Five Common Landing Page Mistakes
Online advertisements, whether they are pop-ups in your Web browser or targeted ads on Facebook, are a great way to draw customers in to look at your webpage. But while getting customers to click on ads is a good thing, what happens when they actually do can be up in the air. A website's landing page -- or the page that users are redirected to when they click on an ad -- is essential to finalizing a sale. Unfortunately, many companies make some common mistakes when it comes to creating an effective landing page.
Other People Are Reading
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Redirecting Users
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Many landing pages require users to click away from the landing page to hunt down more information about a product or service. This is a mistake. The more times users have to click to get where they need to ultimately go to buy a product, the less likely they will be to continue to spend valuable time navigating your website. At best, landing page creators should use a button that users can click to learn more about a product or service prominently displayed on the landing page itself.
Use of Space
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Like in any newspaper, the space "above the fold" (the spot users see before they have to scroll down) is the most important part of your landing page. Avoid cluttering the space above the fold with login boxes or links. This prime real estate on your page should display your product or service prominently in an effort to sell to customers or encourage them to remain on your site.
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Clutter
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The indiscriminate use of content clutter goes hand in hand with maximizing the use of your above-the-fold area. Some webmasters decide to assault users with audio and visual elements the moment they click on the page; this is a quick way to turn users off. Reduce clutter on your landing page; If you need to employ complicated video presentations, do it elsewhere. The overuse of audio and video can slow landing page load time, which is a sure way to get users to go somewhere else.
Landing Page Copy
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The copy written on your landing page is essential to getting a customer to do something or remain on the site. Avoid writing about your company's qualifications or about yourself. In the end, customers aren't on your site to read about those things. That information might serve your well as supplemental information contained in an "About" section on the site. But the prime area on the landing page should only be used to sell your product or service and make it easy for customers to buy immediately.
Confusing Directions
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One of the goals of a landing page is to convince customers to take action, be that action signing up for an account with your company, buying a product or subscribing to a service. Every landing page should have "call to action" text and a button to help users take that action. This button may say "Buy Now" or "Read More" with accompanying text that makes the argument for your product to customers. Landing pages that have unclear calls to action, or no calls to action at all, will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage.
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