With a blog article, a visitor reading, and liking it may be enough. But landing page copywriting is different; it demands conversion. This requirement makes it a tad frustrating when a web visitor clicks to your landing page, scrolls through, and clicks away without taking the desired action.
What would you do in this situation? If you’re like many marketers and SEO specialists, you’re probably doing A/B tests and tweaking all the page elements to see what works best. There’s nothing wrong with this, except that many times, the problem is the actual page copy.
The copy is the most crucial aspect of your landing page. Excellent copy carries with it the power of compulsion when conversing with visitors.
You will not record any conversions if your landing page copy is dull and lacks adequate pull. You can have the best page design in the world, and it wouldn’t mean a thing.
Thankfully, learning how to write landing page copy efficiently is not that difficult.
In this article, we outline a few landing page copy best practices that will help you generate more leads. Whether you’re creating a fresh landing page or repurposing an old one, you’ll find something here worth implementing for conversion success.
Tip #1: Avoid fluff like the plague
This is the point where we remind you to follow the 4Cs of Copywriting: Clear, Concise, Compelling, Credible. With copy, you’re not gunning for a word count milestone. It’s about making sure that every word and sentence adds value to the purpose of the copy.
Do not bloat your copy with:
- Non-content and redundant words, determiners, and modifiers – instead of “For each and every one of you, I will do it in such a way as to make you feel good,” say “I will you make everyone feel good.”.
- Too many adverbs – words like actually, beautifully, easily, obviously.
- Passive writing – Passive voice: He came to the decision that the product will not be discontinued. Active voice: He decided not to discontinue the product.
Consider these two landing page copy examples:
Scenario 1: Our software solution really makes it easy for you to pay your taxes as early as possible, and it does this through securing seamless communications with your accountant. Also, if you purchase now, you will have lowered your future subscriptions by 20% or even more.
Scenario 2: Our software loops with your accountant, so you pay taxes on time. Future subscriptions will be at least 20% cheaper if you purchase now.
See the difference? The second copy has half the word count of the first but passes clearer messaging. Make this your aim.
Tip #2: Embrace long-from page copy
If this sounds like it’s disagreeing with the point about avoiding fluff, it doesn’t. Your landing page copy can be lengthy if the details on it are necessary. Long-form landing page copy often boasts higher conversion rates.
There are a few advantages that long-form copy has over one or two-minute samplers. The length of a copy is a search ranking factor. Also, a longer copy gives more space for linking, which also helps your search ranking prospects.
Ultimately, the goal of your landing page determines the length of your landing page copy. If all the information your customer needs will take 3000 words, then do it. If it can be done in 500 words or less, don’t push it.
Keep your writing concise, clear, and scrollable. Use wording that can be understood by a 10-year-old, but isn’t too basic that it loses meaning to the customer.
A long copy will not work for every brand and every purpose—test different lengths of copy to see what works best for your offer.
Tip #3: Incorporate social proof in your landing page copy
It is easier for a customer to trust your offer when there is proof that you’re trustworthy. This point is what every business is trying to make when they include customer testimonials on their landing pages.
Imagine that your landing page is a lounge area. Let’s say you have many comfortable seating areas, a bar, table games, board games, spots for watching the game on TV, and a large swimming pool.
If a customer walks into your lounge area, sees all these amenities, but there’s no one there, that’s a red flag in their mind. They want to come in and see other people using your services and having a good time.
To them, this is proof that your lounge lives up to its appearance. You want this kind of social proof on your landing page.
Customer testimonials are a great conversion tool. The testimonials can be in written or in video format if your customers are willing to do that.
If you are a new business and have no social proof, consider giving your products/services to a few people or brands for free in exchange for honest feedback. This way, you can generate social proof for your landing page.
Tip #4: Refine your unique value proposition
When customers buy from you, always remember that it’s got nothing to do with you. They are looking for a solution that will improve their daily lives.
An excellent landing page copywriting practice puts the customer front and center of the landing page. Make it clear throughout the page what they have to gain from choosing you over other brands.
You can achieve this with the perfect unique selling proposition. As the phrase suggests, your USP should make it apparent how you stand out from other brands.
The most effective USPs are usually one-liners or a few short sentences used as headlines or subheads.
Consider EatNow, a fictional Seattle food delivery service with the USP: “Food delivery in Seattle takes 15 minutes on average. We deliver in 5 minutes or less or your money back.”
This simple USP paints a picture of the food delivery reality in Seattle, then positions itself as a faster and risk-free alternative. Your USP should have this effect on your web visitors.
Tip #5: Headlines should attract and inform
Imagine flipping channels on your television at half time during a football game when an advertisement flashes across your screen. It’s for a cleaning agency, and since you’ve been thinking of cleaning your house, you pause for a bit to watch. However, after a few torturous moments of lame advertising, you quickly resume your channel flipping without sparing a thought for the agency.
Headlines have the same effect on people if the writing is dull. Headlines are meant to do two things to your audience:
- Grab their attention
- Show them how your product/service is of benefit to them.
According to Tiffany Porter of essay writing service review company, Online Writers Rating, a headline that doesn’t attract and raise interest is like “trying to eat a slab of well-done steak with rickety dentures.”
If your headline is full of hype and no substance, it will raise the bounce rate of your landing page. On the other hand, a headline with too much information quickly becomes boring and will not convert. Both scenarios will only annoy potential leads.
Stop using your headlines for just hype while you use your subheadlines to elaborate. Good copywriting practice demands a balanced headline that is all bark and bites; a proper balance of excitement and clarity.
Tip #6: Apply the same words as your customers
You understand all the professional terms you can use to describe your offering. Sometimes, this knowledge can be a curse because it doesn’t let you see from the customer’s perspective.
Your landing page copy is not for your employees or industry colleagues who understand the jargon. Your customers can get lost in your copy if you use technical terms.
There are critical questions you must answer when writing your page copy:
- Why is the web visitor exploring my product?
- What can they gain by buying from a competitor?
- How much convincing will they need?
- What are their biggest questions going to be?
It is easier to answer these questions if you have access to robust customer data and analysis tools. These will give you insight into the right answers but not necessarily the correct wording.
Your best bet to phrase your answers is to use your customers’ words. You can put out customer interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. Also, check out comments on your blog posts or other related blogs, online forums, review sites, social media, groups, and more.
Listen to how they articulate how your product (or competitor’s product) can best meet their needs. Tailor your wording the way they do. It helps to write your copy as if you’re addressing a single ideal customer.
Tip #7: A/B test all your landing page elements, especially copy
All the tips before this point are gold and will help to boost your landing page conversion. However, not all businesses are the same, and by extension, not all audiences are the same either. This is why even after applying all the best practices for your copy, you need to test your audience’s response to it.
All the elements of your landing page can be tested, from the buttons, headlines, color schemes, font, etc. But the most important is the copy. Usually the highest gains from A/B testing come from the changes to the page copy.
Sometimes, the smallest of tweaks can have the greatest impact on your conversion. Kind of like the difference between:
- Get 10% off your first appointment. Book online now!
- Get an extra 10% off if you book online now.
On the surface, it sounds like the CTR would be better with the second call-to-action. But that’s just guesswork. You will never know which performs better for your particular audience until you test them both. Embrace A/B testing with all your landing page iterations; you need social validation to identify the winning landing page, and testing is the only way to get it.
Final words
If you haven’t used any of the tactics above, now would be a good time to start. In the end, every business and every offer is different.
In addition to applying these best practices, always A/B test different elements of your page copy and landing page. Consistent testing will reveal which iteration carries the highest conversion rate.
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About the author
Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at essay review service Best Writers Online. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.
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