The chief objective of any marketing campaign is to convert visitors into paying customers. A well-designed and effective landing page is a key piece of the puzzle, and it’s important to constantly optimize your landing pages to maximize conversions and increase sales. In this post, we’ll share data-backed tips and best practices for landing page optimization to help you supercharge your conversion rates.
If you’re currently generating traffic from paid media to your landing page but struggle to turn that traffic into conversions, this blog will provide everything you need to know to reach your goals. Let’s dive in!
1. Mobile Responsiveness & Load Speed: Make Every Second Count
If you’re stumped as to why your landing page isn’t converting, start by checking page load times and compatibility with mobile devices. Research shows that mobile devices contribute to more than 55% of website traffic, with over 92.3% of internet users relying on their phones for everything from browsing to shopping. When visiting a website on their phones, users make quick decisions and could easily abandon a site that takes too long to respond.
In the online world, every second counts — in fact, a recent survey found that 25% of online users will ditch a page if it takes more than 4–6 seconds to load. That means the longer your site takes to respond on mobile devices, the more conversions you’re missing out on.
Be sure to consistently check mobile load times for your landing page — and all your online pages, for that matter — and optimize where needed.
2. Form Placement: Striking the Right Balance
Proper placement of your lead generation form can significantly influence your conversion rates. The best position depends on your value proposition and the amount of information prospects require before making a decision.
As a general rule of thumb, if the details of your offer or call-to-action are clear and straightforward, put the form or CTA button at the top of the page. If the prospect needs more information before moving to the next step, put the sign up form or CTA button below any necessary landing page copy.
Optimal form placement will depend on a lot of factors including your specific offer and the type of ads you’re running, so whichever option you go for, be sure to split-test and analyze the results to find the best approach.
3. Form Design: Simplify for Success
A clean, simple design is essential for improving landing page conversions. Avoid including too much information or distracting elements that aren’t relevant to your offer. When it comes to formatting your page, studies show that single-column forms outperform multi-column ones in terms of conversion rates.
Remember, there’s only one goal of your landing page: guiding visitors to the next stage of your marketing funnel, whether that’s by getting them to fill out a form or click a CTA button. Only include elements that contribute to that goal, and remove everything else to reduce clutter.
4. Scannability: Guiding the Eye Effectively
With most people being overloaded with information at every corner of the digital world, having an easily scannable landing page is essential. This means breaking up your content into bullet points, having multiple headers, keeping plenty of white space, and avoiding large blocks of text.
A simple, scannable page greatly appeals to online users, as they can easily catch the main points and follow along without reading everything.
5. Social Proof: Building Trust Through Data
Social proof plays a crucial role in enhancing credibility for your offer and your brand overall. According to a BrightLocal study, 87% of customers use online reviews to judge local businesses, with 79% trusting them as much as personal endorsements.
From real-world data to testimonials and reviews, there are many aspects you can include on your landing page to inspire trust.
Case Study: WEBITMD's 500% Conversion Rate Surge
At WEBITMD, we tested the above data-backed strategies for one of our clients and raised landing page submission rates from .58% to 3.67% — that's over 500%!
How did we do it? We streamlined copy, brought the form to the top of the page, improved the visual aesthetic, and added social proof. This shows that every element on your landing page matters, and making even a few simple tweaks could lead to some remarkable increases in conversion rates.
If you’re looking to fine-tune your marketing strategy and stand out in your industry, we can help. Contact us and download our Growth Stack guide today to see how we can improve ROI for your marketing efforts.