Landing page optimization refers to the process of enhancing or improving each element on your landing page to increase conversions. Instead of redesigning the entire page based solely on a hunch, you use data and anecdotal evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The best part? You can collect information before your landing page ever goes live. Surveying your audience, for instance, will help you better understand what they expect and like.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, you won\u2019t create the perfect landing page from day one. Instead, you push the page live, then make tweaks as you analyze the data and observe your conversion rate.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers I\u2019ve worked with in the past have followed unhelpful landing page optimization strategies. They know something isn\u2019t working, so they change everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s like that old saying about throwing noodles against a wall to see which ones stick and which fall to the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s not how you approach landing page optimization. First, you identify specific problems that contribute to low conversion rates so you can change them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A heat map<\/b><\/a> can show you where people are clicking <\/b>on your landing page. Do they ignore your call to action? Are they focused on a relatively unimportant element, such as a stock photo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the above image, you can see that the greatest activity occurs on the farthest right CTA. If this was your landing page, you\u2019d put your most important element there to see if it gets more clicks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Heat maps aren\u2019t the only <\/span>visual data reports<\/span><\/a> that can prove effective for landing page optimization. Scroll maps, confetti maps, overlay reports, and list reports all provide valuable information.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A scroll map shows where scrolling activity occurs on the page. If you see lots of white or blue on the map, people have either left the page or scrolled quickly past that section. Red, orange, and yellow areas indicate that people have stopped to read or look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A <\/span>confetti report<\/span><\/a> shows you where individual clicks have occurred on the page, while overlay and list reports provide you with click percentages on various page elements and individual numerical data, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to improve your website conversion rates, approach landing page optimization using best practices and strong data. The process starts the minute you begin designing the page, but it lasts long after the page goes live.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of it as building a product. You don\u2019t design the perfect prototype on day one. Instead, you might create 100 prototypes before you\u2019ve perfected the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Landing pages work the same way. Just like products, landing pages must appeal to your target audience, compel them to act, and meet their expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you first start planning your optimization strategy, think about how you can make the customer experience positive emotions. You want them to feel smart, appreciated, inspired, and excited. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by thinking about your customer\u2019s specific goal, and turn that goal into a headline. <\/span>Elegant Themes<\/span><\/a> does this well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u201cempower\u201d in this context makes the customer want to feel the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A very simple landing page might seem counterintuitive, but it gets rid of the visual clutter. You want your website visitors to focus on the prize: your call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dropbox is consistently one of my favorite examples. The company creates awesome landing pages that communicate volumes without many words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this page, there are just five main elements above the fold, and three of them are small enough to fit in a navigation bar space. The fourth provides a pleasing but subtle visual, and the last focuses on the CTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best landing pages I\u2019ve ever seen have made great use of contrast, but in color and clarity. In this example from Starbucks, you can\u2019t ignore the CTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though the \u201cJoin Now\u201d button reflects the star\u2019s color in the left-side logo, it\u2019s far more pronounced and clear. The textured black background makes the headline and CTA pop. Plus, there\u2019s lots of negative space between the logo and the rest of the elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The term \u201cabove the fold\u201d traces back to the newspaper. The most enticing stories were placed on the first page above the traditional newspaper fold so customers would see the headlines and want to buy the paper.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do the same thing by keeping your landing page elements above the digital fold \u2014 the point at which the user must scroll to get more information.<\/span>This is more difficult than ever now that more people are using smartphones and tablets. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is you can<\/span> use a scroll map<\/span><\/a> to easily identify the location of the average fold on different devices and still keep your headline, a brief sentence or two of body copy, and a CTA front and center.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a reason why \u201climited time\u201d and \u201climited quantities\u201d are among the most common marketing phrases. Scarcity compels your landing page visitors to act now because they know they might miss out if they wait.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even big box stores use it. When buying a product from Target the other day, I knew I wanted to pick it up at my local store. Upon checking availability, I saw this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The words \u201conly 2 left\u201d made me want to order an Uber right away and get to the store before anyone else could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do the same on your own website by activating a limited-time discount or offering a lead magnet, such as a live webinar, that won\u2019t ever occur again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A countdown timer can add a visual element to scarcity. It tells your visitors how long they have to act on an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A call-to-action button shouldn\u2019t stress out or confuse the reader. Make your offer clear, concise, and obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll notice that, in the screenshots I\u2019ve shared above, companies stay away from fancy language or complex offers. Phrases include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple, right? And very effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can provide your website visitors with contact information in lots of different ways. You can put your phone number or email address on your landing page, or you can use a contact form. <\/span>Other companies, such as <\/span>Shopify<\/span><\/a>, include links to their help centers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers know by now that they can find contact information, answers to frequently asked questions, and tutorials in help centers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Text still matters in an image- and video-focused world. People will read what you write, so make sure it resonates with your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try A\/B testing<\/a> different headlines on your landing page. You can also change up the body copy and run A\/B tests to see how those elements perform. If you feel stuck and are looking for new directions, try out an AI paragraph rewriter<\/a>. It’s a great way to get copy test variants and brainstorm new directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While on-brand messaging matters now more than ever, visual consistency can also make a huge difference in conversion rates.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you place a Facebook Ad that takes people to your landing page. You want the text, imagery, and other elements of your ad to be reflected in the landing page.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n They should look similar visually and present the same offer. Otherwise, your potential customer will be confused or irritated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m a big fan of social proof. I want people to know that other businesses have used my products and services. Not only that, but I want to communicate that I\u2019ve helped them achieve fantastic results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testimonials are among the best ways to do this. If you can convince your customers to create a video testimonial, you\u2019ll have an edge on the competition. Quotes work well, too, as long as you use the customer\u2019s full name — and ideally a headshot.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some marketers believe that only incredibly short forms work well. They say, \u201cOnly ask for the email address. Anything more is too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not always true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to qualify leads for an expensive product or service, a longer form can prove more effective. You might get fewer leads, but those leads will be more qualified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, asking about the potential customer\u2019s budget for a web design business can save you tons of time. A customer looking for a $500 design probably won\u2019t utilize your service if your minimum package starts at $20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People find landing pages via organic search all the time. Maybe one of your landing pages is your home page, for instance, which means that it should \u2014 at the very least \u2014 come up if someone searches for your company\u2019s name.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also rank for industry-related keywords. If you search Google for \u201cheat map tool,\u201d for instance, Crazy Egg is the first organic result:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use tools like Ubersuggest<\/a> to find the best keywords for your landing page. Incorporate those keywords into headlines, body text, image alt text, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An exit popup appears on your landing page screen if a visitor attempts to leave the page. It\u2019s another opportunity to create a conversion.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re less intrusive than popups that appear as soon as a visitor arrives, or simply while he or she is looking around. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Use a combination of compelling visual imagery, a strong headline and CTA text to get users to click. Try incentivizing the exit popup with a special discount or other offer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a tool like <\/span>Hello Bar<\/span><\/a>, you can not only create exit popups for individual pages on your site, but also A\/B test variants. You\u2019ll get lots of useful data as well as a way to snag visitors who decide to hang around because of your well-timed offer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The more A\/B tests you run<\/a>, the more accurate your data becomes. Each A\/B test should include a single change to one variant, such as your CTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you change multiple elements, you won\u2019t know which one impacted the difference in conversions between the two variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After you\u2019ve collected data and gotten to know your audience, you can apply what you learned to a redesign and verify that it improved your conversion rate via A\/B testing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Crazy Egg offers extensive landing page optimization tools<\/a> to help you better understand user behavior. A recording, for instance, lets you virtually look over someone\u2019s shoulder as he or she navigates the page.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<\/a>Before Optimizing Landing Pages, Identify Potential Problems<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"heat-map-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091314\/landing-page-optimization-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrack your website visitor behavior to see what isn’t working<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"snapshots-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091322\/landing-page-optimization-4.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>14 Landing Page Best Practices to Improve Your Conversions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Make your offer clear<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"plan-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091333\/landing-page-optimization-9.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Simplify your landing page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"landing-page-optimization-7\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091328\/landing-page-optimization-7.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Try contrasting colors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"contrasting-colors-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091335\/landing-page-optimization-10.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n4. Keep the important part above the fold<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Use scarcity techniques<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"scarcity-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091319\/landing-page-optimization-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n6. Keep your call-to-action buttons straightforward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
7. Add contact information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"contact-information-for-landing-page-optimization\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091324\/landing-page-optimization-5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n8. Try different headlines and copy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Be consistent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
10. Add testimonials to help convert undecided users<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
11. Try different form lengths<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
12. Optimize your landing page for SEO<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"landing-page-optimization-for-seo\"](\"https:\/\/ceblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/05091326\/landing-page-optimization-6.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n13. Try an exit popup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
14. Keep A\/B testing everything<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>What Landing Page Optimization Tools You Should Use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n