Everyone knows that you now need to put your website in your ad. However, you’ll be even more effective – and you’ll be able to track responses from your ad – by creating a specific landing page for each ad campaign that you run. You can customize that page for your audience, so if you’re running an ad in InnFocus, make it relevant for the hotel industry.
In this technological age, a landing page is more important than your phone number as a primary way for people to interact with your company, so make it effective by using some of the following tips:
- Have a Clear Call to Action – Keep in mind that a landing page is not designed to convert a sale, but to move a prospect to the next step in your sales process. Design your page so that the specific offer and the corresponding call to action stand out. You can do this by using a lot of white space, boxing the offer, or using lines to focus the prospect’s attention to that area. Finally, be sure to detail exactly what will happen if someone fills out the form or clicks on the desired link.
- Keep it Simple – Stick to one basic font with a few variations on the size and bolding. Use colour carefully to highlight your offer and call to action. Studies have shown that less content on a landing page leads to higher conversion rates. Just like in your ads, edit your text down to simple headlines and short bullet lists. More detailed information can be available on a link to a supporting page.
- Use Images – Images are good to use on landing pages to give a visual representation of your product or service. However, don’t make the image overpowering or too complex. If it’s too large, your headline loses impact and your other important information will end up below the fold, where it’s less likely to be read. The quality of the image is also important. If it’s too high a resolution, it will be slow to upload, and if it’s too low res, it won’t be clear. Add a caption to your image, since after headlines, captions are the next most read pieces of text.
- Validate your Brand – People want to feel an affinity for your product or service. By transferring recognition from other sources you can help reinforce their desire to move to the next phase of the sales process. Liberally use logos of well-recognized client brands. Add the badges of media sources that have covered or mentioned your company. Prominently display glowing testimonials from existing customers.
- Do everything possible to reduce anxiety for your visitors – By using safe shopping seals and other indicators of your trustworthiness. The logos of trade associations, acceptable payment methods, and money-back guarantee seals can all be powerful ways to make your visitors feel that transacting with you will be safe and secure.
- Enable Sharing – Social media buzz grows exponentially, so make it easy to share your landing page by adding social media share buttons above the fold. Social buzz will drive more traffic to the page, validate your credibility, and can potentially help your website rank higher on search engines.
- Test, Test, and Test – Change your landing page each quarter and test out different elements. You might add a demo, revise the headline, change the image or caption, edit the length and number of bullet points, create a new offer, or change the call to action. By continuing to tweak and test your landing page, you’ll find out the combination to give you best results.