What visitors to your site are initially greeted with is profoundly important.
Just a few simple mistakes can leave a bad first impression, and studies have shown that initial perceptions are difficult to change. In order to make the right appearance first time, it's vital that you spend some time optimising your landing page.
According to various surveys, there are a couple of key indicators when it comes to ascertaining how well a site is received, giving an insight into what works best when it comes to website conversion rate optimisation:
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Visits to different pages on your site – by convincing your visitors to continue past the initial landing page, you're more likely to increase your sales. It's also worth considering how long users spend on each page in order to gain further insight.
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Low bounce rates – poorly designed landing pages will cause visitors to simply close the window or press the back button on their browser. Lower bounce rates mean that your landing page is attracting the right attention.
With this in mind, we'll take a look at some of the most common mistakes businesses make with their landing pages:
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Too many offers
Believe it or not, it's actually possible to bombard your potential customers with too many offers. Instead, it's worthwhile focusing on one tempting offer in order to achieve click-through success.
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Optimisation
Assuming your customers are going to view your site on a laptop is a recipe for disaster – likewise with the assumption that your users are viewing on a mobile device. Find a happy medium and ensure your landing page looks good, regardless of how your users are viewing it.
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Don't ignore the importance of keywords
Keep an eye on which keywords are working for you. The classics rarely go out of style; phrases like "deal" and "offer" are effective for driving clicks, so keep it simple, and avoid meandering phrases that are likely to confuse instead of entice.
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Information overload
There's really no need to list the full specifications of a product on an offers page. Instead of overloading your customers with too much information, give them a simple overview. Don't give everything away on the landing page – try and convince them to dive into your site instead.
