Although Marketing Sherpa’s ‘Landing Page Handbook’ advises improving your landing page to gain conversion by around 40%, experience tells that optimized landing pages work even better – as high as 200% improvements in conversion rates.Here are a few time tested and proven tips you can use to optimize your landing page.

First Impression Matters a Lot

When a prospect starts scanning your landing page, it takes him/her just a few seconds to decide whether to bail out or to stick around. And those few seconds are spent in figuring out two things – (1) whether the page is crammed and cluttered and (2) Is it relevant to the search query? As for the former, you need to check the design, copy, type face/ size and form length to see to it that the page looks uncluttered and friendly. As for the latter, verify time and again to see that the page, particularly the headline directly connects to the search term.

Sell Your Offer

Your landing page never needs to sell your product or services. But it needs to sell your offer. So all you need to do is to focus your page about a solo call to action, like a free whitepaper or demo. Also, chuck off all extraneous company information.

Eliminate the Navigation

Since this is not your home page, you can jolly well eliminate the navigation. To be precise, navigation pulls attention off from your offer and conversion action. As a matter of fact, each link provides an allurement for the visitor to click away, instead of converting. Moreover, as your goal is to sell your offer, and all that those links can do is to reduce your conversion, use discretion to improve upon the picture.

Use Graphics Appropriately

Graphic no doubt are the biggest eye catchers; but that does not mean any image will work wonder for all contents. For instance, if you are selling automobile tires and your website displays lingerie, how do you expect your visitors to react to it? Not happily though, almost bordering disgust! Also, let people click the graphics (interesting ones) to avail more relative info about the product or services. It is important, too to provide catchy captions for the graphics.

Turn Your Content Scan-able

People seldom read landing pages, they just scan them. So, display your Content in bullet format so that people can get to the point sans a serious read. Also ensure that the copy sells your offer as a visitor scans the first three words of each bullet or paragraph. Put the keywords in bold type. You may also think in terms of using interactive elements like audio clips on your landing page to make it all the more interesting.

Ask Only What you Need to Know

Your landing page need not look like an insurance claim form where innumerable questions are asked about a client. All you probably need to know at this preliminary stage is the contact information, from which you can build the relationship over time. Studies have revealed that every field you ask in a landing page will inhibit your conversion rate. Therefore, try to gather as little information as you need to route the lead and keep in touch.

Take Them to Thank You Page

After a customer converts, take him/her to a thank you page. This is important for tracking the conversion. Moreover, it provides a great opportunity to deepen the relationship by making another offer, promoting your blog, asking for feedback, or running a poll. According to a recent survey report, up to 40% of prospects are found willing to share additional information after they convert.

Test, But do Not Indulge in Over-testing

Test the headline, captions (graphic), the submit button, form lengthiness and appropriateness of videos used. But do not indulge in over-testing. A good rule of thumb is to take the number of conversions you get per day and divide it by 10. Then take your testing period in weeks and divide that by 2. Multiply the two results together to get the number of versions you can confidently test in your testing period.