There is a common misbelief in search engine and conversion optimization that stuffing a page to the gills with copy and calls to action is the way to increase conversion rates. In reality, simple, focused landing pages help viewers concentrate on the offer and decide if it’s right for them, leading to more, and better quality, conversions. Landing pages should have a singular focus—the offer, the request for more information, the consultation form—and every element on the landing page should be directly related to that focus.
Here are four elements you should remove from your landing pages to reduce audience confusion and increase conversions.
1. Distracting Backgrounds
Don’t be afraid of white space on your landing pages. Busy, patterned, or moving backgrounds can be distracting, taking away time and energy from the part of the page you want the audience to focus on. White space gives readers’ eyes a way to relax and also to concentrate on the main point of the landing page—the offer.
2. Unimportant Information
A landing page should only have the most vital information at hand. There is no need to expound on the bells and whistles of your offer, product, or service. Introduce the audience to the offer, explain what they should expect once they fill out the form, and add a relevant image if possible. Whet their appetite for the offer, don’t give them the whole meal.
3. Useless Links
Since a landing page should only be directing a reader to complete one action, having any other links on the page serve as a distraction. The navigation should be removed, as well as any links in the footer. Once a person has completed the action on the page, links can once again be available on the thank you page or inline message to direct them back to your site.
4. Too Many Calls to Action
Just like you don’t want to give readers an out by keeping links on the page, you also don’t want to have multiple call-to-action buttons. It confuses the reader as to what they’re supposed to do and the landing page should make it obviously clear what one action the user is expected to make. Some calls to action might not even seem like they would be distracting, like clicking play on an embedded video or a Facebook follow link. These other calls to action can be on the thank you page or on their own landing page.
Removing these four elements will help reduce confusion and increase conversions. A landing page should be about one thing and one thing only, whether a content offer or a free demo. Get rid of anything on the landing page that doesn’t clearly relate and support that one goal of the page.
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