[Essential Reading] Landing Page Structures That Convert
Reviewed by HIROKI TAKAYAMA (Director and CGO, NowVillage Inc.)
Contents
For anyone considering building a landing page (LP)
In digital marketing, however much traffic a page gets, you will not win conversions unless the case you make for the service is appealing.
So that anyone can build a landing page (LP) that performs, repeatably,
this article explains the key points of building a landing page (LP).
1. What a landing page is
A landing page (LP) is a single, self-contained web page devoted to conveying the appeal of a product or service to a prospect. Think of it as a leaflet published online.
See the page below for more.
2. How a landing page (LP) that performs is structured
2.1 An opening view that lands at a glance
The most important part of a landing page (LP) is the opening view.
It is the first thing a visitor sees, and it is no exaggeration to say that the first impression it creates decides the result.
There are three points to get right in the opening view.
1 State who it is for
2 Convey what the service does, briefly
3 Give results as figures
Who the service is for. What the service is. How well it is regarded.
Design the opening view so that these three register within three seconds.
Make the most of photographs and other visuals to round out the picture of the audience and of the service. Expressing results as numbers also makes them more persuasive.
Customer satisfaction scores, awards and research findings all work well.
2.2 Setting out the benefit
The benefit is the ultimate gain the audience gets from using the service.
Stating that benefit at the top gives the reader a reason to carry on, which makes it a crucial point in building a landing page (LP).
The right benefit lives in the audience’s head, so it has to be judged from a tightly drawn persona.
Take dieting: sometimes the benefit is losing 10 kilos, and sometimes it is getting back the confident person you really are.
2.3 Naming problems the reader recognises
Under a heading such as ‘Do any of these sound familiar?’, name three to five concrete problems your audience has. The more concrete they are, the more readily the audience reads what follows as being about them.
2.4 The solution and the mechanism behind it
State that using the service solves those problems.
Pair that with the mechanism, as the grounds for why it works.
In practice, cover the features of the service, its strengths, its edge over competing services and any awards it has won.
2.5 Words from real users
As proof of everything claimed so far, publish words from users who have used the service and are happy with it. Prepare three of them.
2.6 Narrowing the audience
Deliberately describing the users who are not the audience, or who would not be satisfied by the service, and so limiting who should use it, makes the case to your real audience stand out all the more.
2.7 A message with conviction that gives the final push
People understand with logic and act with their hearts.
So alongside the logical case of advantages and edge, include a message that strikes a chord and moves people, and you can give a wavering user that final push. In practice, talk about why the service was built and the vision you want to realise through it.
2.8 Frequently asked questions
For the FAQ, use the questions users actually ask most often, along with the points about the product or service they tend to misunderstand.
2.9 CTA
In the CTA, use wording that prompts the reader to apply for or sign up to the service the LP is making the case for.
For instance, rather than just ‘Register’, phrase it as a verb such as ‘Register now ▶’ and show a ‘▶’, which makes it easier for users to act.
2.10 The entry form
This matters most of all. Drop-off is highest at the entry form, so design it with care.
The things to watch are whether the shape, position, order and wording of the fields make them easy to fill in.
The article below sets out four points for making an LP more effective once its structure is in place.
Do read it alongside this one.
3. Free tools for building a landing page (LP)
In recent years, Peraichi and Wix and other so-called no-code services have appeared, letting you build an LP yourself without specialist knowledge such as HTML.
Also, HubSpot and other marketing automation (MA) tools sometimes include LP building as a feature too. Used as a secondary option, for things like white paper download pages or seminar announcement pages, such tools keep costs down and widen the range of marketing work you can do.
4. In closing
We hope that was useful.
A landing page (LP) is indispensable for lifting sales online and bears on whether every other activity succeeds or fails.
Think about the long-term advantages, do not cut corners on effort or cost, and give the build a proper budget. When you come to build or improve a landing page (LP), do use the points in this article as a guide.
And if you are considering building or running a landing page (LP), get in touch below.
※ The article below goes into more detail on digital marketing that makes use of LPs. Do read it alongside this one.
Related article: What is search advertising? A plain explanation of how it works, how to set a budget and how to manage it
SupervisorReviewed by
HIROKI TAKAYAMADirector and CGO, NowVillage Inc.
Has worked on marketing for more than 500 companies, from HubSpot implementation and operations through to SEO and AEO strategy.
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