Landing pages are the cornerstone of any effective online marketing campaign and any successful online business. But not all landing pages are created equally. Ineffective landing pages can shut down site visitation and kill your conversion ratio. So, how do you make sure that your landing pages are as effective as possible? Start with these five essentials:

1. Your unique selling point

– Sometimes called your unique selling proposition (USP), this is the idea on which all of your marketing will probably hinge. It is what sets you apart from your competition, what makes you worth investing time and money in. Your USP will be broken into essentially four different sections. These are your first headline (H1), your subheading (H2), your reinforcing statement (a short, punchy sentence that solidifies what you do and why it’s better), and the closing (send them off with a bang).

2. Pictures or video

– Your landing page needs something visual. Pictures are great, they catch a reader’s eye, can communicate a feeling or impression, and are just good page design. Videos are even better.

sarasota web design

3. Discussion of benefits

– While you do want to present the “features” of your product or service, what you really want to highlight is the benefits of working with your brand, over another brand. Show your landing page visitor how their life will be easier, better, or more full by buying what you have to sell.

4. Social proof

– The prospect of spending money generates anxiety. This anxiety can be soothed by showing your page visitors that others have already purchased what you are selling and have benefited from it. Some sort of social proof, whether it is testimonials or even just a hard number of “happy customers,” is essential to an effective landing page.

Here’s more information on what social proof is, and why your business needs it.

5. Call to action

– Never forget your call to action. You can’t expect a page visitor to magically know what you need him or her to do—you have to tell him or her what to do. “Click Here” is good, but “Click here to get your 20% off discount” is even better. Make it immediate and make it enticing. Try to include why they should click there, not just that they should.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Watch your Call-to-Actions. ‘Click Here’ is good, but ‘Click to get 20% off’ is better. #ProTip” user=”@agintosolutions” usehashtags=”no”]

Landing pages need to be a part of your digital marketing strategy, and if you include these five things, your landing page will be on its way to success! If you have questions about your internet marketing strategy, contact our experienced team today for a free assessment and consultation.

Landing pages are the cornerstone of any effective online marketing campaign and any successful online business. But not all landing pages are created equally. Ineffective landing pages can shut down site visitation and kill your conversion ratio. So, how do you make sure that your landing pages are as effective as possible? Start with these five essentials:

1. Your unique selling point

– Sometimes called your unique selling proposition (USP), this is the idea on which all of your marketing will probably hinge. It is what sets you apart from your competition, what makes you worth investing time and money in. Your USP will be broken into essentially four different sections. These are your first headline (H1), your subheading (H2), your reinforcing statement (a short, punchy sentence that solidifies what you do and why it’s better), and the closing (send them off with a bang).

2. Pictures or video

– Your landing page needs something visual. Pictures are great, they catch a reader’s eye, can communicate a feeling or impression, and are just good page design. Videos are even better.

sarasota web design

3. Discussion of benefits

– While you do want to present the “features” of your product or service, what you really want to highlight is the benefits of working with your brand, over another brand. Show your landing page visitor how their life will be easier, better, or more full by buying what you have to sell.

4. Social proof

– The prospect of spending money generates anxiety. This anxiety can be soothed by showing your page visitors that others have already purchased what you are selling and have benefited from it. Some sort of social proof, whether it is testimonials or even just a hard number of “happy customers,” is essential to an effective landing page.

Here’s more information on what social proof is, and why your business needs it.

5. Call to action

– Never forget your call to action. You can’t expect a page visitor to magically know what you need him or her to do—you have to tell him or her what to do. “Click Here” is good, but “Click here to get your 20% off discount” is even better. Make it immediate and make it enticing. Try to include why they should click there, not just that they should.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Watch your Call-to-Actions. ‘Click Here’ is good, but ‘Click to get 20% off’ is better. #ProTip” user=”@agintosolutions” usehashtags=”no”]

Landing pages need to be a part of your digital marketing strategy, and if you include these five things, your landing page will be on its way to success! If you have questions about your internet marketing strategy, contact our experienced team today for a free assessment and consultation.

Published on October 12, 2015

About the Author: Chris Williams

Founder at Aginto, and an organic marketing specialist, Chris has worked on everything from SEO to social media marketing to conversion optimization. He spends his downtime raising his daughter, volunteering with the Salvation Army, and obsessing over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Twitter. You can follow him here.