The Landing Page Lowdown – How to Keep and Convert Readers

Research has shown that from the moment a reader lands on your website for the very first time, you have about 30 seconds or so to seal the deal. If they choose to stay after this, chances are they will commit to making a purchase or getting on board with whatever it is you do. To the contrary, if they decide to up-sticks and leave in these 30 seonds, they won’t be back again…ever.That’s why for all the amazing content you can produce and fantastic products you can come up with, nothing is more important than your landing pages. These really are the first impressions that count more than anything, which means that if you don’t have a captivating and compelling landing page, all the time and effort the best SEO services in the world can throw at the site will come to nothing.      So with this in mind, here’s a look at the golden rules you need to follow in order to make sure that once your readers head your way, they stay there long enough to be of value to you:HeadersThe right header on your landing page encourages further reading, while the wrong header ensures immediate departure. Don’t try to be too clever, don’t make it complicated and make sure that it accurately represents what’s to follow. It needs to be the tagline to your brand, product and/or service which in the space of a few words tells them what you’re all about. It’s not an easy job admittedly, but technically is just as, if not more important than the rest of the text that follows.Keep It ConciseDon’t ever overload your landing pages with too much content as even if what they need to know is in the second line, they won’t bother reading that far. It’s so off-putting to see what looks like a ‘needle in the haystack’ website where you have to hunt for what you really want. Leave the bumf for other pages and keep this one clean and concise.Break it UpOr if for any reason you have no choice but to include a ton of information, be sure to break it up into as many bite-sized chunks as possible. This immediately looks more appealing and digestible for the reader and increases the chance they’ll actually bother reading the rest.Avoid ClutterIt’s not just about the text either – make plenty of effort to ensure that your landing pages aren’t too full of other filler like pictures, videos, flashing lights, adverts and so on and so forth. It’s all about them getting a message over to your readers as quickly and effectively as possible – leave the flashy stuff for later.Show Them the WayAnd finally, you need to make it very, very easy for them to take the next steps but at the same time avoid looking pushy. For example, you could put a single “Buy Now” or “Sign Up” button at the end of the text that’s easy to see from a mile away, but don’t go putting them all over the place and looking desperate for their business…even if you are.