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The key to landing page optimisation is A/B testing and experimenting to find what users like, says Growth Hacking Asia’s Bozena Pieniazek

Once you have successfully attracted visitors to your landing page, you will want to convert these visitors to active users. Through a conversion-optimised user experience (UX), you can guide visitors to complete desired actions, such as:

• Signing up for a newsletter.

• Creating an account.

• Making a purchase.

• Downloading an app.

Once a website visitor has completed your desired action, they have been ‘activated’.

So, what exactly is conversion rate optimisation?

If your landing page is not optimised for conversion, then your website will have a very high bounce rate. This essentially means that you have invested a lot of resources in driving traffic to your page and have not gained any new users or customers.

Before we look at how you can improve your conversion rate (and thus lower your bounce rate), let’s take a brief look at what exactly conversion rate optimisation is.

It is:

• An analytical and experiment-driven approach to increasing the performance of your landing page.

• The analysis and optimisation of key measurements, such as bounce rate and average time on site.

• Based on solid data and user feedback.

• Focussing on optimising the conversion rate with your current traffic before trying to get more (or new) traffic as this will be a waste of valuable resources.

Keep in mind that the key to landing page optimisation is A/B testing as you will need to continuously run experiments to find out what works best for your business. Luckily, there are a few great tools that make it easy for non-coders to build and test landing pages, such as Kickoff Labs, Unbounce and Strikingly.

Six simple methods to create a landing page that converts

Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to landing page optimisation, many successful landing pages do have common features. So, check out the following six simple methods to create a kick-ass landing page.

1. Conversion copywriting

Accordingly to Optimizely, copywriting should: 1) engage visitors, 2) communicate the unique selling proposition (USP), and 3) provide a sense of trust. In order to be able to meet the above-mentioned goals, conversion copy must:

• Clearly define the USP.

• Use the customer’s language.

• Highlight product or service benefits instead of features.

• Use effective and compelling headlines.

• Be skimmable – short sentences, concise, bullet points.

• Include a compelling call-to-action (CTA).

Keep in mind you will need to experiment to find out what works best for your product or service. L’axelle, for instance, discovered that an action-oriented copy increased the click rate by 93 per cent.

2. Clear call-to-action (CTA)

An effective call-to-action button is one of the most important features of a landing page as it will guide visitors to complete your desired activation task.

As a rule of thumb, effective call-to-actions are:

• Compelling.

• Clear and concise.

• Action-oriented.

• Easy to see – colour.

• Easy to find – placement.

Evernote’s landing page (below) is a good example of an effective call-to-action.

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3. Purpose-driven images

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ – this expression is especially true when talking about imagery on landing pages. This, however, does not mean that any picture will get the job done. When selecting the imagery for your landing page, you will need to decide on its main purpose and then carefully select the image/s.

James Chudley from Smashing Magazine outlines a set of principles to follow when selecting images. Examples include the following:

• Show off product benefits.

• Create an immersive experience.

• Tell a story.

• Highlight innovation.

• Evoke an emotional response.

• Match imagery to the brand.

• Make it beautiful.

• Avoid stock shots.

• Create desire.

4. Engaging explainer video

As previously mentioned, appealing visuals are key to supporting your landing page’s copy. However, images are not the only way to do this. An explainer video, in particular, is a great way to:

• Engage visitors (with little effort on their part).

• Provide a deeper understanding of your product or service.

• Keep visitors on your page longer and thus give them more time to understand your product or service.

• Convey your USP in an interesting way.

Vidyard, for instance, increased its conversion rate by 100 per cent after including a video on the landing page.

5. Social proof

We all place great importance on what others are saying. This is also true when deciding to purchase a new product, or signing up for a new service. Therefore, it is essential that your landing page displays social validation and approval. Social proof not only demonstrates that you already have (paying) customers, but also that they are satisfied with your product or service.

How can you demonstrate social proof on your landing page? Try incorporating one (or more) of the following:

• Logos of customers.

• Testimonials and reviews.

• Case studies.

• Social media popularity.

WordPress, for example, displays a list of customers and states ‘trusted by some of the world’s biggest brands and industries’. In other words, it says if TIME trusts and uses WordPress, then so should you! Essentially, this statement lends significant credibility to WordPress due to the status of their customers.

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6. Gamification elements

In brief, gamification is the application of game-like concepts and techniques to non-game activities (source: TechTarget). Gamification taps into the human need for reward and recognition. Therefore, gamification can be a powerful persuasion tactic to increase conversions (as well as retention), if done correctly.

Typical gamification methods include:

• Rewarding visitors with points for completing the desired action.

• Incorporating progress bars (in particular for onboarding).

• Including a timer or countdown to create a sense of urgency.

The Philip Kingsley loyalty programme, for instance, has successfully incorporated Gamification elements to increase conversion rates. Philip Kinsley encourages visitors to create an account, sign up for the newsletter or engage on social media by rewarding them with points to the loyalty programme.

Of course, there are many best practices on how to create a kick-ass landing page. However, it is essential to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The key is to test different versions of your landing page with your target market, and consequently optimise your page based on those results. Only then will you be able to create a landing page that converts.

The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, please send us an email at writers[at]e27[dot]co

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