5 Biggest Landing Page Fails of 2014 (So Far)
We get to see our fair share of landing page mistakes every week, in our ‘Clean Landing or Crash Landing?‘ feature. It’s a useful way to highlight some common things people do wrong when creating their landing pages. So we though it would be a good idea if we listed our top 5 biggest fails we’ve seen so far, and showed you how to avoid them:
1. Company name or logo is “missing” on the page
When a first-time visitor arrives at your landing page, it should be very clear not only what the promotion is, but also the name of company that published it. If your company name or logo is missing, or is difficult for users to spot in the immediate stages of landing on your page, then you’re more than likely going to lose a lot of customers.
Why is this important?
Your company name or logo is your identity, and identity is very important when it comes to online transactions. Regardless of whether customers are submitting their personal information or their credit card details, they aren’t going to give you anything if they don’t know who you are.
Even when your company name or logo is present on the page, if users have a hard time finding or identifying it then this can be just as confusing, and equally detrimental to your marketing efforts.
How to fix it
While your company name or logo doesn’t have to be the focal point of your landing page (that spot is typically reserved for promotion itself) it does need to be clearly visible. People are accustomed to seeing logos and company names in the right or left-hand-side corners of webpages, so this is a solid place to start. It’s also intuitive to the way that we read; with publisher information displayed in the top or sometimes bottom corners of a page.
2. External links on the page
External links on any webpage are like sieve holes. They’re a major cause of leakage (users clicking on an external link and then not coming back) which also go towards increasing your bounce-rate. In other words, you’re providing landing page visitors with an opportunity to leave before they’ve completed an action and that’s very counter productive.
Why is this important?
It’s important to avoid using external links because there’s usually no incentive for a visitor to return to your landing page once they’ve already left. Either they can’t see the benefit in spending the time to do so, or they become distracted by whatever was linked-to and their interest in your product/service simply isn’t there anymore.
Furthermore, increasing your bounce-rate will severely effect your AdWords Quality Score. This what determines the cost of keyword bidding (should you decide to run PPC traffic to your page) and Google consider a high bounce-rate to be a negative factor.
How to fix it
It’s quite simple; remove all external links. If you want to provide visitors with additional information you think might improve your chances of conversion, then by all means include it on your page, so long as it remains below the fold and doesn’t conflict with your call-to-action. Sometimes it’s better to ‘say’ everything that needs to be said right there and then.
3. Icons that are too distracting
Icons on landing pages can go a long ways towards illustrating the message behind your copy in a clear, quick, understandable manner, without taking up too much visual space – and that’s when used correctly. Used incorrectly, however, and they can do more harm than good, appearing to be something ‘more’ than they actually are.
Why is this important?
Every element on your page is part of a hierarchical structure of importance, with the call-to-action being nearest to the top. The importance of these elements is suggested by how easy to spot they are, prompting an actionable response from the user. Icons that appear equally (or more important) than the CTA can prove to be a unnecessary distraction, and sometimes cause confusion about the intended action visitors are asked to perform.
How to fix it
Start by avoiding using icons altogether, if they’re not entirely necessary. Concentrate on consolidating your copy into clear, easy to read bullet-points that get your point across straightaway. Otherwise grayscale your icons to ensure they don’t conflict with the color of your CTA Button in any way. Even if your icons are not the same color as your CTA Button, this can still water-down the gravitas of what should be the most important element on the page.
4. Not mentioning your ‘offer’ in the headline or subheader
Alongside the promotion of your product or business, most landing pages will also have some sort of ‘offer’ attached as a way of incentivising visitors into completing an action (such as downloading a demo, or requesting a free consultation, etc). This is a major part of your message and needs to be included in your headline, or at the very least in your subheader.
Why is this important?
When visitors first arrive, they’re not just looking for relevance, they also want to see some immediate benefit of sticking with your landing page. If your give it to them within the first few seconds of arriving, then it validates their decision to continue with the rest of your copy and find out more about what you’ve got to say – it’s basically offering an incentive for their time.
Moreover, your ‘offer’ will imply some form of action that needs to be taken (see above) and gives visitors a clearer idea of what they need to do on your page.
How to fix it
Make it rule to include the the ‘offer’ somewhere in your header. You could experiment by leading with it, or tie it in with the ‘relevance’ aspect of your headline.
5. There’s a lack of ‘human presence’ on your landing page
Landing pages, just like most webpages and online advertisements, are static environments that offer little recourse in the way of user engagement. This can be solved by occupying your page with a “human presence”.
Why is this important?
Remember when we spoke about the importance of identity when it comes to online transactions? Well, the same logic basically applies here – only on a more complex, psychological level.
Having a solid human presence on your landing page is a powerful tool, as it plays toward a multitude of common user behaviors: it can help to establish trust in your company, establish a personal connection between your product and the customer, and help to alleviate doubts the customer may have about their decision to purchase. Without going into too much detail, people trust other people and value their opinions, especially when faced with an uncertainty (such as performing an online transaction) so it’s good to have somebody on your page that customers can refer to.
How to fix it
A friendly face can go a long way, so try to include pictures of people in your landing page imagery – either as representatives of your company, or as representatives of your customer base. This is what we like to call the 3 faces of landing page optimization and can go a long way towards increasing your conversion rate.
Social proof, particularly from real people who your customers can identify with, are also a great way of building a sort of community or ‘human activity’ around your company and your product.
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