Before we begin discussing how to build your ideal Landing Page, we need to address what exactly a Landing Page is.

Each page on your website that is used as an ‘entry point’, is called a Landing Page. A user can be directed to your website from any source, be it a Facebook post, a result turned up in Google search or a display add published on a website.

5 Common Questions Every Landing Page Must Address are:-

1. What Is It?-

You have to clearly define your Value Proposition. Value Proposition is defined as an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.  It should be the most attention-grabbing element on your Landing Page. It has to be crisp, short and loud so that a user that enters onto your website for the first time is exposed to this Value Proposition within the first few seconds and that’s what makes all the impact. A lot of marketers tend to ignore the power of a strong and impactful Value Proposition.

The above Landing Page of a popular marketing automation tool, Customer.io, clearly defines its Value Proposition, ‘Automate Your Product Messaging- Build, Test and Send From One Platform’. A user that visits their website for the first time immediately knows what it is, who is it for, how are they differentiating themselves from others and how it can be beneficial for him/her. They go on to further explain the Product Features, describing their Value Proposition through an infographic, followed by bullet points, keeping it neat and easy to understand.

2. Is It For Me?-

In order to communicate most effectively with your visitors, your Landing Page must contain the language your visitors understand.

A student visiting a University website would want to know about the course curriculum, fee structure, alumni association etc. An entrepreneur visiting an analytical tool website would want to know how that particular tool would help him grow his business.

You should understand your audience portfolio and create Buyer Personas in order to understand the needs, desires and demands of your audience. Your Landing Page should be able to resonate with your viewers.

3. What Does It Cost?-

Cost, in this case, doesn’t always mean Money. Of course, money is one of the costs involved but they extend to much more than money alone. Cost could be in terms of:-

1. Time- People on the internet enjoy skimming through articles. They scan web pages, not read. You cannot expect them to spend additional time on your website without providing them with an incentive to do so.
2. Learning New Things- Chances are if you’re reading this post, you like to learn and experiment. But as a rule of thumb, people usually are not the most passionate about learning new things, without knowing how it could benefit them.
3. Data Import- The cost could be the time and risk involved with taking out your data from an existing system and transferring it to a new one. For example, you would think twice, thrice or maybe even more, before changing your internet service provider just for the simple reason to avoid all the hassle involved in the process.

These are in no way a comprehensive list of all costs involved with all kinds of businesses and industries. The cost, being subjective, would differ from business to business and user to user.

The above image showing a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, attempts to address the Cost related question a user may have by providing a full refund within 30 days if he/she is not satisfied with the product or service.

4. What Is The Risk?-

In a way, Cost and Risk go hand-in-hand. They are interrelated to the extent that the Cost is a Risk for a user.

As a marketer, we need to address that risk in a way that it mitigates a customer’s concern in using or buying your product or service.

A popular and effective way to do that is to include User Testimonials, which are basically reviews and endorsements of customers who have used your product/service in the past and were satisfied with it. It shows a visitor that there are people like them who are using it and people who they trust (thought leaders) that are recommending a particular product/ service. The more the visitor is able to relate to the testimonials, the less risky he/she would feel in going ahead and taking the next step.

For instance, an entrepreneur would be more convinced in seeing the testimonial of a fellow entrepreneur in the same industry that he operates in.

The above screenshot is an apt illustration of customer testimonials by Elegant Themes, an easy-to-use website builder, that displays its customer testimonials along with their profile picture, narrating a short story about how the services they offer helped their customers build a website in few simple steps, without needing any technical know-how. Testimonials help establish credibility and trust and are able to connect with a user on a personal level.

5. What’s The Next Step?-

The final and most important aspect of a Landing Page is to move a user from one step to the next. The next step should be based on the readiness of a user instead of asking him/her to directly make a purchase.

For instance, a visitor who first visits your page for the first time should be persuaded to sign up for a free trial of your product. Only on expiry of that free trial should they be sent content which persuades them to make a purchase as they are now more mature and groomed towards you and your product and trust you as a brand.

If a visitor who has visited your website for the first time, having no knowledge about the service you provide, is given a link to make a purchase using his/her credit card, there is an extremely likely chance that he/she would simply log off your website without taking another look at your value proposition.

The user should be shown the relevant Call to Action based on his/her readiness in the flow originating from trial or subscription to a blog, to final purchase and repurchase.  “Nobody likes to be sold to, but everybody likes to buy” -Anonymous

Conclusion-

Though each Landing Page differs in various aspects in terms of its objectives and end goals, any marketer interested in obtaining a higher rate of customers moving through the Marketing Funnel must consider primarily these 5 questions while designing his/her Landing Page.

To learn more about Inbound Marketing and how to best leverage your Landing Page check  ‘What Is Inbound Marketing And Why It Is Essential For Every Marketer To Implement’.

 

Source:- Google, Customer.io