Introduction
Creating effective landing pages is crucial for successfully generating leads and driving sales. The landing page is often the first touchpoint between you and your potential customers. An optimized landing page that speaks directly to your target audience can grab attention, build trust, and motivate visitors to convert into leads.
However, designing landing pages that maximize conversions takes strategic planning. You need to intimately understand your audience, craft compelling content tailored to them, structure your page thoughtfully, and continuously test and optimize based on data. The Unicorn Platform landing page builder makes it easy for startups and SaaS companies to quickly build custom landing pages optimized for conversions.
In this article, we’ll explore tips and best practices for creating landing pages that convert visitors into leads and customers. You’ll learn how to:
- Conduct user research through surveys, interviews, and analytics to understand your target audience
- Create detailed customer personas and map their journey from awareness to purchase
- Craft relevant page content and messaging tailored specifically to your audience
- Optimize page layout and structure for clarity, hierarchy and conversion
- Add high-converting elements like forms, demos, and calls-to-action (CTAs)
- Continuously test and optimize pages using A/B testing and analytics
Let’s dive in and explore how you can design landing pages optimized for lead generation and sales.
Understanding Your Audience
The foundation of any effective landing page is an intimate understanding of your target audience. You need to know their pain points, motivations and goals in order to craft messaging that resonates.
Conduct In-Depth User Research
Leverage surveys, interviews, focus groups and tools like Google Analytics to gain insights into your audience. Ask specific questions to understand their challenges, reasons for purchasing, and what motivates them. Use these insights to refine your customer avatar.
The Unicorn Platform provides built-in A/B testing to help further optimize landing pages to your specific audience.
Define Detailed Buyer Personas
Create a detailed “buyer persona” outlining demographics, psychographics, goals, challenges and motivations. Give them a name and visual to make them real. Use Unicorn Platform's persona templates as a starting point, but customize with details unique to your audience.
Map the Entire Customer Journey
Outline the typical journey a customer takes from initial awareness to becoming a buyer. Understand the role your landing page plays in moving leads down the funnel. Identify friction points where they fall out.
Unicorn Platform integrates with CRMs and email services to help track customer journeys end-to-end.
Crafting Compelling Page Content
Once you understand your audience, craft landing page content specifically tailored to them. Focus on clear messaging, concise copy, and a straightforward design.
Concise, Scannable Copy
Address visitors directly in a familiar, conversational tone. Break up long paragraphs and be concise. Communicate one clear message focused on their needs.
Unicorn Platform provides professional copywriting and editing services to help refine page content.
Attention-Grabbing Headlines
Craft compelling headlines focused on your audience using power words like “secrets” or “results”. Aim for short, punchy phrasing that creates curiosity.
The platform allows A/B testing different headlines to identify what resonates most.
Relevant Visuals Throughout
Include relevant images, infographics and videos aligned to your brand throughout the page to reinforce key points visually. Stock photos should feel authentic.
Unicorn Platform offers a media library with stock photos and videos to use.
Social Proof Builds Trust
Build trust and credibility by showcasing logos, testimonials and case studies from satisfied customers. Make it easy to showcase genuine reviews and results.
Optimizing Page Structure
Carefully structure your landing page for clarity, hierarchy and conversion. Use a simple layout, strategic CTAs, and clear information flow.
Clear Information Hierarchy
Organize content in order of importance. Make key information easy to find through positioning, contrast and flow.
Unicorn Platform makes it easy to reorder sections as needed.
Prominent, Benefit-Focused Value Prop
Summarize your core value proposition prominently above the fold. Focus on audience-tailored messaging and quantify benefits, not generic claims.
The platform provides value prop templates you can customize to your specific offering.
Strategic CTAs
Place your most important CTA front and center. Use clear, action-driven language like “Get Started Now”. Limit to 1-3 CTAs above the fold to avoid distraction.
Easily A/B test different CTAs using Unicorn Platform’s split testing.
Optimizing for Conversions
Include lead capture forms, demos, trials and exit-intent popups to increase conversions. Minimize distractions and make signing up easy.
Lead Capture Forms
Keep forms short, only asking for essential info. Offer compelling lead magnets in exchange for signups. Send submissions directly to your CRM.
Unicorn Platform makes it easy to add forms and connect them to popular CRM and email tools.
Request Demo/Free Trial CTAs
Make it effortless for prospects to try your product or speak to sales when interest is peaked. Offer instant access if possible.
The platform supports one-click Calendly integration to instantly schedule meetings.
Targeted Exit-Intent Popups
Detect when a visitor is about to leave and surface a targeted offer to capture them. Use popups sparingly and appropriately.
Popups are easy to build, customize and deploy using Unicorn Platform.
Testing and Optimization
Continuously test and optimize landing pages using analytics and A/B testing to improve conversions over time.
Analyze Conversion Funnels
Map your conversion funnel in Unicorn Platform. Analyze drop-off points to identify issues. Prioritize fixes based on leakiest points.
Funnels integrate directly with Google Analytics for easy analysis.
A/B Test Improvements
Test variations of design elements like headlines, copy, layouts and more to see what resonates best.
Easily create split tests without code using the visual editor.
Assess User Behavior
Click patterns, scroll depth and entry/exit pages provide insight into usability issues impacting conversions.
Unicorn Platform provides heatmaps and scroll analytics built-in to uncover UX issues.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Creating high-converting landing pages takes research, strategic messaging, thoughtful design and relentless testing. By understanding your audience, crafting tailored content, structuring pages effectively, and continuously optimizing, you can maximize conversions over time. Tools like Unicorn Platform make it easy for startups and SaaS companies to quickly build beautiful, optimized landing pages.
Focus on these best practices:
- Conduct in-depth user research to intimately understand your audience
- Create detailed buyer personas and map their entire journey
- Craft messaging and content specifically tailored to your audience
- Structure pages for clarity, hierarchy and conversion
- Include lead capture forms, demos and targeted exit-intent popups
- Continuously test and optimize using analytics and A/B testing
Following these tips will help you create landing pages that convert your ideal audience into leads and customers. Start optimizing your pages for better conversion rates today.
