3 Reasons Your Landing Pages Suck & How to Fix Them

Landing pages are effective lead generators. Dell’s conversion rates, for example, increased by 300% when they tested their landing page impact against their website page power. Why is it then that only 13% of marketers rate their landing page optimization strategy as very effective? Simply put, you’re doing them wrong.

Remember this: your user’s hand is always on the exit button. Your mission? When creating each element of your landing page, think: How do I inch their mouse a little further away from the x and a little bit closer to my call to action? Don’t worry though, you’re not alone. Below we’ll show you all the crazy things you’re doing wrong and, of course, tell you the not-so-crazy ways of how to fix them.

1. Your Headline Offers Nothing. That’s Silly.

People need to understand what you’re offering immediately. If they don’t see what they want (and see it fast) they’ll be happy to bounce right back off your page. Don’t get me wrong – this doesn’t mean you have to rush to create a discount, competition or freebie. It simply means that your headline needs to instantly communicate your value proposition. Otherwise, why should a potential customer care?

There are plenty of value propositions you can choose from. For example, are you offering to save people time, to fix something, to educate them or to give them a little fun? Is there a clear distinction between what you’re offering and what what your competitor is offering? There should be. KissMetrics get it right. Check out their example below.

The Epic Example of a Hard Hitting Headline:

Why we like it: It’s clear, it’s simple, it’s fun, it makes us want to take action.

2. Your Copy is a Rambling Mess. Oh Dear.

If you’ve ever listened to someone ramble on during a story you’ll know how irritating it can be. The true essence of what they are trying to say is lost amongst the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and ‘actuallys’. The problem? They can’t remember the exact events that occurred and it’s all coming out in a rather rambly mess. The whole time you’re thinking, ‘Get to the point.’ They’ve lost you because they’re not answering one fundamental question: ‘Why should my audience care?’

As human beings we are selfish, regardless of how kind or patient we may be. We like stories, sure, but we love stories that involve us. As a marketer, you’re crazy if you think you can create a landing page that doesn’t involve your reader. Your landing page narrative should be clear, concise and get to the frickin’ point. Yep, that’s the benefits. Check out HubSpot’s genius example below.

The Landing Page Story Told Right:

Why we like it: it involves us and tells us why we should care, the benefits are scannable.

There’s no Logical Path. That’s Crazy.

Bad landing pages are difficult to navigate and offer little direction. Do you know what happens when your reader gets lost? They get out. If you’re sending potential leads on a scavenger hunt to search for your call to actions, you might be a little crazy. Your design should be so obvious and simple that anyone can understand what needs to be clicked, what needs to be filled out, who needs to be contacted..

Put it in bold, put it in orange, scrawl it across the page – scream at them, do something because they’re just about to leave. Oh and stop interrupting your user’s path with pop ups. They are nasty speed bumps that simply get in the way when your customer is trying to get to their destination. Check out TaskEasy’s example below for an effective and attention-grabbing landing page.

A Clear and Logical Landing Page:

Why we like it: we get it, we know what we have to do, it grabs our attention.

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