Getting traffic is great.
But, do you know what’s even better?
Converting that traffic into leads, sales and dollars in your bank account.
Whether you manage your own paid advertising accounts or hire an advertising agency to do it for you, the landing page you send your traffic to is a huge part of the success you have with online marketing.
Now, to be sure, the type of business you’re in and what action you want a visitor to your landing page to take will influence the design of the page. Obviously a landing page for a tech company focused on generating downloads of their whitepaper is gonna look different from the landing page for an e-commerce site promoting a special.
In this article, we’re going to focus on a landing page template I’ve used successfully for a number of local service businesses. Mainly to generate contact form submissions and phone calls to set an appointment, get an estimate, sign up for a free consultation, etc.
However, this same general page template can be used for a number of different businesses.
That said, two disclaimers before jumping into the actual template.
One, you have to test these things. This template (or any other you find online) may not work well for you biz/situation. There’s no such thing as a perfect template, your mileage may vary, past performance isn’t a guarantee of future success, yada, yada, yada.
And, two, your landing page is only as good as the copy on the page. So if the words on the landing page aren’t compelling, no template in the world is going to rescue you.
Okay, with that behind us, let’s take a look at the template and then I’ll walk you through each section below.
Header
Keep the header on your page narrow. It should not dominate the precious real estate at the top of your site.
Place your logo on the left (keep it on the smaller side).
You can put a very short description of what your company does below the logo. This should be focused on what your company actually does and not be some meaningless, cutesy slogan. Visitors (especially from paid traffic) have short attention spans so you want this description to immediately convey to them that they’re in the right place for what they’re searching for.
Place a call to action on the right side of the header. If it’s a phone number, put some action words around it such as “Call Today For a Free Estimate/Consultation”.
Headline
This is the most important copy on the page. Your headline should focus on the main benefit/value proposition you offer.
The headline’s job is to capture the interest and attention of those who visit your page so they want to check out more of the page.
(By the way, when it comes to paid advertising campaigns specifically, you may find that the closer your headline matches the messaging in your ad, the better of a response you’ll get.)
Video/Image
A good video can be a great addition to your landing page. Videos tend to engage site visitors more and can keep them on your landing page longer. One important tip for video if you use it… make sure there is a clear call-to-action in the video that tells people what you want them to do.
If you don’t use a video, you can use an image in this space. Just make sure it’s one relevant to your product/service/company.
Two tips for images:
One, stay away from stock photos.
And, two, place a caption under the image. That text will be one of the most read copy on the landing page so put it to good use!
Contact/Opt-In Form
On the right side of your landing page, above the fold (ie. the part of the landing page a site visitor sees without having to scroll), is an ideal spot for your contact/opt-in form.
Above the form, put benefit-focused focused copy. Copy that tells visitors what they’d be signing up for and what it’s a good idea for them to do so.
Also, the copy on your “Submit” button under your form matters. Avoid using the generic “Click Here” or “Submit” text. Instead, use benefit oriented text such as “Get Your Free Estimate” or “Claim Your No Obligation Consultation”.
Lastly with the contact form, Google wants to see a privacy statement of some kind directly under the form. They want to make sure you’re not about to share people’s contact info over with male enhancement pill salesmen, Nigerian princes and/or Communists.
The Rest of the Page
Everything mentioned above should be, well, above-the-fold of your landing page (at least when looking at it on a laptop/desktop).
So before any scrolling takes place, you’ve given your landing page visitors information about who you are, what you can do for them, how to contact you and a reason to do so.
If you get this in place, you’ll already be well ahead of most of the competition.
Now let’s take a look at what happens below the fold on your landing page.
Copy / Bullet Points
This part of the landing page is under the video/image. It’s where you can elaborate on how you can help the people who clicked on your pay per click ad.
Including a 3-4 bullet points in this section is a great idea cuz many people don’t like to read. They prefer to skim and bullet points will get their attention… so make them count!
But you will need more than just a few bullet points. One reason is that your best prospects will want to read more about how you can help them so you want to give them enough info to make them feel good about contacting you.
Another reason is, again, to keep Google happy. When you’re using a landing page for PPC or SEO purposes, Google likes to see unique content on the page. And a good bit of it too which means 300 – 500 words of copy.
The “Proof” Zone
This is the section where you can brag about how awesome you are. Not in an obnoxious way, mind you. In a way that demonstrates why people should trust you and shows you are credible. Things to include in this section include testimonials as well as logos of well known clients and/or media outlets you’ve been featured on.
Another Call To Action
At the very bottom of the page, include another call to action. Put your phone number here, remind people they can also fill out a form, or tell them again what action you want them to take.
The “Keep Google Happy” Footer
If this is a landing page for Google AdWords traffic, we have to keep Google happy. And, as part of that, you’ll need to have a footer with some links to information Google wants to see on landing pages.
These are links to the Home, Contact, About, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service pages on your website. Not all of these or necessary, but you need at least a few of them.
So there you have it! A simple, effective, and proven PPC landing page template. Feel free to put it to use for your business’ website and see if it helps you convert more PPC traffic into quality leads and sales!
