A first look at your website’s landing page is going to tell most people whether or not they want to stay and shop here. Typically that means that within the first 30 seconds they have viewed your pages, they know whether or not it is what they are looking for. Here are some tips to make your landing page stand out:
Rapid Load Time
A very slow loading website page will virtually assure that your guests do not come back again. Pay attention to your images. If they are larger, compress them, and make sure that each one has an alt tag to assure that Google sees them as well as your visitor. Minimize the imagery. While some are absolutely necessary in order to give some visual interest, mostly images are not the best way for the search engine to find you, or to convey your message to your visitors.
Fast and Easy Navigation
The pages shouldn’t have a vast array of navigation that spills all over the page. Lower page navigation used to be the way things were done. These days, keep it simple. The navigation should be found in one or two places and excess navigation should be avoided. Make it easy to find what your visitors are looking for and they, as well as Google, will love you for it.
The Landing Page Copy Should Target a Specific Audience
One of the ground rules of all effective marketing and copywriting is knowing your target audience. This may mean you need different landing pages to appeal to different target audiences. That’s OK. Each landing page can speak to its individual target audience. For example, you may offer a coaching program that is designed for women of all ages but the benefits of your program to a woman who is 30 may need to be presented differently than to an audience of women who are 50.
Create a Compelling Headline
Since you only have 7-10 seconds to capture your reader’s attention, your headline needs to immediately grab the reader. You may need to try a couple of different headlines before finding one that keeps the reader on the page.
Catch Their Attention
Make a call to action on each page that you are selling products on. Make them prominent and easy to see. A well placed button will stand out easily and offer your visitors something to focus on. Make your heading tags easily viewed as well and be sure to implement at least one H1 tag, as well as appropriate subheadings on each page.
Clearly State the Benefits of Your Offer
Use sub-heads and bullets to highlight the benefits of what you are offering. Even if you want the reader to click on a link to another page, tell them what the benefit will be as a result of moving to the next page. If you have a testimonial that fits in with the benefits – use it.
Minimize the Clutter
Keep enough white space to offer a clean look and feel. Keep it clutter free and let people find what they want easily.
Above the Fold Content
This is where you are conveying the heart of your message. Whether audio, video or the written word, above the fold, is the first place visitors will look to determine if your message is of interest. Keep enough content above the fold to interest your visitors. Keeping mostly advertising above the fold and making the visitor scroll down to read it will assure a higher bounce rate and quite often also assure that your visitors do not return to view your pages again.
