How to Optimize Landing Page Conversion Rates: Tips and Best Practices
A landing page is a dedicated web page that allows you to capture leads and convert visitors into customers. The landing page conversion rate is one of the key metrics used to gauge the effectiveness of a landing page. A high-converting landing page is critical for generating more leads and customers for your business. Even a small improvement in your landing page conversion rate can result in significant revenue gains. In this comprehensive guide, we will cover actionable tips and strategies to optimize your landing pages for higher conversion rates.
Key Takeaways
- The landing page conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that take a desired action on your landing page.
- A good conversion rate depends on your industry, but typically, 2-5% is considered decent.
- To calculate it, divide total conversions by total visitors and multiply by 100.
- Match your landing page to your ads through design, messaging and calls-to-action.
- Optimize above-the-fold content for quick scanning on mobile devices.
- Enhance visual appeal through images, video, social proof and clear copy.
- Improve page speed by optimizing images, using AMP and minimizing HTTP requests.
- Simplify navigation and remove distractions to focus on your offer.
- Conduct A/B testing and continue optimizing based on data and insights.
- Use lead generation best practices like minimal forms, privacy policies and thank you pages.
- Add video demonstrations and leverage scarcity and urgency when appropriate.
- Retarget abandoning visitors and optimize for organic search visibility.
- Continually track and measure results to iterate and improve over time.
What is a Landing Page Conversion Rate?
A landing page conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to a particular landing page that completes a desired goal or action.
For lead generation landing pages, the conversion event usually involves submitting a form or downloading content. For e-commerce sites, it could be adding a product to the cart or completing a purchase.
The landing page conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visitors to the page.
Landing Page Conversion Rate Formula:
Conversion Rate = (Total Conversions / Total Visitors) x 100
This landing page conversion rate metric indicates how effective your landing page is at turning visitors into leads or customers.
Definition of a Good Landing Page Conversion Rate
So what is considered a good landing page conversion rate? There is no single benchmark that applies to all businesses. The conversion rate varies significantly based on your industry, product/service, target audience, and landing page objectives.
However, the table below provides a general reference point of decent conversion rate percentages:
| Industry/Niche | Good Conversion Rate |
| Software or SaaS | 2-3% |
| Lead Generation | 4-7% |
| Ecommerce | 1-3% |
| Financial Services | 1-2% |
| Nonprofits | 1-2% |
Anything above 5% is typically excellent for most industries. Top-converting landing pages can achieve 10% or higher conversion rates through extensive optimization.
The most effective way to define a “good” conversion rate is to compare it against your historical performance and run A/B tests to identify improvement opportunities. Focus on continuously increasing your conversion rates over time.
How to Calculate the Landing Page Conversion Rate
Figuring out your overall landing page conversion rate is simple. You need two key pieces of information:
1. Total Number of Conversions
This is the total number of conversions generated from the landing page over a specified period. A conversion could be a form submission, content download, purchase, or any other desired action.
2. Total Number of Visitors
This is the total number of visitors to the landing page over the same period. Tools like Google Analytics can provide this data.
Once you have these two figures, simply divide the total conversions by the total visitors and multiply by 100 to calculate your conversion rate percentage.
For example, if your landing page received 1,000 visitors last month and generated 50 conversions, the conversion rate would be:
(50 conversions / 1,000 visitors) x 100 = 5% conversion rate
By tracking this metric in your analytics dashboard over time, you can see how changes and optimizations influence your landing page’s ability to convert visitors.
Now let’s get into actionable tips to improve your landing page conversion rates.
15 Ways to Improve Landing Page Conversion Rates
Here are proven best practices for optimizing your landing pages to increase conversion rates:
- Ensure Message-Ad Match
- Optimize Above the Fold Content
- Enhance Visual Appeal
- Improve Page Speed and Performance
- Simplify the Landing Page
- Leverage Testing and Optimization
- Lead Generation Specific Tips
- Consider Adding Video
- Choose One Clear Call-to-Action
- Use Urgency and Scarcity to Drive Action
- Strategically Place Social Proof
- Make It Easy to Contact You
- Retarget Abandoning Visitors
- Optimize for Search Engine Visibility
- Continually Measure and Iterate
#1 Ensure Message-Ad Match
Your landing page should continue the messaging and value proposition from your advertisements or other visitor acquisition sources. This consistent experience retains visitors once they click through to your page.
- Match landing page copy and design to advertising: The header, copy, images and calls-to-action should align with the messaging in your ads or email campaigns directing traffic to the page. Avoid confusing visitors with a mismatch.
- Use dynamic text replacement for different ad campaigns: Tools like Unbounce allow you to automatically change landing page elements based on info like the visitor’s source campaign. This maintains congruency for visitors referred from various ads.
#2 Optimize Above the Fold Content
The area visible to visitors immediately upon landing, without having to scroll down, is crucial for piquing interest.
- Keep call-to-action visible and prominent: Locate your primary CTA in the upper half or top third of the page where it can be seen immediately.
- Use directional cues to draw attention: Arrows, lines or text can guide visitors to take the intended actions you want them to take.
- Design for different device sizes: Account for how your above-the-fold content appears on mobile devices vs desktop screens, optimizing for easy scanning on both.
#3 Enhance Visual Appeal
Compelling images, videos, and illustrations make your landing page more visually engaging to increase click-through and conversion rates.
- Showcase product/service in action: Display your offering as being actively used via photos, video, or animated GIFs. Demonstrate the value clearly.
- Include authentic social proof: Testimonials, customer reviews, case studies and logos add credibility to improve conversions.
- Use clear, compelling copy: The concise, benefit-driven copy presented in short paragraphs or bullet points is most effective.
#4 Improve Page Speed and Performance
Faster landing page load times mean higher conversions. Slow load times lead to high bounce rates.
- Optimize images and other assets: Compress and resize images for quick loading. Use tools like Kraken, TinyPNG, or Optimizilla.
- Consider using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): AMP, which significantly improves landing page speed. Develop an AMP version of key landing pages.
#5 Simplify the Landing Page
Clutter and distractions confuse visitors. Streamline your landing page to focus entirely on your conversion goal.
- Remove navigation and distractions: Limit links, navigation menus, and secondary content so visitors can focus only on converting.
- Use a clean, minimalist design: White space and minimal but targeted copy and multimedia allow for clear focus.
#6 Leverage Testing and Optimization
Continuously test and iterate your landing pages to improve conversion rates over time.
- Conduct A/B testing: A/B test changes like copy, headlines, layouts, images, and calls to action to see what resonates best with your audience.
- Continuously update and refine the landing page: Evolve your landing page based on insights from testing and changes in targeting and offerings.
#7 Lead Generation Specific Tips
For lead gen landing pages with contact forms, use these best practices:
- Use multi-step forms to reduce friction: Break long forms into shorter sections displayed across multiple screens or steps.
- Avoid manual data entry: Autofill data like name, company, and title when possible to expedite the completion of the form.
- Include a privacy policy: Clearly display your privacy policy to build visitor trust and transparency.
- Create a dedicated thank you page: After converting, send visitors to a branded thank you page, not just a generic confirmation.
#8 Consider Adding Video
Incorporating video into your visual content marketing strategy can significantly boost engagement, trust, and understanding among your audience.
- Demonstrate product/service in action: Show how your offering works or is used through demos and explainer videos.
- Increase engagement and conversions: Videos average higher engagement metrics which often correlates to more conversions.
#9 Choose One Clear Call-to-Action
Do not confuse visitors with multiple competing calls to action on your page.
- Avoid multiple CTAs that can distract or confuse: Stick to one obvious primary CTA, keeping secondary CTAs subtle.
- Ensure the primary CTA is the most prominent element: Use contrasting colors, size and placement to make your #1 CTA stand out.
#10 Use Urgency and Scarcity to Drive Action
Prompt visitors to act now by conveying limited availability or impending deadlines.
- Implement countdown timers or limited-time offers: Countdown timers apply urgency by showing an offer expiration.
- Highlight low stock levels or other scarcity cues: Notify viewers when stock, seats, or capacity are running out to spur action.
#11 Strategically Place Social Proof
Include credible social proof elements to establish trust and credibility.
- Customer testimonials and reviews: Positive customer quotes and stories build trust and credibility.
- Social media activity notifications: “Seen on…” or “As featured in…” logos demonstrate social verification.
- Display logos of trusted brands or clients: Showcase prominent companies you work with or serve.
#12 Make It Easy to Contact You
Remove barriers to engagement by providing easy contact options.
- Include a contact form or live chat widget: Allow visitors to reach out and connect conveniently.
- Provide clear contact information: Prominently display phone numbers, email addresses, and locations.
#13 Retarget Abandoning Visitors
Reduce shopping cart abandonment and bring back visitors who leave without converting via retargeting tactics.
- Use exit-intent popups or sticky bars: Detect when a visitor is about to leave and display a targeted offer.
- Offer incentives or discounts to re-engage: Provide exclusive deals to entice abandoning visitors to come back.
#14 Optimize for Search Engine Visibility
Design and content choices impact organic search performance.
- Conduct keyword research: Identify relevant keywords to target in content strategically.
- Optimize the page for SEO: Include keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and content.
- Ensure the page is mobile-friendly: Google factors mobile optimization into search rankings.
#15 Continually Measure and Iterate
Ongoing measurement, testing and improvement drives continual optimization.
- Track key conversion metrics: Monitor conversion rate trends to identify the impact of changes.
- Regularly test and experiment: Keep testing new layouts, copies, offers, and other elements.
- Use data to drive decisions: By embracing data driven decision making, you can identify the most effective areas for improvement and allocate resources more efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing your landing page conversion rates takes ongoing work, but every increase contributes directly to more leads and revenue.
Start by applying the tips outlined in this guide to make measurable improvements quickly. Then, conduct ongoing testing and refinement to continuously improve your landers and conversion rates over time.
Focus on rapidly implementing small changes like visual enhancements and copy tweaks initially to identify “quick wins” to help drive more significant optimization efforts. With a data-centric approach, you can maximize the leads and sales generated from your landing pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good landing page conversion rate?
A good conversion rate varies by industry, but 2-5% is generally decent. Top-performing landing pages can achieve 10% or higher through extensive optimization.
How do you instantly improve landing page conversion rates?
Quick ways to instantly improve conversion rates include prominently placing your CTA, simplifying navigation, matching page messaging to ads, and improving page speed.
What increases the time spent on landing pages?
Adding video, long-form content, social proof like testimonials, and clear contact options increases the time spent on landing pages, leading to higher conversions.
How important is mobile optimization?
This is extremely important. Over half of all traffic comes from mobile devices, so creating a responsive, mobile-optimized landing page is essential for high conversions.
Should you use popups on landing pages?
Exit-intent popups that display when someone is about to leave can be very effective at capturing abandoning visitors. However, avoid overusing popups that annoy visitors and hurt the user experience.
What makes the most effective call-to-action (CTA) button?
Compelling, benefit-focused copy, high-contrast colors strategically placed above the fold, and a sharp call to action (like “Start Free Trial” or “Buy Now”) make CTA buttons highly effective.
How do you write persuasive landing page copy?
Focus on your vs. I statements. Lead with the benefit. Use emotional triggers and urgency. Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Include credible social proof. Clearly explain the value proposition.
