Hello Indiana. In my last email, I promised to explain why your landing pages are underperforming. This is crucial. We need to know why they're not converting. Only then can we take the right steps to improve and enhance your results.
With that in mind, let's dive into the 9 factors that cause landing pages to underperform and fail to convert visitors. We begin with the first, and arguably most important factor - a lack of clarity about what is being offered.
An Unclear Value Proposition
There is some evidence to suggest that the average person will spend approximately 8 seconds evaluating a page. That means we have 8 seconds to clearly communicate what we're offering and why they should care.
Later in this course, we will look at crafting your value proposition. But, for now, all you need to know is that if the value proposition is unclear, visitors will quickly leave the page and not convert.
Of course, this need for concise clarity does not just apply to your value proposition.
They focus on headings, subheadings, and calls to action. They look for images too. They hunt for that one bit of information that answers their question or addresses their concern. Web copy is often too long, wordy, or fails to quickly communicate the key benefits. In such cases, visitors will lose interest and abandon the page, negatively impacting your conversion rate.
But there is another nuance in the copy that you also need to consider.
A Failure to Match Expectations
A landing page does not exist in isolation. It is one step in a larger customer journey, and the user will arrive on it with certain expectations. So, both the copy and visuals must be relevant to previous steps. They must meet the expectations set earlier.
For example, it's so important that a landing page is closely tied to the ad that led people to the page. It should reflect the wording, imagery, and offer that the ad outlines.
Unfortunately, the landing page often fails to match the advertisement. This disconnect undermines trust and damages the user experience. This is typically because the campaign is testing a plethora of ads to see what works best, but not putting the same effort into the landing page.
Which brings me nicely onto the next factor - a lack of research and testing.
A Lack of Research and Testing
Landing pages often end up as the weak link in campaigns. They generally receive far less testing than the rest of the campaign.
The chances of getting your landing page perfect the first time are zero. You can only refine the page by monitoring its performance. You must observe user behavior and iterate. This is how you can maximize conversions.
Your landing page could be underperforming for all kinds of reasons, and you may be completely unaware. Many users might not even get as far as your landing page if things are particularly bad. They may simply find it inaccessible.
Poor Accessibility
Most people think of disability when you mention the word accessibility. Although you shouldn't underestimate the spending power of disabled users, that is not what I mean in this context.
I am referring to the fact that many pages are inaccessible to users due to slow load times or a failure to be compatible with their device of choice.
Even if someone can successfully access your landing page, usability hurdles can quickly drive them away.
Usability Hurdles
Hundreds of tiny usability issues can hurt a landing page. They cause high bounce rates and low conversions. Each issue is minor. But, together they lead users to throw up their hands in frustration.
From frustrating forms to confusing layouts, each hurdle can undermine the user experience. Together, they prevent visitors from taking the desired action.
Often the call to action itself can be part of the problem.
Confusing Calls to Action
Unsurprisingly, there is both an art and a science to creating a compelling call to action. However, believe it or not, the challenges surrounding calls to action are more fundamental than that.
Too often landing pages do not make it clear what call to action they want users to complete. In fact, there are often competing calls to action fighting for the user's attention.
From "follow us on social" to "sign up to our newsletter", some pages will have many actions. This lack of a clear, single call to action causes confusion and reduces the chance of the visitor converting.
Of course, the likelihood of someone completing a call to action will be very much dependent on how much they trust you.
A Lack of Trust
Many focus on pushing people through their campaign funnel at the cost of all else. They, therefore, fail to do the hard work needed to build trust with their audience. Sure, they add some social proof. They also highlight their certifications or awards. But, this is often superficial. It fails to truly build the trust needed for high-converting landing pages.
The problem is that users have learned not to trust social proof anymore. We need to be more creative in the ways we utilize it to ensure that it does its job of building credibility rather than undermining it further.
Not that social proof is the only way of building trust. Addressing people's concerns and objections is also crucial.
Poor Objection Handlings
Users are rightly cautious when considering acting online. They have questions that they want answered and concerns that they need addressing. If you fail to adequately address these objections, they will fail to act.
But organizations are often reticent to tackle these objections head-on for fear of planting the concerns in people's heads. Instead, they ignore the problem. Or, they make vague statements. These fail to ease the user's doubts and hesitations.
A Bleak Picture?
You might be forgiven for thinking I have painted a rather bleak picture of the challenges facing landing pages. However, the good news is that with the right approach, these issues can be effectively addressed. Moreover, these weaknesses in many landing pages leave ample room for improvement.
By addressing these issues (as we will be doing over the rest of this course) you improve the conversion rate of every future campaign you run. That is a wealth of opportunity waiting to be seized.
In the next email, we will start this journey by looking at the failure many landing pages have to meet expectations. We will explore ways to better link your landing page to your campaign. This will make it feel much more personal.
But, as always, before then, feel free to drop me an email with any questions, or even if you just want to pick my brain.
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