5 Steps to a Landing Page That Converts Like Crazy

This article is a reprint of Wise Bread's contribution to OPEN Forum from American Express -- where small business owners can get advice from experts and share tips with each other.

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When you're an online seller, your landing page is "where it all begins."

Just so we're all on the same…page, a landing page is “any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a certain action or result.”For our purposes, we’ll say that action or result is the sale of a product.

Now let's make sure it converts like crazy.

1. Define your sales goal.

Step number one is easy. Decide what you want your visitors to buy once they've reached your landing page and then follow the next four steps to support that goal.

2. Keep it simple.

According to marketing experts, "A confused mind always says no."

What they mean is that confused customers won't buy. So save your customers from confusion by eliminating clutter and "off ramps" that will distract them from buying.

• Remove external links and “Links” pages. The last thing you want to do is send your visitors to someone else’s site;
• Say sayonara to social media links that act as an "off ramp." You want visitors to buy from you, not follow you on Twitter. Social media should be used to drive customers to your site, not away from it;
• Ditch any polls, CPC ads, images and text that do not channel visitors to your sales goal. The fewer distractions, the better.

3. Put the blinders on.

Once visitors have "landed" on your site, start moving them towards a purchase by using compelling copy, graphics and video. That means:

• Copy, images and video that clearly show the features and benefits of your product and entice visitors to your buy page;
• Sales copy, images and video should be placed above the fold — this is the upper part of your site, before a visitor has to “mouse,” or scroll down;
• Use your sidebars to link to pages that will help a visitor move quickly and confidently to a purchase. For example, a “Testimonials” page eases buyer anxiety, a “Press” page proves that your product is adored by the public, an “About” page shows that you, the product creator, identify with your visitor, and a “Buy Now” page drives them to, well…BUY NOW.

4. Help visitors buy easily.

Once you’ve convinced visitors that they absolutely cannot live without your product, don’t lose the sale because of a clumsy, risky or hard to find buying page.

• Display your "Purchase" page prominently in the sales copy, in your navigation menu and even on the sidebar;
• Help your buyers feel safe buying by using a secure shopping cart or payment processing service like Paypal;
• Make your purchase information input form fast and easy, not frustrating. Ask for only the minimum information required to complete the sale, enable tabbing from field to field, and allow buyers to save their information for future purchases.

5. Put it under the Googlescope.

Now that you’ve created a killer landing page, measure its’ effectiveness with Google Analytics.

Here's what you should be looking at:

• Monthly visitors – how many potential customers visit your site each month?
• Traffic sources – where are your visitors coming from? What sites are sending them to yours? What keywords are they searching on to get to your landing page? What ads have you placed on other sites that are driving visitors effectively?
• Bounce rate, or the percentage of single-page visits. Are your visitors clicking around and making their way to your Buy page or are they leaving immediately?
• Exits – where are your visitors leaving from? Your landing page? Your Buy page? This will help you see potential cracks in your landing page;
• Conversions – you can set up “goals” on Google Analytics, which is a chain of actions that leads to a conversion, otherwise known as a sale. Then, you can find out what percentage of your monthly visitors are buying.