How to Create A High Converting Landing Page

A Striking HeadlineYou have already won half the battle if you’re able to create an impact on your user’s mind with your opening statement. The purpose of a headline is to grab reader’s attention and convince them to move ahead on the landing page.
A headline means short and impactful.
The purpose of grabbing user’s attention can be achieved in different ways.

Use Images or Videos That are Relevant to Your ObjectiveVisuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text. That is why images and videos are very crucial for grabbing visitor’s attention.
An important trend you will find these days is Hero Images or Image Backgrounds above the scroll. It is a very common layout in many landing pages.
Using hero images is definitely a conversion booster that is why big companies like Google and Apple are using this element.
An A/B testing performed by Highrise showed amazing results. When the company used a large hero image on their landing page, their conversions increased by 102% (amazing isn’t it?)
Here are the things you should keep in mind while using images on your landing page.

• Never use random images on your landing page. Use images that are focused on converting customers.
• When explaining a physical product like electronics, cars, etc, make sure to focus on high-quality image of the product itself. Depicting the product in-use will bring in better conversions.
• If you are promoting a SaaS product, you can show the interface of your product or explain the functioning of your product through images.
• Your landing page is not a place to use stock images. Stock photos drive 30% of prospects away from a website.
• Use images of real people to connect with your customers emotionally.

Video backgrounds are also a good option. They are the latest trend in landing page designs. And thanks to the advancements in bandwidth and data compression, your users won’t suffer a lag either.
But testing results show that they don’t convert well for every kind of landing page.
Michael Aagaard of Unbounce explains video backgrounds could work well on landing pages that promote a unique atmosphere, like a conference, performing arts event or restaurant.

• Video backgrounds should be used to promote CTA.
• There should be a contrast between the video background and the text above it so that the text is easily readable.
• Short loop videos works the best in backgrounds.
• The sound of the video should be muted by default. And if adding sound to your video is absolutely necessary then give your user’s an option to play the sound.

Images and videos relevant to your product will lead to better understanding of your product, thus leading to better conversions. Smart choice of visuals will help you build a bridge between your product and your customers.

ExplanationYour user must understand what your product or service offers. Including a sub headline or a paragraph along with your headline is a good and widely used practice to describe the product.
You should describe your product in a simple and straightforward manner. Different elements on the landing page i.e. the images, the headline and the context should all work together in harmony to give the clearest picture about your product to the customers.
The key is to answer all their questions without them asking it.

Telling the Benefits or Value PropositionValue proposition means explaining your prospects how your product is adding value to them.

• Your landing page should explain how your product solves customer’s problems.Evernote explains its product with great clarity.
  
• Highlight the important benefits of your product to encourage users to take action. Focus on points which makes you better than your competition.Take a look at the feature list of Leadpages.
  
• Always use a customer-oriented language while listing the benefits

Testimonials For TrustTestimonials are a great strategy to gain your user’s trust. After you’ve explained your product and it’s benefits, the testimonials provides a satisfaction to the customers.
mHelpDesk uses a slider to show video testimonials along with text and a headline from their real customers.

Call To ActionIn order for the user to take action, you need an attention grabbing CALL-TO-ACTION button.

• Make it stand out. The foremost thing for a CTA button is to catch user’s eye. Always use contrasting colors for your CTA button.Hund uses a bright orange CTA button over a dark image background.
  
• Use impactful, action-oriented words in your CTA. Avoid using generic words like submit. Be more creative with the words you choose. The text you choose should connects with your users emotionally and bring out their excitement and curiosity to take action.Treehouse CTA text “Claim Your Free Trial” gives users a sense of urgency to get that free trial.
  
• Your buttons should be large enough to catch attention and promote easy readability of the CTA text.

Rule Out The DistractionsThe landing page should keep the focus of the visitor on the offer you are trying to promote. So remove/hide any distracting elements that may catch the user’s attention. Navigation bars, sidebars, or links to other pages are all distracting elements.
An A/B testing on YuppieChef showed that eliminating the navigation bar increased their conversion rate from 3% to 6%, which means a 100% effective increase in conversions.

Methods of ContactContact Forms are crucial for collecting information of the customers
After analysing the contact forms of 40,000 of their customers, Dan Zarrella found that conversion rates improve by almost half when the number of form fields is reduced from four to three.
Always focus on collecting the right information from the user. Your user should not feel that you are adding unnecessary form fields for collecting pointless information.
You can also try out multi-step contact form if you are using a long form, and it is difficult for you to reduce the number of fields.

Testing Is The KeyIt is the most important part of the process. With every test you do, you will get better and better at converting customers.
We are often confident that we can predict the user’s behaviour. But never trust your gut feeling while designing the landing page. A high converting landing page always depend on conducting tests rather than making assumptions.
For example, In recent years, studies were released showing that content placed above the fold attracted 80% of a consumer’s attention. So, Marketers always stressed on placing the important sales converting elements (including the call-to-action button) above the fold.
However, Michael Aagaard of Content Verve yielded a 304% increase in conversions by moving the page’s CTA below the fold.
This was because the product offered was relatively complex and placing the CTA below the fold gave their users the chance to take action after they fully understood the product.