Key Elements Of A Winning Landing Page To Increase Conversion Rates

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There seems to be a pretty common question floating around concerning the rights and wrongs of landing page design and what key elements are needed to increase conversion rates? Today we are going to breakdown a winning landing page created for one enterprise SaaS client and why it worked to increase their conversion rate over 31%.

First, this particular client came to us because they weren’t seeing much growth around their demo requests and wanted us to optimize their landing pages to increase the conversion rates?.  The old pages after combing through them and looking at the data were found to be un-inviting and actually quite dated (They hadn’t changed anything on the page in MANY years.) Here is a quick shot of the old-style landing page.

The page was very “text-heavy” trying to fit a bunch of elements into a small space. Not terrible but can always be better.  It did have a few of the elements we will discuss below but not all of them.

As it sometimes happens instead of trying to fix individual elements on a page as simple as a basic lead generation page we set out to basically create a new one based on analytics, heatmap data, and of course some common best practices.

The result as stated earlier was an increase in conversion rates by more than 31%.

So What Winning Elements Are Needed To Increase Conversion Rates?

Let’s first take a look at the top portion of the page or as it is called, “above the fold.”

increase conversion ratesAs you can see this is a pretty clean design and the first thing you should take note of is there isn’t a menu bar on the page.  This is done on purpose as if the visitor is on this page we have them where we want them. Previous tests have also shown that adding distracting elements, such as a menu, on a page reduces conversion rates.

The page should serve one purpose and one purpose only and in this case, it is to request a demo.

Some of the key elements that can help increase conversion rates…

1.  Headline

We have said this a thousand times but the headline matters and it matters more than you think.  As you can see this is a pretty strong headline that hits a pain and it shows a clear benefit.  There is no question to the specific target market what this page is about at quick glance and what it will do for them.  That is the first major winning element to help increase conversion rates.

2. Image

Showcasing the product, what it looks like on the inside and get the visitor to picture themselves using the product is key.  We have run many tests on simply an image that has helped increase conversion rates.  Don’t underestimate the power of the simple image.

3.  A clear call to action

As we said previously, your landing page should serve one purpose and you shouldn’t ever assume your visitor knows what to do.  That is why in order to increase conversion rates you basically have to tell your visitor what you want them to do with a clear call to action.  Additionally, you will notice a BIG phone number in the upper right with a call to action…  Tests have shown that phone numbers can increase conversion rates and studies have shown that it can bring credibility to a company that may not have a globally established brand.

4.  Contrast

Contrast is important, especially when trying to push the visitor into taking the desired action.  On this page, you can see the request form is highlighted to make it stand out a little more.  Additionally, the submit button is a contrasting color to the rest of the page making it clearly visible.

5.  Sub-Headline

Sub-headlines can be important and have a big impact on your efforts to increase conversion rates.  It allows you to continue with the message of the headline and state supporting benefits and in this case the ease of use of the product.

Now that we have looked at the top of the page let’s take a look at some of the elements of the rest of the page.

increase conversion rates

6.  Benefit Image

It is important to convey the benefits of your product simply and easily for your website visitors.  Benefit driven images are a great way to do that.  As you can see in the above image we are showing the average improvement in “win-rate” before the software and after.  This also doubles as some proof of the product working and hits on a big goal of most of the target companies.

7.  Benefit driven bullets

If you have followed us for any period of time you know that visitors could care less about features of a product all they care about is what it will do for them and the end result.  When trying to increase conversion rates make sure you are leading with as much benefit as you possibly can.  Bullets are a great way to do that quickly as visitors don’t necessarily read online, they skim.

8. Proof

Has your product worked for other people? If so it may be important that you showcase that.  Nobody wants to be “first”.  They want to know that others have experienced the results being stated and it will solve their problems.

In this particular case, we used proof in several different ways…

  • How many customers?  “Over 1200 Sales Teams Rely On…”
  • Some of our happy clients (Logos showing the trusted brands that use the product)
  • Testimonial (Showcasing what an actual customer had to say about the product and the results)

Pretty powerful stuff.

Of course, we aren’t happy with only a 31% increase.  Here are some things we may test next to try to further increase conversion rates.

  • Different headlines
  • Stronger call to action telling the visitors to fill out the form
  • Bringing some more proof above the fold
  • Different image
  • Bigger form and a smaller image

Just to name a few.  There is a ton of stuff we can and will be testing on this page.  It’s only the beginning.

There you have it, a few winning landing page elements to help increase conversion rates.

Go out there and test like crazy to come up with your own winning combo.

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If you need help finding your winning landing page combo be sure to reach out to see how we may be able to help.  We will be happy to give you a no-obligation personalized site critique.