Eric van Hall
11 oktober ‘22 7 min. reading time

How do you create a high-converting landing page?

Blogposts

A strong landing page is key if you want to market your product or service. After all, it's the first thing your visitors see of your business when they arrive at your website. But how do you create a high-converting landing page? And how should you write your landing page to achieve the best results?

You might be uncertain about how to write a landing page. You might even be scared to give it a try! But it doesn't have to be difficult, as long as you know what to do and follow the right steps. And we’re happy to help you understand which steps to take.

What is a landing page?

Let's start by discussing what a landing page is.

A landing page is a page on a website designed for visitors to  'land' upon. The page is set up to lead to a conversion. In other words: the content of the page should encourage the visitor to make a purchase, to schedule an appointment, to fill in a contact form, or take some other positive action related to the business.

The page is set up to lead to a conversion.

In this way, every landing page contributes to the growth of your business. Visitors might reach a landing page in several ways:

  • clicking on an ad
  • opening a link in your newsletter
  • finding the page through a search engine
  • typing the URL themselves

 

When you optimise the page properly, the content answers the visitor’s search query and immediately invites them to take action.

The benefits of a good landing page

Setting up a strong landing page has a number of advantages, in addition to increasing conversion:

  • A landing page usually focuses on a specific set of keywords and may use Google AdWords or similar. This leads to a higher ranking for your landing page, so your products reach the attention of people searching for similar keywords.
  • You receive more relevant visitors to your website – people who are looking for exactly what you offer.
  • You keep visitors on your website for longer, because your page answers their question. This keeps the bounce rate of your website low.

Reading tip: This is how you create a white paper that your prospects want to download.

Writing a landing page: a step-by-step plan

You need to write a landing page and you want to do it right. What to do? Follow the eleven steps below and the result will be a strong page with high conversion!

1. Set your goal

First, think about what you want to achieve. Do you want more newsletter subscribers, to promote your new product, or to draw attention to a discount? Then decide how you want to convey this goal. Think about the problem that visitors to your site are trying to solve.

2. Do keyword research

Next comes keyword research. What problem does your offer solve and what search terms do people use when they search for solutions? Make a selection of relevant focus keywords that you will mention in the headings, text and captions of your landing page.

3. Think about the build-up

Once you have determined your goal, message and keywords, you can begin building your landing page. Think about the elements you want to include – headings, text, images, perhaps a video or contact form…

Use a marketing model such as the AIDA model to build your page. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action:

  • Attention: You must first grab the attention of your visitor. Achieve this with triggers in your text – such as tantalising titles – and striking visuals.
  • Interest: Once you have captured the attention of your visitor, you need to arouse their interest. Point out the positive aspects of your product or brand to them.
  • Desire: Trigger desire in your visitor – accepting your offer should become almost irresistible.
  • Action: Finally, convince your visitor to take action. Encourage them to make a purchase, schedule an appointment, or take another action.

 

4. Choose a strong header

Now it’s time to design the structure of your landing page. First, think about a powerful title that immediately grabs the attention of the reader. It should instantly give the reader an idea of your product or service, but it must be concise – preferably no more than ten to twenty words.

And this page from MailChimp is also a good example of a landing page with a catchy title:

example-landing-page-mailchimp.jpg 

5. Add an activating subtitle (if you want to)

A subtitle is not a necessity, but it does contribute to an effective landing page.

If your headline grabs your visitors' attention, the subtitle can keep them on your website. Together, these bits of text really make up the power of a landing page.

When thinking about a strong subtitle, keep the following in mind:

  • A subtitle comes directly below the page title
  • A subtitle needs to be persuasive
  • A subtitle may be more extensive and detailed than the main title

 

6. Write persuasive content

Now, you need a strong text to present to your readers. Your landing page should make perfectly clear what you are offering. After all, if potential customers don't understand what your product or service is, you've lost them. A clear explanation is crucial.

When you present a very simple offer on the landing page, you can sometimes leave the header and subtitle as the only text. Often though, you need a bit more to convince your readers.

Clarity is key – the individual elements need to work together to create a clear picture of your product or service.

Make sure to focus on the benefits of your products or services to the user. You could add headings or text to the page, or perhaps images or illustrations. Anything that helps to make it clear what kind of ease or 'enlightenment' the visitor will experience when they purchase your product or service.

It’s important to keep the content on your landing page as simple as possible. It might be tempting to add lots of fun details, but these quickly create distraction. Clarity is key –  the individual elements need to work together to create a clear picture of your product or service.

7. Invoke a pain point

People want to avoid 'pain'. That doesn’t necessarily mean literal pain, but could be discomfort, nuisance and hassle. Your offer exists to help relieve some kind of pain in some way or another – so use that.

If you get your visitors to think about that pain point, they will unconsciously seek relief from it and be more inclined to take action when you offer a solution.

How do you achieve that on your landing page?

  • Show what the visitor loses if they don't accept your offer, rather than what they gain if they do. The theory of loss aversion suggests that it is the pain of losing something that drives people to action rather than the pleasure of gaining something – even if they both have the same value. A simple example – we usually feel the annoyance of losing £50 much more keenly than the happiness of winning £50!
  • Include references to the pain point mentioned in other users' reviews. The experiences of others are very helpful to help your visitors consider their problem.

 

Don't get bogged down in an extensive technical description of your product or a summary of all videos and assignments from your online course. Instead, start by designating a pain point that your reader recognises. Afterwards, naturally come to the conclusion that your product or service is the ideal solution for that pain point.

8. Don't forget the benefits

Okay, mentioning the pain is important, but that doesn't mean you should completely ignore the benefits of your product or service. In the end, everyone wants to experience pleasure in addition to avoiding pain.

So show how your offer brings positivity and value. Explain how your product meets an emotional need in addition to its functional role. Suppose you sell sports shoes. Then you could highlight that not only do you sell footwear, but also prestige, hipness, sturdiness and satisfaction.

9. Mention all contact options

Of course, you want to come across as a reliable company that is easily reachable in case of problems. Mentioning multiple contact options, such as a phone number, physical address, email address and a contact form, helps.

10. Offer a guarantee

Guaranteeing something gives potential customers a sense of security and confirmation. Just using the word "guarantee" increases the chance of a conversion.

Just using the word "guarantee" increases the chance of a conversion.

In the absence of a clear product guarantee (such as satisfaction guarantee, money back, etc.) use your creativity and come up with another kind of guarantee, such as a no-spam guarantee or success guarantee.

11. Close with a strong call to action

Last but not least, perhaps the most important part of your landing page: the call to action (CTA). All the other parts of the page are there to draw attention to the CTA. It's what ultimately converts your visitors into customers.

It’s best to use a button as modern internet users are now used to clicking on buttons. Make it large and eye-catching!

Reading tip: Briefing a copywriter? Create the best brief for a copywriter.

Want to create a high-converting landing page? Have it written!

Are you finding writing a high-converting landing page difficult, despite our tips? Choose convenience and have your landing page written by CopyRobin's professional copywriters!

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Eric van Hall

CopyRobin

Eric is the founder and owner of CopyRobin - 'copywriting as a service'. This online platform helps companies obtain excellent copy, and freelance copywriters get fulfilling assignments. Eric regularly blogs, podcasts and vlogs about digital marketing at CopyRobin and Emerce. Eric is also available as a presenter, moderator, interviewer and chairman for (online) events. He has been interviewed by Het FD, Het Parool, De Volkskrant, De Telegraaf, Het AD, Trouw, BNR and others. His mission is to help the world with better texts.