Build, Publish & A/B Test Landing Pages Without IT
Avoid getting the FAIL stamp on your landing pages
In our free marketing eBook “101 Landing Page Optimization Tips“, I discussed building good habits by creating a best practices checklist for your landing pages. It can be a great way to ensure you don’t repeat your mistakes.
However, best practices are only as good as your understanding of them, and sometimes the way to become a better marketer or designer is simply to learn what not to do.
Our list of classic landing page blunders will help you avoid stepping in what can be considered the advertising equivalent of doggy doo.
Or – 7 ways you can step in landing page poop and come out smelling of conversions (that’s supposed to sound like a flower – nasturtiums perhaps).
If you’re serious about conversion marketing – that is, getting people to perform your intended action upon arrival at your landing page – then you have to get your point across quickly and effectively. Throw too many messages at your potential customer and they’ll feel like they’re herding cats (too much effort with very little chance of success).
To help visualize the problems that an overcrowded landing page can present, consider the example of purchasing a book in the brick and mortar world.
Basically, I want the whole page to be a massive logo. Can we do that?
We’ve all been there. You’re in the boardroom presenting your latest website or landing page design. You pulled an all-nighter to get it ready in time, and you’re mighty proud of how you’ve mixed contemporary Web 2.0 design principles with usability best practices and interaction design patterns. The meeting goes great, everyone claps, but just as you’re packing up, the boss says:
“I like it. It’s good. But I’m wondering if we can just <insert cliche design commentary here>?”
Driving the Trust highway... destination Conversionville!
Web visitors are a fickle bunch. They’ll stop by your landing page after becoming interested in your banner ad or Google AdWords ad, and then they’ll put on their “Judge Every Book By It’s Cover” hat and give you roughly 5 seconds to impress them.
If an FBI agent appeared at your door in t-shirt and jeans, and started questioning you without telling you who he was, you’d be rightfully concerned and probably wouldn’t open the door.
Wear a dapper black suit and have your ID clearly presented and you’ll at least get the time of day.
My point? Trust matters in first impressions.
Tick-tock, tick-tock. You blew it. Bye bye converting customer!
If a visitor to your landing page can’t figure out what you’re offering during the first 5 seconds, you’ve probably lost them. There’s simply too much to do online these days.
Some people say 8 seconds, some say that after 3 seconds the decision has been made. So for the sake of argument we’re going to stick in the middle and explore The 5 Second Rule as it applies landing pages.
For this series of posts we’re going to be taking a walk through Time Magazines “50 Best Sites of 2009″.
Get our free guide to landing page optimization
Landing pages are an established part of the online marketing conversion funnel, typically arrived at from a banner or Google AdWords ad.
If you are paying money for your advertising and your conversion rates aren’t as good as you’d like them to be, the simplest thing (well not entirely simple, but sensible) to do is to optimize your landing page.
Download our free white papers and reports for some bedtime conversion optimization reading.
Read our opinionated guide to landing page conversion.
Using Twitter to enhance, promote and measure your landing page campaigns.
A collection of articles about landing page fundamentals.
