Your landing pages are the most crucial pages on your website since they receive the most traffic and have the best possibility of ranking well in search engines. It is also usual for the majority of your conversions to come from these landing pages. They differ from a website’s main pages in that they are intended to focus on a specific goal or call to action (CTA). This can range from a button that entices consumers to click it to the activity of adding things to a cart.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is critical for boosting the conversion rate on landing pages across your website, and there are numerous improvements you can make to increase conversion statistics. Not all websites have a one fix solution, as sometimes websites will simply receive less conversions for unknown reasons. However, activity testing out different CRO techniques can help improve your chances of success.
This guide will take you through how you can optimize your landing pages using CRO techniques to improve your conversion rate. Continue reading to find out more.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?
CRO is the practice of optimizing a website so that users are more likely to do the intended action. It’s not just about visually appealing design, but also about data-driven methods that reduce friction in the customer journey. Some of the key benefits of implementing CRO includes:
- Increased conversions without having to gain more traffic
- Improved user experience
- Maximizes advertising investment efficiency
- Provides insight based on real data about user behaviors on your website
With landing pages being built with the intention of gaining more conversions, they are the first pages that should undergo CRO. This can be done on the initial building of the page, or further down the line once you have started ranking for particular keywords on Google search results.
Why Does CRO Matter?
CRO is crucial for all types of business websites, but particularly local service businesses who operate in a restricted area where there is high competition. These websites typically have poorly optimized pages, so you can really get ahead of the competition with efficient CRO as you’ll get more traction with Google Ads. You need to ensure that all the changes you make to your landing pages have the potential to drive better results, boost customer visits and give you higher profitability.
CRO Strategies for High-Converting Landing Pages
Easily Accessible Contact Information
Phone calls are the primary method of contact for many businesses, so you need to ensure that all of your contact information is clearly visible on all your website’s landing pages. What’s confusing is that many businesses choose to hide their phone numbers in the footer of the page or behind a separate link. This doesn’t make much business sense, as it makes it difficult for customers to get in touch with you. As part of CRO, you can clearly display your contact details in the header of the website and in an instantly recognizable font so users can see it.
Compelling Headline
Your headline is the first thing that users will see on your website. It instantly grabs their attention, so you should ensure that it conveys the unique selling point of your business products or services. Generic headlines won’t entice customers to complete actions on your website, as you aren’t informing them how you’re different from similar competitors. Using keywords in your headline that perfectly describes your service or products will result in more conversions.
Strong Subheading
Sometimes the headline isn’t enough and you need to optimize the subheading too to reinforce your business message. The subhead line is your next opportunity to engage visitors and should be used to reinforce the benefits of your product or service to entice users further. It allows you to give extra information that won’t fit in your headline, such as statistics that show how good your products or services are.
CTA Optimization
The call-to-action (CTA) is arguably the most critical element on your landing page, as it can convince people to complete an action on your page. A weak or poorly positioned CTA can drastically reduce your conversion rate, so you need to ensure that it’s optimized effectively. Having a CTA button saying ‘Shop Now’ underneath advertised products will boost the rate of visitors completing that action. Closure London uses this method extremely well on their homepage and other landing pages.
Offer Valuable Exchanges
Offer website visitors something of value in return for their information to increase the conversion rate of your website. If visitors receive something in exchange, they are far more willing to give their contact information for future business interaction. This is called a lead magnet. Many visitors to your page are looking for information and are not yet prepared to make a commitment. Getting a potential customer’s contact information can help you stay in touch with them and make sure they think of you first when they’re ready to make a purchase.
Trust Signals
When customers have more trust in your business, they are more likely to complete actions on your website such as adding products to their cart or enquiring about your service. You can place customer feedback on your landing pages to help with this. Ensure that your customer’s name, photo and description of experience is clearly visible to have the maximum impact. Star rating can also be beneficial, as a five-star rating can significantly boost trust in your brand. Never underrate the power of social proof to improve conversions, especially for an online store.
The Importance of A/B Testing
If you don’t do anything about it, it won’t be worth spending months studying how users interact with your landing page. To determine what works, use A/B testing. Even though it takes a lot of trial and error, it can be very effective.
Your data will get more accurate the more A/B testing you conduct. To find out what works best for your visitors, we advise you to experiment with different aspects and designs on your website using a tool such as Google Optimize. You can adjust things like headlines, page copy, page length, structure and element location. The navigation menus can also be altered to improve how much they’re clicked by users. After that, use what you’ve learnt to revamp your website and confirm that it increased your conversion rate.
Final Thoughts
As you contemplate these CRO strategies, remember that the journey of optimizing your landing pages is an ongoing process of testing, learning and refining. Embrace the insights that data provides, continuously experiment with different approaches and always keep your audience’s needs at the forefront to see the maximum impact of CRO. By viewing your landing pages as dynamic tools for conversion, you’ll unlock their true potential to drive meaningful results for your business.
The power of your landing pages lies in their ability to connect with visitors and guide them towards a desired action. By implementing these CRO techniques, you’re not just tweaking elements on a screen; you’re building a more intuitive and persuasive pathway for your audience. Embrace the data, experiment boldly and watch as your landing pages transform into powerful engines of growth and conversion.
About the Author
Darcy Fowler – after completing a University degree in Journalism, she has spent a significant amount of time studying about the ever-changing worlds of digital marketing and ecommerce, working in a variety of industries while expanding her knowledge. Darcy is determined to share insightful content in the hopes of inspiring others.
