Landing Page Optimization: 7 bad factors (and fixes)
A great video from a Google webinar showing 7 elements that can negatively affect your landing page conversion. This video is so good but long so here’s a wrapup:
1- Unclear Call to action
Button that leads to conversion is unclear. The fix:
- Call to actions should be clear and draw the eye
- Placement of call to action should be above the fold
- Competing call-to-actions should be de-emphasized
2- Too many choices
If you have to many links to click on your landing page, you are diluding the power of the goal. The fix:
- Do not present details to early in the process
- Group choices into small number of categories
- Use visual shorcuts to reduce reading
- Use CSS/Dhtml to group of links for SEO pages
3- Asking to many questions
Is the information you are trying to pull is absolutaly necessary for a conversion ? Conversions are lower when extra fields demands extra imposing processing. The fix:
- Ask only for absolutely required information
- Ask additional information after the transaction (another date)
4- Too much text
Sometimes text on a landing page is mostly to get search traffic. The opposite effect of this is that people get tired of reading the whole text. The fix:
- Use clear headlines and headings
- Put important information at the top of the content
- Write clear and short sentences
- Ruthlessly edit and shorten the text
5- Ad is not related to landing page
A lot times the ad banner or copy is not directly related to the target landing page. Users that came from the ad are leavin out because the page was not what the user was expecting. The fix:
- Repeat the ad text or keywords on the landing page
- Provide clear access to information from the ad.
6- Visual distractions
Visual assault is annoying. Users do not convert as much on a heavy graphical page than on a page with a clear design and a clear separation between the navigation and the content. The fix:
- Graphics must not compete with the call-to-action
- Do not use colorful and motion elements
- Use relevant images (in relation with the landing page)
7- Lack of credibility
Why should a user trust your site and buy from it? Lack of endorsement, no testitomonials, no trust symbols, no assurance can prevent the user from converting. The fix:
- Add well-known trust symbols prominently
- Use your client logos/brands/testimonials as “badges”
- Add generous guarantee and policies to avoid anxiety from buying
You can see the complete Google webinar (with examples) here:
Categorised as: Marketing Internet
I saw your comment on SEO Book, thanks for this write-up. I’m a bit confused about landing pages, actually. I sell a software product… is a landing page the be-all and end-all in the product info pages, or would a landing page often bring you on to more detailed pages?
The landing page is a page from which the user lands usually on from another source than your site (from a search engine result page, from a ppc ad, from a rich ad, from an email, etc.)
The landing page is the page that contains your conversion objective. In your case it would be a sale.
Best.
Remi
Hi Remi, thanks for the explanation. Speaking from a search engine point of view, it’s my home page that gets the landing traffic, so that would already need to be making instant sales, rather than getting them deeper into the site.
super intéressant