Landing Page Optimisation

A landing page is the section of a website where visitors arrive after clicking on a targeted link. The name or description of a landing page is not as important as what a landing page can do. A well-crafted landing page should give visitors exactly what they are looking for; in return, visitors should be more inclined to engage with the website. This ought to increase conversion rates. A landing page other than the homepage should prompt a certain action or result.

Visitors arriving at a website's homepage will need to navigate through the website to find what they are looking for. Targeted landing pages, which might be optimised for sales, registrations or sign-ups, reduce the likelihood of users hitting the back button or leaving the site. If users can find what they are looking for, they are more likely to complete an action that results in a conversion.

Traffic can be sent to a site in various ways. Visitors may arrive via organic searches, in which case landing pages should be optimised for the keywords used in search queries (e.g., a landing page should include details of special offers on diamond rings if it appears for the keyword 'buy diamond rings'). Landing pages must also be optimised for paid search (PPC) ads. This is especially important for ad campaigns in Google AdWords, which rewards websites that have optimised landing pages (and effectively penalises those which do not). Users sent from Social channels also need to be taken into consideration.

Features of a landing page need to attract visitors. The headline and ad copy should complement each other in a way that instantly engages visitors. Vague or uninteresting content is of no use to anyone. Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are unacceptable. Do not risk losing the trust of a visitor. Evidence of testimonials and security certification, for example, help to build trust, as does impeccable grammar.

Strong calls to action which stand out from the rest of the page will persuade visitors to follow through on their initial search. Position them on the most important part of the page; do not expect high conversion rates unless calls to action are noticeable. Conversion rates improve when people are interested in your product. Prospective customers usually react positively to words such as "free", "buy" or "download now". Reduce the risk involved should a user become distracted with links to other pages or websites. Landing pages have a specific focus, it is best to not give visitors too many avenues to explore.

The use of images or videos clearly needs to relate to the copy. Random use of media may serve only to confuse visitors and has the potential to drive them away. High-resolution product images, on the other hand, will give shoppers extra confidence to investigate the products further. Moreover, these important aspects of the landing page ideally need to be positioned above the fold, thereby eliminating the need for visitors to scroll down the page.

It makes sense to test the effectiveness of a landing page routinely. In optimising a landing page for conversion, consider changing copy, images or call-to-action buttons to see how visitors respond.

Given that Google also uses the length of time that a visitor stays on a website as a measure of quality and relevance, it pays to optimise landing pages as effectively as possible. The benefits are twofold in that they are acknowledged as credible by Google and are useful for visitors.