The PPC Equation is Traffic + Conversion = Profits. While much ado is given about ‘traffic’, don’t forget about the importance of the landing page.
Knowing all the up-to-date tips, tricks and hacks regarding PPC marketing is great, but if your landing page fails to convert – most of your efforts will be in vain.
There are numerous elements to a landing page. On the micro level a simple change here or there can see conversions rise or fall by a few percent. Changing colors, re-arranging pictures or adjusting copy length are just 3 of a long list of variables I could talk about.
But all landing pages have the same anatomy, which I refer to as the Landing Page Sandwich. They are:
- Headline (upper crust)
- Copy (The meat and veg)
- Call-to-action (lower crust)
If you’re always having trouble creating landing pages and can’t afford a copywriter, this article is for you.
Landing Page Sandwich | The Headline
The headline is the first and arguably the most important part of a landing page. It’s at this point the prospect decides whether to stay or bounce. On average, around 80% of traffic choose the latter option when visiting landing pages:
Source: KISSmetrics
A headline has one single function: to keep the prospect on the page and to get them to read the copy. Digital Marketer do a great job with their landing page headline convincing prospects to take advantage of their lab-trial:
Who doesn’t want the ULTIMATE marketing shortcut… For Just $1?
This is a great example of an engaging headline, after reading that title, I certainly want to know more.
Landing Page Sandwich | The Copy
If the headline has does its job successfully, the baton is passed to the meat of your landing page. Now it’s time to convince your prospect of all the benefits they gain from taking your offer.
But here’s where most people fail because they don’t know the golden rule of copywriting.
Sell the benefits not the features!
Nobody cares that the iPhone 6 has a 1.3ghz processor or a dual-core 64-bit chip. They do care that the battery lasts 48 hours so they don’t have to charge it everyday, or the fact they can send SMS and conduct video calls with other Apple users for FREE.
The objective of the copy is to list all the benefits your offer provides, then address the features. Here’s the landing page for Unbounce:
The start of the copy lists all the benefits prospects receive from taking their free trial, then later in the copy they focus on the features.
Consumers don’t buy a Toyota Prius because it has a 38-module nickel metal hydride battery, they do so because it’s cheap to run and it saves them money.
When writing the copy of any landing page, focus on the benefits first and address the features later. Do this and you’ll convert more prospects.
Landing Page Sandwich | The Call-to-action
Amazing headline. Check.
Compelling copy. Check.
You’re on the home straight and all that’s left is to pick the perfect call-to-action (CTA). It’s also the easiest part of creating a landing page…if you know what you’re doing.
You’ll find articles all over the Web telling you how important CTAs are, and that changing the colour can double or triple conversions. The truth is that rarely happens and in most cases a CTA only needs to achieve two things. They are:
- Be clearly visible
- Look attractive
A great CTA sticks out like a sore thumb.
There is a simple eye test to do to determine whether a CTA is clearly visible or not. I’ll click on a landing page, take 3 steps back from my monitor and squint my eyes.
If the CTA does not stand out, it’s not clearly visible and I’ll go back to the drawing board. Here’s a landing page from Click Funnels that passes the test.
Making a button look attractive is not that difficult. You can use websites such as Canva or a CSS button generator to create CTAs effortlessly.
Summary Of The Landing Page Sandwich
While the length, amount of images, bullet points, color and format of a landing page all affect conversion rates, each of them fall into one of the three categories above.
Landing pages can be a difficult thing to master, but as long as you understand the principles behind them and how it all comes together, you won’t need to spend thousands of dollars on hiring copywriters or designers.
Nick Bridges
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