HOW TO CREATE SMART LANDING PAGES

• Traffic from a campaign Campaign landing page– Pay per click (SEM)– Online display– Email– Social

• Created specifically to get a visitor to take a specific action• Different than website or SEO landing pages

– Print – Direct mail– TV– Radio– Outdoor

EARNTRUST

REDUCE FRICTION

FOR SMART LANDING PAGES

10TIPS

• Consistency between campaign & landing page• Reduce clutter• Important elements above the fold• Short copy is better• Short forms are better• CTA buttons• Include trust elements• Use directional cues• Optimize for mobile• Aim for multiple landing pages

10T I P S

Consistency between campaign and landing page

• Message match – copy, keywords • Visual match – photos, colors, branding• Motivation match – pay off the promise

1T I P

Message & visual match

Display ad

Landing Page

A - Control B – PPC keyword

Sour

ce: M

ECLA

BS R

esea

rch

4.9% 12.1%

+144%

Reduce clutter

• Distractions = lower conversion rates• Strip anything that might detract from a conversion

– Page navigation– Off-page links– Unnecessary copy– Unnecessary form fields

2T I P

A B

Sour

ce: W

hich

Test

Won

Winner: LESS CLUTTER

+2,069%

Important elements above the fold3T I P

( & M Y T H )

• Value proposition, call to action and conversion point• 5-second test

Important elements above the fold

• However, there is a correlation between the complexity of the product or offer and the CTA placement

KISSmetrics found that “higher conversion rates have nothing to do with whether the button is above the fold, and everything to do with whether the button is below the right amount of good copy.”

• Key: have call to action visible at point where prospect has become convinced to take action

3T I P

( & M Y T H )

Short copy is better

• Scannable content• Engaging headline• Subheads• Bullets• Short copy blocks

4T I P

( & M Y T H )

Short copy is better

• However, the more commitment a conversion requires, the more copy you might need

• Key: Use as much copy as your potential customer needs to make an informed decision– Longer copy complex offers with high anxiety

(such as a payment or many form fields)

– Shorter copy simple offers with low anxiety

4T I P

( & M Y T H )

A – Short copy B – Long copy

Sour

ce: W

hich

Test

Won

A B

?

Winner: SHORT

+36%

Shorter forms are better

• Shorter forms = less friction, more leads• Longer forms = more friction, fewer leads

An Eloqua study found the ‘sweet spot’ for form length is between 5-10 fields where 7 was the optimal number.

5T I P

( & M Y T H )

…but higher quality

Shorter forms are better

• Work/reward ratio– Is offer valuable enough to the visitor to be worth form completion?

• Create the appearance of a low hurdle to conversion– Break long forms into multi-step experiences– Set expectations with progress bars– Pre-populate form fields

• Optional fields

5T I P

( & M Y T H )

A – Longer Form B – Shorter Form

?Source: WhichTestWon

Winner: LONG

+31%

CTA buttons

• Contrasting color• Big is good• White space

6T I P

CTA buttons

• Use language that speaks to the value they will get– Download 5 Steps to a Great Landing Page– Request Free Quote– Get Started Today

6T I P

A - RESERVE B – BOOK NOW

?Source: MECLABS Research

Winner: RESERVE

+12%

Include trust elements

• “Social proof”– Real customer testimonials– Ratings– Facebook or Twitter plugins– Partner logos

7T I P

Include trust elements

• Third-party verification symbols

7T I P

Use directional cues

• Literally point the visitor to what you want them to do– Arrows– Eyes gazing– Fingers pointing

8T I P

13.2% -> 22.2%

+68%

Source: Monetate

Optimize for mobile9T I P

Source: Google’s “Our Mobile Planet” Report, Jan 2014, USA Smartphone Usage

USA

Optimize for mobile

• Device-specific versions of the page• Responsive design to automatically adjust to the visitor’s

screen size ( http://www.sportevents.com/landing/super_bowl_packages )

9T I P

A - Desktop B - Mobile-optimized

Sour

ce:

Ion

Inte

racti

ve

+153%

Winner: Mobile-optimized

Aim for multiple landing pages

• More landing pages means more targeting opportunities– Traffic source-specific– Campaign-specific / offer-specific (create more offers)

10T I P

Aim for multiple landing pages

• Increased relevancy means more conversions

Businesses with 31-40 landing pages get 7x more leads than those with 1-5 pages.Businesses with 40+ landing pages get 12x more leads than those with 1-5 pages.

– Hubspot

10T I P

Aim for multiple landing pages

• Consider investing in a landing page creation tool – HubSpot– Unbounce– ClickThroo

10T I P

• Consistency between campaign & landing page• Reduce clutter• Important elements above the fold• Short copy is better• Short forms are better• CTA buttons• Include trust elements• Use directional cues• Optimize for mobile• Aim for multiple landing pages

10T I P S

Headline consistent with adSubhead as needed

Form Headline

Call to Action

Text explaining offer and benefits of product or service.

• Bulleted feature / benefit statement

• Bulleted feature / benefit statement

• Bulleted feature / benefit statement

Footer (privacy, terms)

Logo

Hero shot

Testimonials, social proof, logos, video

TRACKING & REPORTING

What to track and report

• By traffic source– Cost– Unique visitors– Conversions/leads– Cost per lead/acquisition– Bounce rate– Conversion rate

Imag

e so

urce

: Io

n In

tera

ctive

Track beyond the conversion rate

AD PERFORMANCE LANDING PAGE PERFORMANCE SALES TEAM PERFORMANCE

Budget IMPs

Unique Clicks CTR CPC

Form Leads

Phone Leads

Total Leads

LP Conv Rate CPL # Sales

Sales Conv Rate $ Sales

Avg $ Per Sale

SEM $66,885 2,654,136 21,006 0.79% $3.18 506 319 825 3.9% $81.07 52 6.3% $368,415 $7,085

Ad Group 1 $3,741 90,644 951 1.05% $3.93 59 30 89 9.4% $42.04 1 1.1% $4,500 $4,500

Ad Group 2 $12,474 378,570 6,888 1.82% $1.81 110 84 194 4.0% $64.30 11 5.7% $63,496 $5,772

Ad Group 3 $22,741 509,592 7,971 1.56% $2.85 149 106 255 3.2% $89.18 24 9.4% $198,755 $8,281

Ad Group 4 $4,915 331,288 668 0.20% $7.36 59 34 93 13.9% $52.85 2 2.2% $12,009 $6,005

Ad Group 5 $23,013 1,344,042 6,528 0.49% $3.53 129 65 94 1.4% $244.82 14 14.9% $89,655 $6,404

In-page analytics

Traffic by source: LP Visits Time Spent Top nav links clicked:

% of total Online Display 6,243 00:09 Location Finder 254 37%

SEM 1,810 00:33 Service Line 1 164 24%

Outdoor 49 00:08 Service Line 2 110 16%

Radio 26 01:38 Service Line 3 105 15%

TV 11 02:46 Service Line 4 56 8%

Print 7 00:20

Direct (none) 9 00:34

Total / Average 8,146 00:53 Top 10 location searches: % of total

City 1 118 16%

Top landing page actions: % of total visits City 2 100 13%

Location Search 751 9% City 3 98 13%

Clicked on Page Navigation 688 8% City 4 58 8%

Viewed Map 98 1% City 5 32 4%

Tracking toolbox

• Unique URLs• Trackable phone numbers• Tracking pixels• Google Analytics:

– Event tracking– Conversion goals

TESTING

What to test

• Layout• Headline• Offer• Copy – short vs. long, style• Images – hero shot, video• Form – style, number of fields• Buttons – color, CTA language, placement, size

Innovation vs. Iteration

Image source: Ion Interactive

A/B vs. Multivariate

Image source: Ion Interactive

Do you have enough traffic to test?

• Use a test duration calculator to determine how long a test will take to give you good results– http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ab-split-test-duration/

• If calculator says 8 weeks or less, go ahead

Testing tools

• Google Analytics Content Experiments• Optimizely• Visual Website Optimizer• Maxymiser• Unbounce• Adobe Test & Target

• Don’t rush to judgment• Results may surprise you

A – Offer B – No Offer

?

Sour

ce:

Will

iam

s Ra

ndal

l Mar

ketin

g

Winner: NO OFFER

+74%

GETTING STARTED

Getting started

• Evaluate your buying process, plan out LPs/offers that will drive visitors directly into your conversion funnel

• Sketch pages out, compare layout and content to the 10 tips• Collaborate with your creative/programming team or invest

in a landing page creation tool • Start tracking to get a baseline• Then try a test

Joy CropperJoy.cropper@willran.com