#1: Send Visitors to Unique, Relevant Pages
Whether from organic or paid traffic, online visitors who click-through to your website should land on a relevant web page. That is, your homepage might not be the best place to take a new visitor: it's usually a complicated mix of goal-oriented communications.
Instead, create a unique landing page that is consistent with the goal, message, and action that was implied at their original departure point. For example, if you have an ad that talks about "Product Z" or "Solution to Problem X", make sure the page they land on talks about that product or addresses the problem, with a clear call to action above the fold.
#2: Consistency is Key
From the ad to the landing page and onto the website, you'll want to make sure that the design, messaging, tone, and copy are consistent with the expectations set by the link or banner. This includes the headline, ad copy, branding, color scheme, font, logos, and offering.
#3: Get to the Point
No one likes a rambler. And when you're dealing with online prospects, you need to get right to the point on your landing page. Don't bury the juicy copy and strong call to action five paragraphs deep: they need to be the first things a reader sees when getting to the landing page. Otherwise, your visitors will bounce off the page faster than an anvil on a trampoline.
#4: Strong Headline
When was the last time you read an article despite a below-average headline? Or what about going to see a movie that had an uninteresting title or preview? The chances are you didn't read the newspaper or go see the movie. You need to immediately capture the visitor's attention with a clear, concise, and catchy headline that is in an optimal position on the page.
#5: Sharing is Caring
Everyone is trying to "go viral" these days. If one of your main goals is to create a viral landing page -- game, video, or content piece -- ensure that it can be easily shared via all the popular social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc).
Sharing your own content via social media can help you establish authority within your community both online and offline. Networks like Twitter and Facebook allow you to express your online persona by sharing information that represents your personality and beliefs -- much like a vinyl collection or hobby would in the non-digital world.
#6: Audience Segmentation
If you have multiple audience segments, consider creating a landing page for each segment and drive traffic via separate sources and/or keywords. This will help you measure your most effective segments. If your landing page has advanced capabilities, you may be able to create just one page with rotating content based on the visitor-type. Just make sure your analytics can handle that so you can still track the different campaigns.
#7: Spring Clean While You Create
As you create a landing page, take a moment to reflect on your progress. How many items or elements on the page are competing for the readers' attention? If there are too many attention-grabbing elements, your conversion rate may never get off the ground. Spring clean your landing page as you create it until there is only one element or call to action vying for the readers' attention.
#8: Remove Excessive Navigation
Essentially, you don't want to give your visitors a variety of options to navigate away from the landing page. Most likely you paid to get them there, why let them go? Each navigation option just provides a distraction. Keep them focused and on the conversion path with a simple page.
#9: KISS It. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
You want to ensure that readers who land on your page get a chance to read your most important copy. If it's halfway down the page, they may never get to it. On the other end, landing pages are designed to provide a high level of detail, such as a product description. But this should be utilized on a deeper-linked "detail" page, instead on the landing page. Keep your landing page short so that you don't lose your audience's attention before they click on that call to action.
#10: Keep It Above the Fold
"The fold" is the bottom of the computer screen for the average browser resolution. Your primary messaging and call to action should be kept above the fold for each and every landing page you have. This goes hand in hand with tips #3 and #9 -- if you tackled those tips, this one should just come naturally.
If you need some help with your landing pages, feel free to contact Volacci -- we'd love to work with you!