Landing Page
Ankur Goyal
Introduction
Are you tired of running exceptional marketing campaigns only to see them generating subpar results? We get it.
It can be frustrating.
But maybe it's not your campaigns—it's your landing page.
According to a HubSpot report, two out of three marketers report an average landing page conversion rate of less than 10%.
A well-optimized landing page can be the difference between a converted visitor and a high bounce rate. But creating a high-performing landing page goes beyond just nailing the aesthetics. It must be
User-friendly
Attention-grabbing
Functional
Valuable
Easy to navigate
The list goes on.
But with so many elements to perfect, where do you start?
Before you start pulling your hair out over every detail, we've crafted a detailed landing page checklist, grouped into seven actionable categories to boost conversions.
With this comprehensive checklist, all you need to do is tick away!
Why is a landing page checklist essential for optimization?
There are dozens of elements in a landing page that can influence conversions. A landing page checklist helps marketers focus on the most essential elements and maintain consistency across all campaigns. It provides a well-defined roadmap, ensuring every component aligns with the broader business goals, eliminating guesswork and the risk of overlooking details.
A landing page optimization checklist also makes it easier to
Track results
Make data-driven decisions
Ensure standardization across all pages
Enhance marketing ROI
Key elements every landing page should include
An optimized landing page must have an attention-grabbing copy, crisp graphics, social proof, and a clear CTA. All these elements play a critical role in guiding the visitor to the next step in the sales funnel and turning website traffic into conversions.
Here's a detailed breakdown of these landing page essentials:
1. Attention-grabbing copy
According to Time Magazine, a staggering 55% of website visitors spend less than 15 seconds on a site before deciding to stay or leave. This means you have a very small window to grab their attention. As such, your landing page copy must be clear, compelling, and, most importantly, deliver your message quickly. It must have:
An attention-grabbing headline that immediately highlights your value proposition
Crisp and concise subheadings to further strengthen your case
Action-oriented language without complicated jargon
As a rule of thumb, always focus on the benefits the user will receive instead of merely highlighting product features.
2. Crisp graphics
Using graphics on your landing page not only makes it more visually appealing but is also an effective way to boost conversions. You see, the human brain can process images in just 13 milliseconds. Moreover, Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience suggests people only remember 10% of what they read and 30% of what they see.
Therefore, using clever graphics along with a compelling copy can increase your chances of capturing visitors' attention and communicating your message instantly. But make sure the graphics you use
Are high-quality
Serve a purpose
Capture attention without being overwhelming
Don't clutter the landing page
3. Social proof
One of the most difficult aspects of converting visitors into customers is convincing them of the value your product offers. However, just saying your product is awesome won't necessarily cut it. You need to provide tangible proof to support your claim.
The best way to do this is through social proof like customer reviews, testimonials, case studies, and trust badges. In fact, 75% of customers read reviews and testimonials before making a purchase decision.
So, make sure to highlight real customer stories and experiences on your landing page to build credibility and encourage visitors to take action.
4. Clear CTA
A clear CTA is an essential landing page element as it guides visitors toward the next step in their journey. A HubSpot study reveals that clever, personalized CTAs convert 202% better than pages that use basic CTAs.
Besides personalization, you can further enhance the effectiveness of your CTAs by:
Ensuring they are direct and concise
Placing them strategically on the landing page
Selecting complimentary colors aligning with your branding
Using only one CTA per landing page to avoid confusion
Now that we have the essentials out of the way let's dive into the seven core categories of our landing page checklist:
1. SEO
2. Content and messaging
3. Design and layout
4. Technical considerations
5. Landing page audit
6. Mobile and device compatibility
7. Analyzing and improving performance
Landing page SEO checklist for improved visibility
No matter how amazing your landing page is, it is useless if it's hidden from search engines. Therefore, the first step to optimizing your landing page is ensuring it is easily discoverable by users. This is where SEO comes in. It helps you drive organic traffic to your website, ensuring visitors can find you through millions of pages.
Here's a comprehensive landing page SEO checklist to boost its visibility:
1. On-page SEO
Before publishing your landing page, make sure to optimize the following elements:
Keywords: Use relevant, high-intent keywords throughout your landing page, including the headline, body content, and image alt texts. Make sure to maintain a natural keyword density and avoid keyword stuffing.
Title tags: Create a compelling title tag to help search engines understand your page's intent. Keep it concise (within 70 characters) and include the primary keyword.
Meta descriptions: Write clear meta descriptions in 150-160 characters to summarize the page's content and encourage click-throughs.
Internal linking: Link to relevant pages within your site to enhance navigation and help search engines index your pages.
You can leverage tools like SEMrush to gain valuable insights and refine your on-page SEO efforts.
2. Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO helps you improve your site's authority and ranking through external factors. Here's an off-page SEO checklist for landing pages:
Backlinks: Seek high-quality backlinks from reputable websites as they signal search engines that your page is reliable and relevant. Research suggests 'why posts,' 'what posts,' and infographics receive 25.8% more backlinks than 'how-to posts' and videos.
Domain authority (DA): Besides acquiring backlinks from high DA websites, creating a guest blogging strategy for relevant, high DA websites can help you enhance your own domain authority.
Link building: Actively engage in link-building strategies to acquire more backlinks from reputable websites and improve your search rankings.
Media exposure: Connect with journalists and media outlets or blogs to enhance your brand's exposure and drive organic traffic.
3. Technical SEO
Finally, don't overlook technical SEO to help search engine crawlers easily read your content. Here's a quick checklist to nail technical SEO for landing pages:
Page speed: If your landing page takes forever to load, it can impact your SERP ranking and conversions. Google found that 53% of users abandon pages that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Use tools like Lighthouse or Google PageSpeed Insights to monitor and improve speed.
Mobile Optimization: With mobile devices making up over 50% of web traffic, it is critical to optimize your landing page for mobiles. Make sure it is responsive and user-friendly on all devices.
URL structure: Use clean, concise, and descriptive URLs with relevant keywords to improve SEO.
Sitemap: Add your landing page to the sitemap to enable search engines to discover and index your pages more efficiently.
Schema markup: Implement schema markup to help search engines understand your content and improve search engine visibility.
Technical SEO audit: Conduct regular technical SEO audits to pinpoint issues like broken links, crawl errors, or redirects that can harm your site's performance.
Content and messaging checklist for conversions
Your landing page's content and messaging play a major role in converting website visitors into customers. A clear message that resonates with your audience and acknowledges their pain points can grab their attention and persuade them to take action. Here's a landing page checklist to ensure consistent content and brand messaging and boost conversions:
4. Create a buyer's persona
Before crafting content for your landing page, it's important to understand who you're speaking to. This will help you craft tailored content that resonates with the right audience.
This is where a buyer's persona comes in. It is a fictional representation of your ideal audience, their pain points, preferences, and motivations. A buyer's persona ensures your message is targeted and speaks directly to your audience's needs, nudging them to the next step in the customer journey.
Here's how you can create a buyer's persona:
Evaluate your existing customers to understand similarities, such as industry, revenue, job position, etc.
Identify the specific issues your customers face and the factors that influence their purchase decisions.
Craft a profile of your ideal customer and map out the potential steps they may take in their customer journey.
5. Write a short yet effective headline
The headline is the first thing visitors will see on your landing page. Plus, when you only have 8 seconds to grab a visitor's attention, it becomes all the more crucial to create a crisp yet impactful headline that immediately conveys your message.
Here are some tips to create a compelling headline:
Keep it short, ideally under 10 words.
Avoid jargon and technical terms.
Highlight a benefit for the user.
Evoke curiosity to keep them reading for more details.
Address your audience's pain points.
6. Keep the content easy to understand
It's simple; the clearer and more direct your message is, the better your chances of conversion are. We've seen that you only have a few seconds to grab a visitor's attention before they bounce off your page. Moreover, 48% of website visitors leave a landing page without engaging with any marketing material. This means if they don't immediately understand what you're offering, they'll likely bounce.
But what exactly should you write? A good strategy is to highlight the potential benefits your customers can get from the product. Acknowledge their pain points and explain how your product can help. Make sure the content is easy to understand by following these tips:
Avoid jargon: Don't assume your audience understands technical terms or industry-specific jargon. Use simple language to ensure it is easily understandable.
Use crisp sentences: Long sentences can confuse readers. Stick to short, clear sentences to ensure your message is delivered exactly as you intend.
Improve scanability: Break up your content into subheadings and use bullet points to make it easier for visitors to scan through different sections.
Prioritize key information: Don't overwhelm visitors with the smallest of details. Prioritize the most important information and focus on customer benefits.
7. Match messaging with the ad copy
Nothing can turn off your visitors more quickly than clicking on an ad only to land on a completely unrelated page. However, some results do not have an obvious link to a landing page, which can leave visitors confused and frustrated. If your ad copy promises one thing but your landing page offers something completely different, visitors won't trust the page, increasing your bounce rate.
To avoid this:
Make sure the landing page mirrors the content and messaging of the landing page.
Use the same graphics, colors, and tone in your ad and landing page.
Ensure the offer in your ad is exactly what visitors find when they reach your landing page.
But what if you have multiple landing pages? Use AI-powered tools like Fibr AI to easily personalize landing pages at scale in minutes.
With Fibr AI, you can personalize texts and images across all landing pages to ensure they match your Google and Meta ads. The best part? You can create high-converting landing pages with our easy-to-use no-code editor.
8. Improve formatting
No matter how valuable your content is, if it's just a block of text, visitors will likely leave without reading a word. This is why it's important to format it properly to make the content skimmable and digestible.
Here are some practical tips to improve formatting:
Use clear H1, H2, and H3 tags.
Use visual aids like graphs or infographics to simplify complex data.
Break text into smaller paragraphs to enhance scanability.
Use a clean font and adequate line spacing to reduce visual strain.
Design and layout checklist for user experience
Perfecting the design and layout of your landing page is equally important as nailing the content. According to an Adobe study, 59% of consumers prefer beautifully designed pages over simple ones. So, if your landing page is unattractive or difficult to navigate, chances are they might stop engaging.
Follow this design and layout checklist to ensure your customers have a seamless user experience on your site:
9. Maintain a consistent style
Maintaining a consistent design style throughout your landing page not only looks professional but also boosts user trust and engagement. Moreover, it helps create a positive brand identity, preventing distractions. Here are some simple tips for maintaining a consistent style on your landing page:
Use a standardized font palette and size for headings, body text, and CTAs.
Stick to a standardized color palette that reflects your brand identity.
Maintain consistency across images and icons.
Make smart use of the white space for a clean layout.
10. Simplify navigation
Simplifying navigation is a crucial aspect of optimizing your landing page. Don't just take our word for it. According to a survey conducted by Clutch, 94% of users say easy navigation is the most useful feature of a website. This means if visitors don't quickly find what they are looking for, they'll quickly abandon your page, resulting in lost leads and conversions.
Easy navigation eliminates the hassle, ensuring users are focused on your value proposition and know what action to take. Here are some ways to simplify site navigation:
Keep it minimal: Avoid adding unnecessary information or links that can lead users away from the customer journey.
Use action-oriented labels: Make sure your CTAs are direct and tell the user what to do. For example, 'book your free demo' or 'claim your offer.'
Limit scrolling: Place all important information, including your headline, value proposition, and CTA above the fold, so visitors can read them without scrolling down the landing page.
11. Reduce the number of fields in forms
Think from the visitor's perspective. Filling out lengthy forms can often be time-consuming. Moreover, they may ask for information the visitor doesn't want to share or finds invasive. Reducing the number of fields in forms is a small but impactful change that can significantly boost landing page conversions.
A HubSpot research reveals forms with three fields had double the conversions as compared to those with 10 or more fields. By reducing the length of your forms, you can make it easier for users to complete their actions quickly and confidently. Here are some things to consider when reducing form fields:
Ask only for essentials: If the form is for a visitor who is just at the beginning of the customer journey, ask for only their name and email address instead of phone number or other demographic data.
Leverage autofill: Enable browser autofill functionality to accelerate the process.
Add a thank-you page: Redirect users to a customized "Thank You" page after they submit the form to make an upsell or place a second CTA.
Technical checklist for landing page compliance
A critical yet often overlooked aspect of landing page optimization is ensuring technical and legal compliance. With regulations tightening globally, it is essential to maintain compliance to avoid hefty penalties and legal repercussions. Here's a handy checklist to ensure landing page compliance:
12. Provide links for the privacy policy and terms and conditions
You must include links to the privacy policy and terms and conditions on your landing page for two reasons:
It is a legal requirement
It helps build customer trust
Depending on where you are operating, you must comply with data protection laws like:
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
FTC ad regulations
These links help you clearly communicate how you intend to collect, use, and store user data and protect your business from potential lawsuits. Place these links prominently in the footer of your landing page and use simple language for the policy and terms to build customer trust.
13. Make the landing page accessible for all users
Other legal standards you must abide by are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Following these regulations ensures that users with disabilities can engage with your landing page effectively.
Here are some tips to enhance your landing page accessibility:
Keyboard accessibility: Make sure every element on your landing page, including forms and CTAs, can be accessed using a keyboard.
Semantic HTML: Use proper tags for headings, lists, and buttons.
Responsive design: Create layouts that can adapt to different screen sizes and devices.
Alt text: Add descriptive alt text for all images.
14. Display compliance badges
Display compliance badges on your landing page to showcase your commitment to data security and build user trust. Elements such as SSL certificates and trust seals signal users that your site is credible, secure, and compliant with industry standards.
For example, websites without HTTPS can deter visitors. An SSL badge confirms that data exchanged between the user and your website is encrypted, reducing visitor hesitation. Similarly, if you've received earned trust seals from third-party entities like Norton, McAfee, or TRUSTe, display them prominently on the landing page to boost user confidence.
15. Allow users to opt-in/opt-out
Providing opt-in and opt-out mechanisms on your landing page is a mandatory requirement under the GDPR and CCPA. The regulations mandate businesses to obtain explicit consent from users before collecting personal data and allow them to withdraw consent at any time. Not following these laws can result in severe penalties and legal trouble. For example, non-compliance fines under GDPR can be up to €20 million or 4% of annual turnover, whichever is higher.
Follow these best practices for user opt-in/opt-out:
Use simple checkboxes to obtain consent.
Opt for granular consent forms. This means that instead of a blanket "I agree," users should be allowed to consent to specific elements like newsletters or email alerts.
Ensure users can easily withdraw their consent at any time through a simple process.
Use simple language to help users understand what they are consenting to.
Landing page audit checklist: Assessing effectiveness
Simply optimizing different elements of your landing page isn't enough. You need to regularly assess its performance to identify potential issues and improve conversions. Here's a simple checklist for seamless landing page audits:
16. Track conversion rate
One of the most crucial metrics to track the effectiveness of your landing page is the website's conversion rate. This will help you determine how well it is performing in terms of driving user action. Without understanding the conversion rate, it can be difficult to determine where your page might be failing to resonate with visitors.
A high conversion rate indicates your landing page optimization efforts are aligned with your audience's needs. However, if your conversion rate is lower than expected, you need to reevaluate all elements to understand the issue.
17. Track other key metrics
When auditing the effectiveness of your landing page, track the following metrics too to get a complete picture:
Bounce rate: A high bounce rate may indicate that users aren't engaging with your content or the landing page isn't meeting their expectations.
Return vs. new visitors: If a high number of visitors are returning to your website, it might indicate that they are resonating with your content and find it valuable. On the other hand, new visitors can give insights into your marketing efforts. If the number of new visitors is low or constantly declining, you might need to reconsider your strategies.
Cost per conversion: Understand how much you're spending to achieve a conversion. This will help you assess the ROI of your campaigns.
Page views: High page views indicate that users are engaging with your content, while low page views may suggest an issue with content or navigation.
Form abandonment: Track where users drop off in the process. Too many form fields or poor UX can cause people to bounce.
Sessions by source: Track where visitors come from—organic, paid, or social channels. This will help you identify and optimize the most effective channels.
18. Run A/B tests
A/B testing is a powerful tool for optimizing landing pages and improving conversion rates. It helps you compare two versions of a landing page to determine which one resonates the most with your audience. For example, you can test different headlines, CTAs, images, or forms.
In fact, A/B testing landing pages can generate 30-40% more leads. It provides a data-driven approach to measuring performance rather than relying on assumptions. Here's how you can run successful A/B tests:
Create a hypothesis for the results you want to achieve.
Test one element at a time to avoid confusion.
Make sure to run the test long enough to gather adequate data.
Measure outcomes using the above metrics.
Checklist for mobile and device compatibility
With over 50% of web traffic coming from mobiles, optimizing your landing page for mobile and device compatibility is not an option but a necessity. Users expect a seamless experience across all devices, whether it's smartphones, desktops, or tablets. A whopping 52% of users say they are less likely to interact with brands if they have a poor mobile experience.
As such, if your page doesn't perform as well on mobile and tablet as it does on a desktop, you will likely lose visitors.
Here's a landing page checklist to ensure mobile and device compatibility:
19. Create a responsive design
A responsive design ensures your landing page automatically adjusts to fit screens of various sizes, ensuring a seamless user experience. Without a responsive design, you risk losing valuable leads and, in turn, conversions. So, make sure your landing page:
Is built using fluid grids that can adapt to different screen sizes.
Has scalable images and media
Can accommodate touch-friendly features
20. Embrace device-agnostic shopping for eCommerce
If you run an eCommerce, don't miss out on device-agnostic shopping. It enables customers to browse, compare, and purchase products seamlessly on any device while retaining their shopping carts. Device-agnostic shopping ensures smooth transitions between devices without losing functionality.
Make sure to:
Optimize checkout flows for all screen sizes.
Enable features like saved carts and account-based preferences so users can pick up where they left off.
Use lightweight coding practices to reduce page load times.
Conduct usability tests for a wide range of devices to identify and fix pain points.
Analyzing and improving landing page performance using the checklist
Although we've equipped you with a highly comprehensive checklist, it's important to remember that every business has unique goals and audiences. And so a one-size-fits-all approach won't always deliver the best results. Here's how you can use this landing page checklist as a guide to analyze and improve performance:
1. Prioritize elements most relevant to you
When following this checklist, prioritize elements that directly align with your business goals and audience preferences. For example, an e-commerce site may prioritize high-quality visuals and secure payment badges, while a SaaS business might focus on clear, benefit-driven copy and free trial forms. This will help you pick the right metrics to track and run appropriate A/B tests to refine these priorities further.
2. Don't be afraid to iterate
This checklist provides a solid base for your landing page optimization efforts. However, real-world user behavior is complex and may vary drastically depending on your business or industry. So, make sure to collect actionable data and use it to gain insights into areas of improvement. A/B testing is another effective way to test variations and determine what works best for you.
3. Leverage AI-powered tools
Level up your landing page optimization efforts by using advanced AI-powered tools. These tools can instantly analyze vast amounts of data, helping you make faster, smarter decisions to enhance conversion rates. For example, with Fibr AI, you can personalize landing pages at scale to ensure they mirror the message of the ad copy. This way, when users arrive on the landing page, they get exactly what they expect, increasing their chances of conversion.
Using a checklist for optimized landing page success
Optimizing your landing page requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and data-driven insights. This comprehensive checklist will help you nail all these elements to create high-performing landing pages tailored to your business goals.
From refining content and design to ensuring compliance and mobile compatibility, perfecting every detail will help you enhance user experience and drive conversions. But why stop at just good landing pages when you can create extraordinary ones?
Forget the worry of perfecting every landing page element manually—Fibr AI has you covered. With Fibr, you can create perfectly personalized landing pages effortlessly for every audience, ensuring your message resonates and drives results.
Sign up today and take the first step toward landing page perfection!
FAQs
1. What are the key elements of a landing page?
The key elements of a landing page include an attention-grabbing copy, crisp graphics, social proof, and a clear CTA. They play a significant role in guiding the visitor to the next step and boosting conversions.
2. How do you run a landing page audit?
To run a landing page audit, track key metrics like the conversion rate, bounce rate, page views, cost per conversion, return vs. new visitors, form abandonment, and sessions by source. You must also run A/B tests to determine what resonates the most with your users.
