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    The B2B SaaS Marketing Blog

    The Ultimate Landing Page Checklist

    Last updated: August 26th, 2016

    How are your landing pages performing? Are they lean, mean, lead-generating machines? Or are they just kind of sitting there, underperforming and underwhelming?

    Crafting the perfect landing page is an art and a science. You need to combine stylish and intuitive design elements, with every single element in place to push people to contact you.

    To help ensure the success of your next landing page, here’s a checklist to make sure your inbox fills with qualified leads. You can download the checklist here:

    Here’s a deeper dive into why these things are important.

    landing page checklist

    The Copy

    Let’s start with the headline, because that’s where everyone else starts.

    Your headline needs to:

    • Be clear and succinct
    • Grab people’s attention
    • Immediately mention any promotions or offers
    • Match the copy/ offer from the ad/ materials (if your ad promises 20% off, your headline needs to reflect that)

    The next part is your lead sentence, which is as important as the headline. Always start with a  question that hits a user/reader’s pain points (like we did in this article). A question plays a little trick on the brain, because the mind can’t help but answer it.

    As for the overall copy, keep things short and scan-able. Keep your most important parts at the top, so they’re hard to miss. You can also keep things digestible by using things like numbered lists or bullet points to break up long chunks of text. Like we did above.

    Also try to create some urgency in your copy, to establish FOMO (fear of missing out). Why do they have to act now? Is this a limited time offer? Is space limited? Will prices go up in a month? This drives the reader to act today.

    And finally, your copy should contain social proof. A little bit of “But don’t take our word for it.” This can take lots of forms such as:

    • Industry/ consumer awards
    • Badges or logos from industry certification or accreditation
    • Customer testimonials
    • Highlights or links to you being featured or quoted in the news.

    All of these things let the user know they’re about to make a great decision.  

    The Form

    Does the landing page have a single CTA? It should. And that single CTA should be to send people to a contact form. You want to get that email address. Even if they don’t complete the next step, you can follow up again. They’re in your funnel. But don’t ask for much more than essential information; the shorter the form, the better.

    Also, does the landing page have a clear next step? Tell users exactly what’s going to happen. Will contact be made by a phone call? An email? You should also use the microcopy on the form as a chance to diffuse any other worries. Like adding a quick blurb saying there’s no commitment, or they don’t need a credit card to sign up. Just something that could address anything that keeps people from contacting you today.

    Your form’s headline or subheading should also remind them of the deal/ value promotion, one more time, so they’re crystal clear on what they’re getting. And make sure this form is obvious and accessible from anywhere on the page. Some visual cues like arrows will also help drive people to the form.

    And lastly, don’t put a boring “Submit” label on your button. People hate that, and the numbers prove that forms with “Submit” convert far fewer leads. Use something actionable and exciting like “Book my free appointment” or “Reserve my space.”

    The Design & Layout

    The first question you need to ask is “Does this landing page speak to my lizard brain?”

    Your lizard brain is the part of your brain that craves simple and easy things. The lizard brain can think, but really doesn’t want to . We usually surf the web, which means the lizard brain is the gatekeeper to make purchasing decisions.

    Everything needs to be responsive, and lizard-level simple on your page. You should know exactly what’s going on in 5 seconds. Or you should be able to know this page is about, even if you’re squinting your eyes, or looking at the screen for 6 feet away.

    Related: Salesforce & HubSpot: How Using Both Tools Together Makes Marketing and Rev Ops More Effective

    This means the page needs to have the exact same color scheme, look and feel as the ads that send people here. It also needs to have images and videos that make sense. If you’re selling long distance savings, don’t feature an image of someone playing with their kids. It has to match your product and offer.

    Ask yourself “Can your 90-year-gramma use this landing page?”If the answer is no, you’re failing your users. Things need to be simple enough that a senior can know what this is, and what’s going on.

    The entire page’s purpose is to push people to that form, so there’s no need to have any top navigation, which could take people away from your offer. There only options need to be read what’s here, and then get in touch with you.

    Also, don’t forget the little things that help your SEO, like putting your keywords in the alt text for every image on the page.

    User Experience

    There are another of other things you can do to really make this a lizard-brain-friendly experience for the user, while taking steps to ensure users either book something today, or stay in your funnel.

    First of all, use smart fields on your form. A smart field is hidden if a user already has a value for the field. This makes sure you’re not asking the user for any information they have already provided or you already have.

    And second of all NEVER treat your Thank You Page as an afterthought. This means you give the user a clear message to confirm the form was successfully filled out. Don’t make them assume or guess that they did it correctly. Also, remind them of what they signed on for, and what happens next. If a member of your staff will follow up with them soon, give the user a rough timeline. If their free trial starts today, confirm it by giving them the date.

    Don’t forget to set up a thank you email that’s triggered by the successful completion of the page. It should contain any/ all the information above, and thank them for reaching out one more time. On average, thank you emails generate a 42% open rate and 14% CTR, compared to the general emails 12% open rate and 6% CTR.

    Want a condensed version of this? Download our landing page checklist, and check them all off on your next campaign.

    landing page checklist

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