Having a well designed and properly optimized landing page is the digital marketing version of having a strong handshake. It’s likely the first time a new user is interacting with your brand so it’s imperative to put your best foot forward and make a great first impression.
This is true for both SEO and PPC landing pages as they’re often the first touch point a user has with your brand. If it looks like it was built sloppily then chances are high that a user will bounce from your page and find a different option that looks more put together. However, if your landing page is well optimized, has clear content and adds value to your users, then you might be able to turn that user into a customer.
What Is Landing Page Optimization?
Optimizing landing pages involves enhancing the design and layout of web pages to boost conversions, enhance user experience, and cultivate a loyal customer base. The goal is to refine landing page performance by making them more focused and compelling, ultimately increasing their effectiveness. A well-optimized landing page presents visitors with pertinent information and strikes the perfect balance of design and functionality to persuade them to take action.
Best Practices for PPC Landing Page Optimization
PPC landing pages require a lot of consideration and refinement to get the most out of them. If you want to get the best return on your pay-per-click campaigns, there are several features you must incorporate that will drastically improve performance.
Keep Your Page Relevant to Your Keywords
If you’re running ads through a search engine you are likely bidding on specific keywords that are relevant to your services or products. Be sure that you are using the same target keywords for your landing page as you are for your ads. This can help to improve your quality score and will keep your messaging and offering consistent from ad copy to landing page copy.
Tailor Your Messaging to Your Target Audience
Messaging and content is the most important part of your landing page. When writing content for PPC landing pages, create at least two or three personas so you can match the language and tone of voice to your target customer. It is extremely rare that you can develop a PPC landing page that caters to all types of audiences – take a step back and think about “who am I hoping to reach with this landing page?” and “what kind of language should I use?”.
Create Compelling Calls to Action
Getting a visitor to do what you want them to do is not easy, whether it’s subscribing to a newsletter or making a purchase. As soon as a visitor lands on your page, your call to action should be the first thing they see – the more obvious it is, the more likely they are to convert. Make sure they’re bright and obvious and also ensure that you have multiple per page.
Best Practices for SEO Landing Pages
Search engine bots crawl and index your landing pages, so you should focus on how they do this to optimize your SEO landing pages. This includes optimizing your content with relevant landing page keywords, using meta tags to provide additional context for search engine crawlers, and making sure that all of your landing page links work correctly.
Important Information Goes Above The Fold
When we talk about important information, we’re referring to the must-have landing page elements that will convince your potential customers to convert. This includes strong headlines, a clear value proposition, an equally clear CTA, and optimized form for capturing leads.
Use Compelling Content To Connect With Users
It’s not the time for guessing games on your landing page. Ensure your offer is clearly spelt out in your content so visitors instantly know what you’re talking about. Not only that, but you want to use copy that makes your target audience feel good that they will accomplish something with your offer.
Earn Users Trust With Social Proof
It’s hard to just take the word of a business you have no experience with. That’s why it’s a great idea to include social proof for your products or services. Content pieces such as case studies, reviews, and testimonials can help put customers minds at ease and portray your business in a trustworthy way.
The Takeaway
The key takeaway here is that landing pages are vitally important to the success of your digital marketing. They’re often the first interaction a new user has with your business so you want to make sure that you leave a positive impression. By following these best practices for optimizing your campaigns you’ll be in a better position to convert more users and improve your overall conversion rates.