Get started with optimizing your landing page

The landing page is the entrance door to your website or the first page visitors will get to when coming to your website for the first time, for instance, through a PPC campaign. Of course it can be adapted to where the visitor is coming from i.e. you could have several landing pages. As any Internet user knows, it is only a matter of seconds to decide whether to leave this webpage (bounce) or not. Optimizing the landing page is becoming an art that aims at preventing visitors from bouncing, attracting their attention and ultimately getting them to convert. By conversion we mean not only buying, but any action you are interested in such as: getting the visitor to see other pages or registering. Here are some advices to optimize landing pages:

• A landing page is highly targeted toward a segment of your keywords that will ultimately provide immediate information for this segment. It is like if you are segmenting visitors to your website in order to be able to serve them as efficiently as possible. For example, an ecommerce website selling sportswear can have a landing page related to running shoes or related to heart rate monitors. Nevertheless, it is also important not to completely isolate this niche from the others, simply because a visitor coming to your website for running shoes might be also interested in a heart rate monitor. Having the right balance between niche targeting and providing other routes for additional niches is what you will be looking for.

• A landing page should not be intrusive. Some landing pages seem to literally take over your computer for some time. These pushy landing pages might attract the attention of visitors but they also cause frustration and lack of trust. In general a trustworthy landing page is also a key success factor. Tell visitors how you are, for instance, is important toward building trust.

• Keep it simple! Remember you have only seconds to attract visitors’ attention. A wise graphic and a powerful message or question, with a fast impact can often be very effective. This is not easy to achieve and to point out the need to test your landing pages again and again.

• Eliminate any unnecessary length or difficulty in the process of getting information from the user. It has to be on a voluntarily basis and well understood so. A thank you is certainly a must.