But for those in demand generation and lead management, the landing page is one of the most important tools in an online marketing campaign.
There are all kinds of landing pages. But the best way to optimize your landing page is to think like your audience. To do that, you’ll need to ask yourself some hard questions. Here we provide 11 questions you need to ask about your landing pages. Answer these now and you’ll drive greater conversions later.
1. What does this all mean?
One of the most common problems with optimizing landing pages is the language used. Ask yourself, What are we trying to say? Your message should be short, sweet and to the point. Kill all unnecessary adverbs and adjectives.
2. Why are there so many questions?
How many questions do you ask on your landing page? How many do you absolutely need? The more questions the ask, the less likely the prospect is to complete the action. With progressive profiling you can eliminate questions, collecting incremental information on prospects as they progress through the funnel.
3. Do these keywords match with the search results?
Whether a prospect is coming to your landing page from an email or from Google, you want to make sure the keywords match what made them click in first place. In other words, if your Google display ad says “Download This Free Report on the State of Digital Marketing”, your landing page should match that message.
4. Does this image make sense here?
Adding images is an important part of landing page optimization. But the wrong image can distract rather than compel. You should question the relevance of your images to ensure it reflects the tone, taste and topic of your audience.
5. Is this the right topic for this segment?
Segmentation makes it possible to steer the best message to the right audience. But that requires diligence when it comes to optimizing your landing pages. An invitation to webinar for IT managers doesn’t make much sense for a group of marketers. Make sure the topic of your landing page fits the group you’re reaching out to.
6. What is the work/reward ratio?
Ideally, with progressive profiling and segmentation, you’re making the work a prospect has to put into completing your landing page. But there are some data you have to collect. When you do, make sure the reward the prospect receives is greater than the effort put in. The last thing you want is a prospect who feels cheated.
7. Where’s our privacy policy?
When someone gives you their information, they need to know how you’re going to use it. Every company should have a clearly worded privacy policy that explains how they use the data. (For instance, whether it’s shared with third parties or not.) Make sure this privacy policy is included on your landing page.
8. Can prospects easily share my landing page?
Goal number one through three of your landing page is driving conversions. Let nothing distract you from this mission. But there’s no reason why you can’t help prospects help promote your content. Make it easy for them by adding social sharing for platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn along with email buttons. Best to make this the last step, added to the page prospects see after completing the form.
9. Is the “send email messaging” permission box unchecked?
Many landing pages include a checkbox that asks for permission to send email marketing to the prospect. Some organizations set this to an automatic check by default, putting the onus on the prospect to uncheck it. It’s better to set the default to uncheck. Make your offering compelling and let the prospect opt in.
10. Where does my eye go?
Here’s a tip: When you’re done laying out your landing page call in a colleague. Ask him or her where their eyes go. Does it follow the desired path from message to a clear call to action? Or is it all over the page? Make sure the prospect is easily led to the call to action to get the result you want.
11. Are we testing this landing page?
There are some general principles you can follow for landing page optimization. But nothing beats good old-fashioned testing. Try different concepts, layouts and messaging to see how prospects convert to leads. Tracking the results will enable you to establish your own set of internal guidelines over time.
