lead generation – Domain Cost Club Blog

2015 Best Practices for Landing Pages that Convert

So, you got your target customer (we hope,) to click your offer or ad – now it’s time to make sure you close the deal and get their info. Whether you’re goal is to collect an email address, garner a subscription to your blog, or have your customer complete a download, etc. the second most important part of that process, after creating an effective ad or offer, is the effectiveness of your landing page.

There are many reasons a lead may click the ad and then fail to complete the landing page form, but listed below are some best practices you should follow in order to design landing pages that convert.

1. Consistent with the source

The “one size fits all” method that many people use for landing pages is simply not effective anymore. Your offer, writing style and design should be consistent with the channel it is being displayed on. For example, if your offer is a discounted price on an affiliate marketing membership being shown on Facebook, your landing page should reflect that. You would want to use more casual, peer style writing than you would if your offer were a whitepaper download coming at the end of a Forbes magazine article. Also, make sure to use some of the exact language you had in your ad from the original channel in your landing page. This reassures the lead that they have clicked into the right place and it’s the page they want to be on.

2. Take audience into account

Each channel you use to advertise can potentially have different audiences viewing your content. The style of copy, design of the landing page, and content on the page should always be tailored to fit the type of person clicking your offer and the channel that they came from. Who did you target in your ad or offer? What kind of content resonates well with them? Your landing page should reflect the “mindset” of your lead based on your targeting and where they clicked over from.

3. Closes the deal

Use clear and concise sales language in your landing page. Your lead wants to know exactly what your offer is, why they should want it, and what they can expect after submitting the form. Bullet points and check marks come in handy here. Use strong, action language, like “download the guide,” or “get a call from one of our experts,” to ensure the lead understands what the exchange of information is for.

4. Shortest form possible

The process of landing page completion should be as painless as possible for your viewer. Extensively long forms are an enormous deterrent for leads, and increase the chances of abandonment. Only require the fields you absolutely need from this person in order to get in contact with them, nurture them, or get them what they need for the offer they clicked on. One other option if you absolutely have to have a long list of form requirements is to have multiple parts, or a form that builds. Once you receive one or two of the form fills, then they move on to the next part of the form. However, avoiding a long form is always the best option.

5. One clear CTA

There is nothing worse than a landing page that has so many calls to action that the lead doesn’t know which one to click first. Make this as easy a path as possible for your potential customer. They should know exactly where the CTA button is immediately upon opening the landing page; in addition to what they need to do (i.e. fill out the form) and what they are getting in return. The CTA should look clearly like a clickable button, should stand out against the rest of the page, and should use action language. Examples of good CTA’s include: “Download Now!” – “Get My FREE Quote!” – “Sign Me Up!” – etc.

6. Limit Distractions

Too many links, buttons, images, and the like, floating all over the landing page simply distract the lead from what you actually want them to accomplish while on the page, which is filling out your form. The more opportunities they have to click out of the landing page, the more you are increasing your chance of the form never being completed by a potential lead. Save the social links, blog posts, and homepage links for the Thank You page, once the lead has already submitted their info.

7. Urgency is a plus

If it makes sense to include verbiage such as “limited quantity,” or “limited time offer,” do it. It’s marketing 101 knowledge that urgency can increase the chance of your sale based on consumer psychology. It won’t make sense to include urgency on every offer or landing page, but is a great option if you are able to make it relevant.

8. Contrasting colors

Using contrasting and complimentary colors throughout your page is the best way to direct your visitor’s eyes on the particular path that you want them to follow. Contrast in colors makes the copy easier to read, makes the CTA really pop off the page, and is simply aesthetically pleasing to the eye. For example, an orange CTA button looks great when the entire page uses muted blues and whites. Your visitor’s eye is automatically drawn to the one color that stands out above the rest.

9. Limited Copy

Again, you want this process to be easy and painless for the lead – you don’t want them to feel overwhelmed by two large paragraphs they feel they have to read before filling out a form and giving you their information, and instead decide to abandon the page. A heading which reassures them they are one step away from redeeming the offer they clicked on, a sub heading, and a few bullets should be enough to explain again, after having already seen your ad and been interested in the offer, to the lead what will happen once they hit that submit button.

10. Responsive design

Always remember that your landing page needs to look just as clean and well designed on a mobile device as it does on a desktop computer. In fact, it would behoove most marketers to put more emphasis on mobile devices than desktop, as mobile is quickly becoming the primary viewing device for most people. Make sure your template and design stacks your content the best way possible, and that your form is always above the fold. Do not force your lead to scroll, or potentially click out because they don’t even know there is a form to fill out below the fold.

The best practices listed above will help you to ensure you are designing landing pages that convert leads into customers. However, the channels used, quality of your ad or offer, and a number of other factors go into the success of a campaign. Stay tuned for next week’s article regarding best practices for “Thank You” pages.

Are you interested in earning a second income while working from home?

Choosing the right domain name is one of the most important steps to ensuring your business’ online success. Your domain name matters immensely for branding purposes, direct traffic to your site, referral traffic to your site, and many more reasons! If you are just about to launch a new website for a business, or even for a personal blog, read on to find out how to pick the perfect name.

1. Make Sure the Domain is Consistent with Your Brand

The first decision you will have to make is if you are simply choosing your already existing brand name as the domain. Plain and simple – (i.e. Target.com, Nike.com, etc.) Or, are you going to choose a more creative domain that incorporates some keywords with the brand name – i.e. JuicyCoutureClothing.com instead of just JuicyCouture.com). Either way, make sure that your domain accurately represents your brand, what you are selling, or what your business consists of.

2. Keep it Short and Sweet

Consumers are bombarded enough as it is with brand names, keywords, and marketing info. Make it as easy as possible for them to remember and type in your domain name. The shorter, and catchier you can make it – the better.

3. Make it Catchy

Have a marketers mind – stand out from the crowd. You know those songs or jingles you just can’t get out of your head? Or those infomercials that you know every word to? That’s how you want to think. There are so many domain names out there, in the same industry, try to be different. For example, there are millions of ecommerce women’s clothing websites out there: Tobi.com, Modcloth.com, ASOS.com (what do they all really mean?). The one that sticks out in your mind because it’s so out there? NastyGal.com – that domain will make people wonder and click

4. Use Keywords if Possible

Making your domain name SEO friendly will have huge advantages for your site traffic. While keeping it as short and easy to remember as possible, including a keyword with your brand could help drive organic search traffic to you. For example, if you are selling eco-friendly pool cleaning products, you might want to choose something like “GreenPoolProducts.com” or “EcoPoolSupplies.shop”. This way, you will be returned high in the results for someone searching “green pool supplies”, etc.

5. Choose the Right Domain Extension

Get a TLD extension that suits your idea for the domain, it’s no longer necessary to pick your TLD from a few generic extensions – (like .COM or .NET) For example, let’s say you’re a local coffee shop looking to increase organic search traffic on Google. Choosing a name like “SeattleBrewCoffee.Shop” is likely to be much less competitive, capture more local searches, and increase the visibility of your site. New TLDs are growing and being added everyday. There is a large advantage to being a first mover on an enormous up and coming trend like unique domain extensions (i.e. .CITY, .CASH, .CLUB, . HEALTHCARE). You can even find registrars that sell new TLDs for lower prices than anywhere else, like Domain Cost Club.

6. Be Creative

Sometimes the domain name you want just isn’t available – get creative and choose something even better! Your favorite domain name being taken may actually give you a reason to think outside the box and choose a name that sounds even better and stands out from the rest.

7. Make it intuitive

Make your domain easy to type – don’t use purposeful misspellings. This info is also useful for choosing your brand name in general. Many people think it’s clever to purposefully misspell a word similar to their brand name in order to be unique, but this can sometimes confuse consumers, and make it difficult to remember. For example, go for “ExpressPizza.com” over “XpressPizza.com” – who knows if there is already a Pizza shop that spells it correctly and receives some of your traffic!

8. Don’t Choose a Name Too Close to Someone Else’s

Taking the time to research and make sure that your name isn’t one letter off from a competitor is going to do you a lot of good in the future. Making sure your domain name is original enough to not be confused with another brand or company will not only increase legitimate traffic to your site, but may also help you avoid any legal issues.

9. Don’t Use Random Characters

Using things like dashes or hyphens can get tricky. Generally, someone is not going to take the time to remember where a character other than a letter goes within your web address. Make it easier on them and just leave it out – EVEN if your first choice of domain names was taken, and this is the only way to get it. Refer to #6.

10. Purchase Multiple Domains for the Same Brand

Don’t let someone infringe upon the brand you’ve created for yourself by creating a very similar domain name with a different extension or misspelling. Buy all domains associated with your account to prevent any confusion and/or fraud.

11. Try Rhyming or Alliteration

This might help you take care of some of the tips above. Rhyming or alliteration makes the human mind remember more easily, and makes a brand name catchier. For example, doesn’t Dancepants.shop or DanceDivas.clothing have a nice ring to them for a website that sells dance clothing and costumes?

12. Take Timing into Consideration

Search for some domains/terms and then take a break for a bit. Performing multiple searches spread out over a day or two might help to generate ideas instead of sitting down and attempting to search for and purchase all at once. Keep in mind though, if you find a great domain it may not be available the next time your search for it.

13. Don’t Forget About a Blog!

Blogs and content marketing are one of the best tactics out there right now to drive traffic to your website, and nurture leads into making a purchase. Sharing of useful information through blog posts is the best way to gain a potential customer’s and move them down the sales funnel. Once you find the best domain name, make sure you purchase a blog at your domain to go along with it! The perfect domain name goes hand in hand with making your website easier to find, and increasing traffic. In conjunction with a well-written blog of the same domain, you give yourself and your business the best chance at being a successful online brand. Be sure to buy your domain at DomainCostClub.com so you’re able to get at-cost pricing on the registration and future renewals. You don’t want to have to worry about high priced renewals next year when your successful site is up and running!