Your marketing campaign is only as successful as your landing page is. While many may deter you with countless metrics to track, there is only one that needs your complete attention.
And that is the landing page conversion rate.
However, improving this metric is not the easiest job in the world. If it was, there wouldn’t be any bad landing pages and marketers would be the richest people on earth.
If you’d rather make the latter a possibility, stick around because we’ll be sharing 23 tried and tested strategies for improving landing page conversion rates.
Here’s a quick look at what we’ll be covering in this article:
What is a Landing Page Conversion Rate?
The landing page conversion rate measures the number of people who complete a call to action on your website’s landing page as opposed to the total number of visitors.
This call to action can be anything you want it to be – a purchase, newsletter sign-up, or an eBook download.
A high conversion rate suggests that your landing page is successful in persuading visitors to perform a desired action. On the other hand, a lower rate signals issues in your landing page message and design.
But how does one calculate landing page conversion rates? Let’s find out.
How is the Landing Page Conversion Rate Calculated?
The landing page conversion rate can be calculated using the below formula:
Landing page conversion rate = (Total number of conversions / Total number of visitors) * 100%
This metric can be calculated for different time periods depending on when performance is reported in your company, say on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Fortunately, you don’t need to do the actual math the next time you need to monitor this metric – your website analytics tool should do this automatically.
Calculating just the conversion rate of your landing page isn’t enough; you need to compare it to industry benchmarks to conclude whether you’re on the right path or need to correct your way.
What’s a Good Landing Page Conversion Rate?
A good landing page conversion rate is between 21% and 50%. This is what the majority of the 50+ marketers we surveyed reported.
Now, before you start rushing to optimize landing pages for conversions, just know that a good conversion rate is subjective. It depends on numerous factors, some of which are seasonality, target audience, and competitive landscape.
Perhaps, the most important determinant here is the industry your company belongs to. E-commerce companies often have better conversion rates because the purchasing process is straightforward, and most visitors are ready to buy.
Contrarily, real estate websites usually experience a lower landing page conversion rate because of how high the value of the transaction is.
Your best bet is to monitor the average landing page conversion rate of your industry and then strive for a better one. For this, there is no better place than Databox Benchmark Groups, which provides exclusive access to crucial metrics of companies similar to yours.
Why Your Landing Pages Might Not Be Converting Enough
If your landing page conversion rate is far below the industry standard, it’s time to return to the drawing board. But before you start optimizing a landing page for conversions, you need to understand the source of the problem.
If your landing page is not converting enough, it’s probably because of:
Poor above-the-fold section: The top section is the first thing visitors see on your landing page. If it is cluttered, overwhelming, or simply unattractive, visitors may be less inclined to explore the rest of the landing page.
Multiple call-to-action buttons: Having different kinds of CTA buttons might confuse visitors regarding which action to perform first. It’s better to have a single call to action button and place it on multiple occasions for longer landing pages.
Irresponsive landing page design: Don’t underestimate the number of people accessing landing pages from their mobile devices. If the design isn’t responsive or mobile-friendly, nothing will motivate your prospects to leave faster.
Slow loading times: If your landing page takes too long to load, your potential customers might become impatient and leave before taking action. Once you’ve lost their attention when they were willing to give it, it’s nearly impossible to win it back.
Bad copywriting: Poor copy isn’t just about grammatical errors and lengthy sentences. If the copy fails to resonate with your target audience’s pain points, it will struggle to convince them to take action.
1. Research what’s not working on your landing page
Guesswork rarely works when optimizing an important metric like the landing page conversion rate. Even if you have a hunch about the culprit, you’re better off conducting a root cause analysis before brainstorming techniques to increase conversion rates.
Regarding this Alex Birkett of Omniscient Digital Notes suggests carrying out a “generic, repeatable conversion research audit.”
Birkett further shares, “There are so many components that can impact the conversion rate of a landing page. Let’s assume you’ve optimized the quality of the traffic coming to the page and the offer itself, meaning you’re bringing the right type of person to the page and promoting the right offer — if it’s still not converting, what then?”
For this Birkett recommends using the ResearchXL model for conducting the research audit.Here’s what you need to do, “Diagnose the probable causes of the suboptimal conversion rate through quantitative and qualitative research and hypothesize some potential treatments for those issues (and then run experiments to quantify the improvements).”
2. Understand user behavior
Another way through which you can identify potential issues is by understanding how visitors behave on the landing page and how they interact with its different elements. Doing so will help you identify where they spend most of their time, face friction, and engage in rage-clicking.
So, for instance, you may notice that visitors start filling in your contact form but leave without completing it because of too many form fields. With this information, you can either remove unnecessary fields or make some optional.
But how do you get access to such insights? Through session recordings, heat maps, and customer feedback surveys. This can’t be done without the right tools, of course.
Olivia Tsang of SuperMoney recommends, “Use insight tools such as Hotjar or FullStory in order to see how visitors are really using your website and collect user feedback.”
Nate Rodriguez from LIFTOFF Digital also suggests using Hotjar. Rodriguez says, “Hotjar allows you to record visitors and create a heatmap of your landing page. Depending on where users are falling off, you can see exactly where your page is confusing users or what you need to do to make it frictionless.”
3. Know who you’re talking to
Creating your landing pages without knowing who will be visiting them is a recipe for disaster. A beautifully designed landing page with a persuasive copy wouldn’t help here if it doesn’t resonate well with your audience.
Hence, taking the time to get to know your potential customers is always worth the effort.Mike Lieberman of Square 2 Marketing also recommends focusing on “strategy before tactics.” Lieberman says, “Instead of jumping in and building a landing page, we take the time to understand who is going to be landing on that page, what we want them to read, watch, and how we want them to feel when they land on this page. This is critical to getting that conversion.”
Gaining this information early on helps to personalize experiences further and push leads further down the buyer’s journey.
Anneline Breetzke from Big Splash Social reinforces this, “Today, consumers demand personal treatment, and when you’re moving them along a path with strategic targeting and retargeting, you’re able to position the appropriate landing page for where they’re at.”
Breetzke shares further, “When I started mapping out traffic systems like that, my conversion rate increased from 1.3% to 3-11% (depending on where in the customer journey the page was injected).”
4. Use copy that shows you understand your prospect’s problem
This shouldn’t come as a surprise – you need a good copy on your landing page to witness an increase in conversion rates. But remember, you’re not trying to impress your high school teacher but rather your customers. So it’s not only important to use their language but also address their pain points and, even better, present solutions.
Ashlee Rolkowski from Lone Fir Creative shares the same opinion:
“They (brands) are not sure what their customers want or what they’re looking for, so they end up with messaging that doesn’t connect with them. The key to a successful landing page starts with empathy. Relating to the customer on their level and letting them know you understand their problem is the basis of smart marketing strategy.”
Rolkowski suggests using the StoryBoard framework to help you create a copy that creates an impact. Here’s what it entails:
“A story that starts with a character like them,
Who has a problem like them,
And meets a guide like you,
Who gives them a plan that solves the problem,
And calls them to take an action,
That helps them avoid failure,
And ends in a success.”
Key Insights: Even with following frameworks similar to the one above, it can be difficult to phrase the actual copy. Once you’re familiar with the problems your prospects face, there is no harm in using an AI writing tool to assist you. This article shares 10 AI writing tools recommended by 200+ marketers!
Always deliver value
Truth be told, you won’t be creating just one landing page. You’ll need different landing pages for your multiple use cases, the industries you cater to, as well the diverse buyer personas you have. One thing that may suffer when creating such a high volume of landing pages is the value they offer.
Nili Zaharony of Penguin Strategies describes this better, “It’s easy to go on autopilot when creating landing pages.”
“Duplicate a previous landing page, and update the text so it reflects the new offer. With so many different tasks on our plates, it’s easy to take these shortcuts. What suffers the most is the value proposition.”
But instead of running on autopilot, Nili recommends, “Take a moment to step back, think about what value you’re giving away, why people should care, and ask if it’s worth the amount of information you’re requesting in your form.”
The value you provide can be anywhere from a free eBook to a 15% discount voucher. Just make sure it’s interesting and isn’t misleading.
Regarding this, Daniel Lynch of Empathy First Media says, “People are sick of clickbait and hunting for details, give people what they are looking for, and if they are qualified they will move through the conversion process.”
Promise value above the fold
The top section of a landing page can determine its success or failure. If it’s not attractive, your prospect will leave the page before you can convince them not to. One way through which you create an effective above-the-fold section is by offering value straight away.
Regarding this, Lewis Kemp from Lightbulb Media says, “Resist the temptation to waste valuable real estate telling people who you are and what you do above the fold. Nobody cares. As soon as a prospect lands on the page you should be telling them how your product/service benefits their lives. Let them make the choice to scroll further to find out more about you as a business.”
What about the results? Kemp shares, “Switching up the standard layout saw one of our pages go from 9% to 23% conversion in two weeks.”
Daniel Heuer from Copyfluent shares a similar opinion, “The value needs to be front and center. Getting people to do anything is difficult, so the ‘what’s in it for me’ needs to be in the main headline.” Pair this with a great supporting copy and a clean UX to bring them [your visitors] down the page to a compelling CTA.”
What may be valuable for your audience might not be for another company. So, make sure to research your customers well and then add that value proposition in the above-the-fold section. For instance, if your target audience is very price-sensitive, make sure to highlight your free delivery or return policy.
Write headlines that play to emotion
Headlines are important, no doubt. Yet, some read like a narcissist’s autobiography – they just endlessly mention the product’s features without a regard for the visitor and their emotions.
Only those headlines contribute to increasing landing page conversion rates that solve customer pain points and evoke strong emotions in them. These can be emotions of happiness, nostalgia, safety, and sometimes, even fear.
Regarding this, Jenna Erickson of Codal says, “Chances are that the reader is not going to read every word on the page, but they will definitely read the headlines. You should change and test the copy of your headline, making sure that it is attention-grabbing, clear, concise, and sums up your value proposition.”
One of our survey respondents, Tamas Torok of Coding Sans, actually A/B tested headlines that trigger emotions. Concerning the result of this experiment, Torok says, “We were able to increase the conversion rate of one of our landing pages by 8.4% with only one experiment.”
Make your landing page copy flow
No matter the number of visuals on your landing page, it is the copy that builds credibility, promotes your product, and, ultimately, converts your prospects.
Ollie Smith of ExpertSure thinks the same, “In my experience, one of the most effective ways to improve your landing page conversion is to craft a compelling flow of text. You need your landing page copy to be convincing, to get the point across, and to be genuine.”
Think of the bigger picture when writing your landing page’s copy. Rather than just listing features or benefits, your copy should flow in a way that engages and captivates your readers, much like a well-crafted story.
Address user intent… Fast
One overlooked aspect when optimizing landing pages is addressing the visitor’s intent. Some are looking for helpful information, while others may be looking specifically to invest in a solution.
It’s important to understand this intent and address it via your landing page. So for instance, if you’re targeting an informational keyword like “email marketing guide,” you should present the landing page that lets visitors download your ebook on the same topic.
You must also not beat around the bush but address the intent as early as possible so your visitors don’t abandon your landing page for another.
Blair McKee from Constellix has some good advice regarding this. McKee says, “Answer or address user intent within the first paragraph of the page. You’ll need to suss-out the user intent for your landing page (and the keywords you’re targeting to drive traffic).”
McKee also shares how to put this into practice, “You could offer a solution to a problem, or incite urgency with a call to action headline that begins with an action verb. The latter validates the user’s intent and suggests that a solution is further down the page, or will be delivered after an action is taken (i.e., a form or signup).”
Include relevant videos
While copy has the power to convert, that doesn’t mean you can compromise on the visual design. Videos, specifically, help grab the visitor’s attention, visually provide more information, and encourage engagement.
There are so many ways you can go about it – add a product demo video, a customer testimonial video, or an animated one.
Hyfa of Aufait Technologies also believes in the power of videos for boosting landing page conversions. Hyfa says, “Your landing page should engage users to the point of converting them. One of the ways you can engage users on your landing page is by adding videos.”
Hyfa also believes adding videos can increase landing page conversions by 80%.
ClydeBank Media‘s John Donnachie is another advocate of this best practice. Donnachie shares what worked for them, “What we have found to work best is an honest, face-to-face, conversational format that addresses the viewer/prospect. We focus on ‘the big idea’ of the landing page and frame the offer using traditional sales techniques (overcoming objections, qualifying the audience, etc).”
Donnachie also has some tips for you if you decide to add videos to your landing pages:
“Keep it simple, but a few video best practices apply – low volume background music increases the engaging quality of the video and helps mask audio inconsistencies. Captions keep viewers who have their devices muted (or browsers that mute autoplay video) engaged. Simple chyron (lower third graphics) can be used to amplify ‘the big idea’ and keep your videos focused. Videos make landing pages shine, and they don’t have to be expensive or complicated.”
Key Insights: Track the performance of your videos through this Vimeo OTT Traffic Overview dashboard. Monitor how many conversions your video brings, how cost-effective they are, and how much engagement you’re getting on them.
Add trust signals
Including trust signals (G2/Capterra badges, customer reviews, industry awards, etc.) on your landing page adds instant credibility to what you offer.
When companies see others benefiting from your product/service, it encourages them to trust your brand and take a leap of faith. As you can imagine, they have a strong impact on increasing the landing page conversion rate.
Our survey respondents also endorse this strategy.
Market 8‘s Brian Schofield says, “Adding trust signals like previous clients, awards, certifications, or testimonials will work wonders.”
Jonathan Aufray of Growth Hackers also recommends this, “Customers trust other customers. Users trust other users. People trust other people,” and suggests collecting social proof by asking “your happy users or customers to send you a testimonial”, and then including “the best ones on your landing page.”
Just adding social proof isn’t enough. Where you place them also impacts the number of conversions you get.
Regarding this, Catalyst Marketing’s Ollie Roddy says, “Adding a relevant quote next to the form is a great way to improve conversion rate; it increases the trust in your piece and makes the action of filling out the form social proof. Even placing a carousel of customer quotes next to the form on your ‘Contact Us’ page can work wonders for increasing response rate.”
Remove distractions
The urge to add everything to your landing pages is real. You’re just so afraid of missing a crucial element that you just add everything you deem important.
The problem with this is that the landing page gets filled with fluff and distracts your visitors away from the main message. Think about it, is a carousel of customer testimonials needed on an ebook landing page? This directly lowers the conversion rate because your visitors get overwhelmed.
Your landing pages should be focused on one primary goal, and anything else should be removed. To help you create laser-focused landing pages to improve the conversion rate, our respondents share the following tips:
Get rid of fluff on your landing page. Jacklyn Heinlein of Denamico adds to this: “With attention spans getting shorter, we adopt the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) mentality. This means we focus on conveying our message as clearly and concisely as possible and including no other ‘fluff’ on the page.”
Give all the required information clearly. Jeroen Minks of Vazooky Digital elaborates, “Your landing pages should be focused on one primary goal and the content should be tailored for this. In other words, people shouldn’t have to browse around the website to get the information they are looking for. The key point of the landing page is to get people to convert, and this is less likely to happen if they leave the page to browse the website.”
Banish the navigation bar. Regarding this, Ganesh Narayan of Freshworks says, “Remove navigation bars or links that could lead the user away from the landing page. The objective of the landing page is to make the user sign up, not to find other resources. It is ok to keep the footer, as long as it is not easily visible or is one scroll beneath the first fold of the website.”
Make all the information digestible. Michael Alexis of Team Building recommends, “Reduce vertical margins, use plain language in your headlines, and arrange the display for easy scanning and reading.”
Stick with one CTA on your landing page. Brian Lenney of Direct Response Copywriting advises that you give only one CTA to your audience. Here’s the tip, “Eliminate all distractions. Give people ONE THING to do. Not 2, not 3, not 10. No link to follow you on social. No YouTube embeds to click off and get lost in. Just your CTA. The more stuff they click on, the less chance they’ll convert.”
Limit form fields. Regarding this Alexandra Zelenko of DDI Development says, “The less information you ask for, the higher your conversion rate will be. That’s why your forms should be easy, clear, and functional, ask for minimal information, establish an atmosphere of trust, and provide support information. This helps to decrease leads’ abandonment when filling out the form.”
