Avoid These Landing Page Mistakes
Think that once your landing page is up and running you can sit back and watch the leads flow in?
You’re wrong.
A landing page that doesn’t serve you undermines your own efforts. If you’re not sure that your landing page works, learn some common problems people face with landing pages.
I strongly recommend you to scroll them carefully through and outline ways you can fix them.
Avoiding these landing page creation mistakes might require facing some difficult truth. There isn’t always one right way to fix your website landing page problem.
Yet, the good news is that you won’t know it until you try it. It’s in your interest to keep testing to see what works best for you.
Otherwise, it doesn’t work.
#1 Low-speed Website Landing Page
I won’t reinvent the wheel by saying that in today’s fast-paced world speed saves. It might seem that you have the most fast-loading landing page until you go with Google’s PageSpeed Insights test. And once you’ve found out that it’s time for a switch, go ahead.
Of course, if you don’t want to lose about 40 percent of your audience, then you’ll do your best to make sure that it takes up to 2 seconds for your landing page to load.
A page that loads longer than 5 seconds is a surefire way to lose 74% of the audience. This is especially true for eCommerce websites.
So, what to do? First, test your page speed. Then clean up your code, make sure it’s clutter-free and well-organized. Also, minimize redirects where possible, resize and compress images, and don’t forget to upgrade your hosting. Find your weak point and fix it.
#2 Not Mobile-first Approach
With so many surveys and data proving the importance of keeping your website landing page mobile-friendly, still, 1 in 4 sites in the world failed the mobile-friendly test. Now think of 57% of internet users who don’t recommend a business because of a poorly designed site on mobile.
Is your landing page still not mobile responsive?
No matter your niche, it deserves you. For eCommerce sites, the game becomes much harder to win.
Think of this number — over 50% of U.S. eCommerce sales that occur on mobile devices. Lastly, if you’re serious about your business awareness, look at the picture below. The popularity ratio of mobile-first sites to non-friendly is obvious.
#3 Heading That is Beating around the Bush
Everything on the page from an image, text, and CTA must be clear. In fact, the heading is no exception, too. A clear and simple heading that stresses more on how your product or service relates to your target visitor is the key. That’s where the first impressions count.
Read your headline again and answer the question:
“Is it clear to your visitors what you’re selling?”
A short and straightforward headline that keeps a visitor engaged gains the attention and brings the desired results.
Here are some ideas on what to fix:
#4 Too Many Distractions
It may come as a surprise, but a navigation bar on the landing page is a big no-no. Surprised? Well, a good design is the one that comes without a navigation bar. If that’s you, then your page is a part of 16 percent of those sites which follow this principle.
The fact is true when it comes to distractions, the navigation bar is the first thing to avoid. Your landing page might be one of the cleanest and appealing but it won’t serve you until the navigation bar is there.
Avoid it and you’ll get a 100% improvement. Well, that’s something, right?
#5 Irrelevant Images
It’s not a secret that stock photos can break your page. Instead, a real photo can show an increase in conversion by 35%. Yet, there is one thing you’re most likely missing. An average of 5.94 seconds is the time users spend looking at the main image. Thus, a high-quality image that creates a mood and makes a powerful statement that resonates with your visitors is a must.
Better yet, an image that shows your product or service through the storytelling works much more effectively. Of course, you can also incorporate a video and get at least a 56% increase in the page conversion.
#6 Generic CTAs
Think of your page CTAs as directional signs that funnel people to the right places. Responsible for guiding the visitors, CTAs in the right places can give an additional push to boost sales. Do it right, use an attractive color for your CTA button and never blend it with the content on your page.
Use the color that stands out on your page and what’s more has not appeared anywhere else. Specific and irresistible, your call to action can command the visitor’s attention and make them click it.
Even that you think you’ve got it right, keep testing and tweaking. And you’ll see it works much better.
#7 Don’t Ask too Much, Too Soon
Are you as impatient as most users who abandon a formerly appealing opt-in offer faster than a request for a phone number? No wonder. We, humans, are inherently lazy. Quite frankly, will you miss a chance to get something with minimal investment for a maximal reward? I doubt it.
Imagine, you want a free e-book and expect one single click to get the desired result. But not such luck. You have to fill 20 fields of demographic information, including ZIP code or age.
What’s your first idea?
Chances are to abandon this opt-in form as soon as possible. Turning visitors into leads follows the same idea. Never ask visitors to give valuable information at hand without a reason. Otherwise, your conversion rate drops.
#8 Long vs. Short Landing Page — the Verdict?
The length of the landing page matters. It doesn’t mean yet that the longer it is, the better is your rate or vice versa. The size impacts how well your visitors convert. But also, it needs to match what you’re offering and what you’re asking for.
So, if your page needs a little more context to convey your message & prove your trustworthiness — go ahead and see how it works. For those who are not sure about their page length, the A/B test would be a huge help. Keep testing to understand the appropriate length of your page.
Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with a short page that comes with a catchy title, intuitive premise, strong value and a CTA button that converts like crazy.
#9 A Landing Page that Doesn’t Prove Yourself
Today’s users are no more naïve and don’t take information at face value. As such, they land on your page with a certain level of skepticism. Your job is to prove your trustworthiness. Say, whether you’ve got a staggering amount of rave reviews or most caring team, prove it. Knock that doubt out by placing testimonials or short case studies.
Remember that social proof works.
And it works for a reason — it engages people for viewing, using, buying, contributing, and the like. Make a difference in converting your users.
#10 Poorly-Written Content
With hundreds of new websites popping up like mushrooms in the rain, the importance of good content matters like never before. The way your copy sounds helps people determine whether you’re worth their time & trust.
So, before placing your landing page copy, make sure it is polished. Even though 5.59 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but that’s how much time people need to form an opinion about you.
Forget about the fake-sounding testimonials.
They won’t do any good for you and can cause people to raise a skeptical eyebrow instead. Bad idea and destroys your credibility right away.
#11 Not Putting a Face on the Landing Page
Whether you like it or not, but the classic heatmap study proves that putting a face on a page creates a strong connection between the viewer and your page. Eye gaze can’t be ignored, so please avoid this mistake and replace an existing hero image of hands typing on laptop what one of a human user. Whether you prefer a female or male image, it doesn’t make a big difference.
Yet, once you do, expect a boost of 47% in rate. In fact, using a real person’s face increases your rate by 35%. Not bad, right?
#12 Not Including Trust Seals
Just like Christopher Nolan is widely recognized with the film industry, your business needs to have trust seals that give your users a reason to trust your business. Say, the Better Business Bureau would be a nice extra for any landing page.
For those in the eCommerce niche, adding the security trust seals would probably be a huge help for your visitors. Of course, not all of the big names have a strong reputation.
Not all trust seals work, so before adding it, make sure it will do you good. A good rule of thumb is to place the trust seals as close to your CTA button as possible. Yet, you can always perform some A/B testing and see which way it serves you better.
#13 You Are not Specific
I’m sure you’ve done the research and know who your target audience is. Moreover, you know where they are and offer them a solution to their problems.
Great, but here is one thing — are you sure that your landing page mentions your audience directly?
What I mean is that the idea of your page should be crystal clear to your audience.
Say, if you run a vegetarian blog promoting a meat-free approach, does your landing page mention this? The same idea with a gym or fitness club catering to women only. An eye-catching pink page is not enough to prove your specialty. Come out and say you’re women-only.
#14 There’s Nothing Unique About Your Offer
The web is crowded today. We all want to get the best offer possible for less. With nearly everyone wanting to get healthier, make more money or succeed in their careers, you can’t simply promise.
Look around, businesses all around the world promise people to achieve their goals.
Now what?
You need a hook to stand out, otherwise, people won’t flock to your business. In times when every second health coach promises you to get healthier, go the other way. Say that you offer a solution that allows you to lose weight without ever stepping on a scale. The more unique is your offer proposition, the better it makes a sound.
#15 Publish and Pray is a Bad Strategy
Okay, you are sure that your page design serves you. Yet, the desired traffic is still not a reality. Even with the best product or service out there, relying on organic traffic alone won’t cut it. Climbing your way up in the search engine results organically do takes time.
It never happens overnight. Want to speed up this journey?
Then consider using an ad on your page. Again, there’s nothing to do with the generic ad. Instead, it should promise something truly desirable, something that makes your offer sound more promising.
As a Bonus Learn 5 Tips to Create Great a Landing Page
Following Lintense Landing Page Template design.
#1 Keep It Minimal
Too much is never a good thing. This is especially true for landing pages. As long as you keep it clean & minimal, it does its job — converts. Distracting elements and extra useful and enticing information just break it.
#2 Include a Pricing Plan if Needed
Fear not that disclose pricing will drop down your conversion rates. Instead, some businesses prove the contrary. Often people are more likely to know exactly what they are getting into rather than just reading the options. Test it for yourself and the impact will be easy to measure.
#3 Create Positive First Impressions
As a study reveals, 94 percent of negative landing page feedback is design related. While dinosaurs still roam the earth, your page doesn’t need to look like created in 2002.
Take an easy way out and save time with beautiful ready-made landing page templates.
#4 Include Detailed Product Information
Whether it’s service or product, you need to sell it. The more, the better. That’s where descriptive product information can help. Things like product specs, sizing or dimensions are those keystones that make your product unique.
#5 Incorporate Promo Codes & Discounts
For 57 percent of consumers, businesses that offer even a small portion of special deals stand out. So, if you want to stay on top of the heap, consider including coupon codes or other extra incentives on your page.
It’s a great way to stand out, so why not take advantage of it?
Final Thoughts
Now it’s my turn to ask a question — did you find these mistakes common for your landing page? To create a high conversion landing page where people come, click and buy can be a tough gig.
One thing to keep in mind is to avoid the above-mentioned mistakes and make it a spot where all your efforts come to fruition.
Are you inspired to bring to effect the desired change?
Great, there’s nothing to stop you 😉
