Our 20 Point Checklist for Building High Converting Landing Pages

by David Lawrence on 
May 28, 2019 | 
Design, Writing and Video, Digital Marketing Resources
David Lawrence

As marketers, we know our campaigns will often live or die based on the quality of the landing pages we send traffic to.

We use this checklist to ensure we are giving new campaigns the highest chance of success. It’s a list of best practices. This means it will point you in a direction we know has worked well for others. However, to know what will work for you, we’d encourage further discussion and testing. Best practice is simply a good place to start.

Here’s our 20 Point Checklist for building or optimising awesome landing pages. Enjoy!

1. Site Navigation and Links

Fewer options (or exits) on a page can increase conversions. But if ‘browsability’ is required by prospects, a single page may not convert them and they will bounce. What does your prospect need to make a decision? Should you include or remove site navigation?

2. Relevance

Does the headline or image confirm it is relevant? Prospects need to know immediately this is for them and their market. This can be a headline or an image.

3. Clarity

Ideally, the page presents a single message and a single offer. Specificity is key: generally, this is not the time to overwhelm or confuse people.

4. Page Speed

Slow page loads will kill your conversions. Check on Pingdom and Google PageSpeed Insights.

5. Tested on all devices

Pay particular attention to devices your prospects use from the data in Google Analytics.

6. Build urgency

Prospects are most likely to act when they think they are going to miss out.

7. Make a compelling offer

If appropriate (and it usually is) build an offer your prospects will value.

8. Effective UX

Is the page easy to follow? Does it meet minimum design standards for your prospect?

9. Simplicity

Can the average prospect understand exactly what you are offering in less than five seconds?

10. Compelling Headline & Subhead

The headline must be clear, concise and benefit rich. A subheading can assist with additional clarity.

11. The Button Must Stand Out

Make sure it looks like a button and that the colour is in contrast to the rest of the page.

12. Use Custom Button Text

'Submit' just won’t cut it. Don’t be scared of buttons with a lot of relevant words.

13. Social proof

Prospects just won’t take your word for it. What can you use from others to build credibility for your message or brand?

14. Use Visual Cues

Drawing the eye to a CTA or key page element using arrows or other items is effective.

15. Make The Hero Shot Count

If there is an offer or a lead magnet make it stand out with a meaningful image.

16. Minimal Form Fields

Only ask people for data you need (except in the cases where longer multi-stage forms increase engagement).

17. Source Congruency

Ideally, the landing page should match exactly the text and ad that brought them here.

18. Brand Consistency

Avoid cognitive dissonance – be consistent through the entire brand journey with how you look, what your core message is and how you describe yourself.

19. Visible Privacy and T&C Links

Reduce risk by letting people know you are legitimate.

20. Make sure the next action is clear

Make sure your prospect is in no doubt what it is you want them to do now. Complete a form? Click a link? Make a call? Make a purchase? Ideally, there is only a single action for them to take.

If you're interested in speaking to an experienced creative team fiull of experts in landing page design and optimisation then get in touch.

David Lawrence Featured Image
David Lawrence
Co-Founder & Managing Director | Rocket Agency

David Lawrence is the MD and Co-Founder of Rocket, an award-winning Australian digital marketing agency. He is also the co-author of the Amazon #1 best-selling marketing book 'Smarter Marketer'. David has presented at several events including Inbound, Search Marketing Summit, Mumbrella360, CEO Institute and a variety of seminars and in-house sessions.

David has built his expertise from a diverse career, starting with an economics degree before jumping into all things web in the late 90s.

Today, David is Rocket's Managing Director and is known for his ability to find clarity in the bigger picture. He is highly respected as a digital marketing authority, sharing his expertise with an extensive network here in Australia and around the world.

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