Landing Page Optimization for a Better Conversion Rate.
What is a Landing Page? and Why it Needs Optimization?
Simply, the landing page is nothing but the first page that the user/visitor is redirected to when he clicks on a website link or any advertisement. It is basically the first impression of your website. Moreover, it directs the user to traverse through your website and become a customer. “First impressions are the last impressions”, well this is true in terms of website pages also. If a visitor is not happy with your landing page he will not be motivated to buy something. This is where landing page optimization comes into the picture.
The psychology and neuroscience behind human thinking
Humans have two fundamentally different modes of thinking and processing information. Which are categorized as Intuitive thinking and Analytical think. Intuitive thinking is basically a fast-thinking based on the user's intuitions. It is effortless and fast. Users make decisions based on their previous experiences in the spur of a moment. When you are simply asked what is 2+2. without even thinking you can answer it is 4. On the other hand, if you were given a complex mathematical expression you would take time to analyze, this is Analytical thinking. That is why the landing page should be as simple as possible. It’s basically based on the Law of Least Effort, the basic behavioral hypothesis that an organism will choose a course of action that appears to require the smallest amount of effort or expenditure of energy.
“Average conversion rates for most e-commerce websites are typically low — usually around 1–2 percent — due to the high commitment level needed from the visitor.”
― Tim Ash
Human behavior is also based on two chemicals released by the brain while thinking, Dopamine, and Cortisol. Dopamine is the chemical released by the brain when a person seeks a reward. Cortisol is nature’s built-in alarm system. It’s your body’s main stress hormone. When a user sees some promises done on your website’s advertisement, the user’s brain releases dopamine and creates excitement and motivation towards your product. But if your landing page fails to deliver that promise suddenly it demotivates the user and triggers the release of cortisol. And this is bad for your product. The brain processes the overall design of the landing page and determines attractiveness (dopamine is released). A negative headline or introduction triggers fear (cortisol, the stress hormone, is released).
Optimizing a Landing Page!
Optimizing the landing page detects possible issues with the design or functionality of the landing page. At this stage, we identify the potential problems that the customer is facing. Optimizing it reduces the friction for the customer and helps build a pleasant experience for the website.
— Wireframing the website: Wireframe is a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of the page. Wireframing helps to visualize the final page and helps in figuring out what all must be included in a particular page. It helps you prioritize the content and build a structure. It also makes it easier to align copy and design.
— Information Hierarchy: This is basically figuring out the content required to be put on any page. This tells you which information is most important and relevant and how much of that is necessary. Well, it is subjective how much information you can have on your landing page. You can have a lot of information on your landing page provided it is served concisely and clearly understandable.
Below are some of the tips for optimizing a landing page for better conversion rate:
- Identify the CTAs: Identify the different CTAs on any webpage and prioritize them. It is the core aspect of the process of Landing Page Optimization. The Call To Action (CTA) is the activity that you want the audience to perform on your site to meet your conversion goals. A single page can have multiple secondary CTAs but only one primary CTA. This primary CTA must be easily discoverable and must be highlighted on the landing page. “Your landing pages aren’t Wikipedia. Stop adding unnecessary links.” — Oli Gardner
- Know the User Intent: Try to understand the user's intent to visit the web page. If the user has reached the web page via some advertisement that has promised something to the user, you need to make sure that the user should get the desired outcome or well-guided steps to reach that result. Try to match the expectations and the needs of the visitor based on their previous interaction.
- Limit the Content: Make sure information on any landing page is concise. Clearly articulate the value of what is being offered to the visitor. Use proper value proposition headlines that are aligned with the visitor’s expectations.
- Improve the page load time: Landin page that the user has redirected to must be smooth and attractive. Most of the time, a lot of animations are involved on the page that increases the loading time of the page. This extended time unknowingly decreases the motivation of potential customers. Hence, try to keep the page minimal and attractive.
- Use proper images: Users make perceptions about your webpage within a fraction of a second just by looking at it. hence appearance of the page is very important. Visitors only want to see the relevant images to the product, information, or any other service they are looking for on your landing page. This helps in building trust and bonds with the customers.
- Establish credibility and trust for the business: Use proper value propositions on the landing pages to establish the user’s trust in the brand. Use various social proofs to increase the credibility of your business.
The landing page is the most important page of your website as it is the first time where the user interacts with your website. If it is not appealing to the user then all the work done in the backend is all in vain. CXL has a very good course on Landing Page optimization. I am very excited to learn about the psychology behind human thinking. Looking forward to learn more
