With the number of webpages exceeding the millions, it has become increasingly difficult to create websites that appeal and build relationships with potential customers. Landing pages need to grab the attention of the browsing visitor within seconds or else they will simply move on.
This article looks at ways you can create a landing page that retains the interest of your visitor so that they will be compelled to complete your call-to-action.
Successful landing pages fulfil the following criteria:
They are highly tailored to the target visitorThey make it obvious what is being offered to the visitorThey make it clear to the visitor why they should be interested in what's on offerThe visitor is gently led to follow clear and simple calls- to-actionUnderstanding the needs, wants and mind-set of your target market is vital to the creation of a compelling website. Your copy, layout and offering must all strike a chord in your visitor. With so many distractions on their time, if they can't immediately see the point of staying, your visitor will move on somewhere else.
Help your reader by keeping the page layout succinct and easy to read. Over-complicated pages make it harder for the visitor to see what's on offer and understand what's relevant to their interests. Think about what they are looking for and don't clutter up your page with irrelevant information.
In design terms, keep in mind that the eye is naturally drawn to the left hand side of a page so move your important information to this side and keep graphics to the right. Break information up into smaller relevant paragraphs so that readers don't have to read large blocks of text. Use colour judiciously to add impact, not to distract - avoid text colour and page background colours which make your content hard to read.
Present clear signposts to show you're catering to these needs or interests and so persuade your visitor to stay and find out more. Use language and conventions that they are familiar with to help them access the material that they want or need. Internet users are notoriously impatient and will treat complicated layouts as barriers to information. Rather than overcome these barriers, they'll just leave your site and are unlikely to return.
Use call to action buttons that catch your reader's attention and which makes it effortless to take the next step. Whether it's a "contact me", "connect with me", "subscribe to my newsletter", make it straightforward for your visitor to take action. To make it as painless as possible for your visitors to reach you offer an online contact form that's easy to fill in and send, add all your social media links, email addresses and so on.
Remember the saying pictures speak a thousand words - with only seconds to keep your visitor from leaving your site use your images to grab attention. Take time to choose images which get to the heart of what you are and which illustrate the value, ethics, and services that you are offering.
Don't overload each page with too many images or complex graphics which will make your pages slower to download. Again, with so many distractions to divert the viewer, you don't want them leaving in frustration or impatience.
Make sure your website is consistent with your brand image - keep it professional and in keeping with the expectations of your target audience. Whatever sector you are looking to attract, keep your site colours, images, and layouts appropriate.
If your visitors have come to your site without any prior knowledge of who you are and what you do, they won't feel any commitment to stay. You can help them form an opinion about you by offering them "social proof" through testimonials, reviews, and references. Make it straightforward for them to see what you do and how you can help them. You can your clients and customers' good experiences to enhance your reputation.
Finally, rather than depending on people to visit your landing page by chance, aim to drive qualified traffic there through your marketing and promotion. By clicking through to your landing page, these visitors are acting on an interest you've already stimulated.
As a result, arriving at your landing page will be a continuation of a dialogue started in your marketing. Having creating landing pages which follow the principles outlined in this article, you will have improved the likelihood of these visitors staying to take up the call to actions that you've presented them.
Sumi Olson (author of the Amazon five-star rated, "How to Manage Your Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes A Day"), is an author, diamond-rated article writer, speaker & consultant on social media, content creation strategies, and business development.
With 25 years' experience in book publishing, business development, online selling, sales & marketing, Sumi's committed to helping you reduce overwhelm and turn insights into implementation. An inspiring and enthusiastic speaker, accessible writer and trainer, Sumi can give you the tools and knowledge you need.
With a young family of her own, she's passionate about helping people create a great work-life balance through so that they can spend more time on the things that matter in life. Connect on Twitter (@sumiolson), LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sumiolson or visit http://www.learningbusinessskills.com/ and sign up to her free fortnightly knowledge & know-how newsletter.
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