CRO Meets SEO: Building SEO Landing Pages That Convert

Travis Bliffen
by Travis Bliffen 08 Aug, 2017
CRO Meets SEO: Building SEO Landing Pages That Convert

A strong landing page serves one real purpose, turning a site visitor into a lead. If your website cannot turn browsers into buyers, your business is definitely not going to reap the rewards of SEO, PPC or any other marketing channel you are using to drive traffic to your website.

When it comes to creating landing pages, you must first consider the source of traffic to the page and then the needs of audience that will hit your page. PPC landing pages are often times more simplistic, having only key information and a compelling call-to-action (CTA).

SEO landing pages on the other hand must have enough information to engage the audience and generate conversions, all while catering to Google and its ranking system. Today we are going to look at some steps you can take to make sure your SEO landing pages have the best chance of converting.

Elements of a Good Landing Page

There is no trusty one-size-fits-all method to creating the perfect landing page. There are some elements however that should be included in almost every landing page, and an intriguing headline is one of them.

Intriguing Headline

The headline of a landing page is critical. It is the first thing that any visitor to a landing page will see and if not done correctly, may be the only thing they see. It needs to be concise and give a glimpse into what the product or service you are offering is all about. Make the user want to scroll further down the page to see what all it contains by enticing them with the landing page's headline.

  1. Include an interesting statistic. In a sea of words, a percentage or a number stands out. Snag the attention of Web users and provide them with useful information through a relevant statistic included in your landing page's headline.
  2. Ask an open-ended question. By making your headline a question that does not have a simple "yes" or "no" answer, you instill a sense of curiosity in your reader and let them know that by taking a closer look at your landing page, they will get the information to answer the question.
  3. Tell people how you can benefit them. Let visitors to your landing page know that you have their best interest in mind. Get them interested in you and your landing page by expressing in your headline that your business has something to offer that will benefit them or solve their problems.

Benefit-Driven Content

Your content must engage the user and get them to go on to interact more with the site. Your copy should:

  1. Emphasize benefits over the products or services themselves
  2. Be simple to read and actionable
  3. Contain specific data and numbers

Be conversational in your words, but show that you care about the consumer's needs and perception of you by expressing how you can help them and facts to back it all up. Doing so will give the visitors to your landing page the information they need in a way that keeps them interacting with it until they are called to action. More interaction means more conversions for your brand.

Within the content of a landing page, at least some of the content should be in the form of visuals, be it images, charts, infographics, etc. When it comes to retention of information, people retain 80 percent of what they see as opposed to only 20 percent of what they read. Present the visitors to your landing page with the opportunity to remember what they see, connect with your brand, and become loyal customers of your business that come back time and time again.

Also include reviews and testimonials on your landing page. From them, visitors can see how your business is helping people just like them and be more compelled to let your business help them, too. If you need proof as to why you should do so, know that 88 percent of consumers claim to trust these reviews as much as recommendations from their own friends and family.

Call-to-Action 

What you present on your landing page needs to encourage every one of its visitors to do something. Through your textual and visual elements, get their attention and drive them to take action, whether that be to "Book now," "Get involved," or "Learn more here." Make the CTA of your landing page noticeable and engaging by following these steps:

  1. Position the CTA well. It should be located somewhere that it is easily seen, like at the top of the page, or right by the page's visual element where the user's eye is most likely to be drawn.
  2. Make it big. Your CTA should be relatively large within the landing page. Otherwise, it will be lost in the rest of the content.
  3. Put it in a contrasting color. For the same reason that you should make your CTA big, you should make it a color that pops against the other colors included within the landing page.

Tracking and Testing Your Landing Page

After all the effort you put into developing what you consider to be the perfect landing page for your brand, you need to know whether that landing page gets the job done.

A/B Testing

Build a couple different versions of the landing page you are creating for your site. Then, using Google Analytics, you can use its A/B Tests tool and see which version converts more often.

Content Experiments

With the help of Google Analytics, you can also test the elements of your landing page through Content Experiments. Through Content Experiments, you are able to identify your own specific objective (like to get clicks or a subscription) and then see how well the different pieces of content on your landing page are able to drive visitors to take your desired action.

Success Tracking

Google Analytics enables you to track the number of views your landing page receives, the amount of conversions that are made, and even the demographics of the people that are visiting.

Arguably, of all the metrics that a tool like Google Analytics lets you track for your landing page, conversion rate is the most important. Your business wants and needs customers that are going to stick with it, and a first step in gaining those customers is getting them to make a purchase, a download or a subscription via a landing page. To track conversion rate, set up a goal in Google Analytics, and then you will be able to see how many people are taking action and from what channels.

Even though most of what we covered here today is basic, there are far too many websites that send everyone to the homepage. When you are creating the next epic page for your business, do it with an end goal in mind. If you aren't sure where to start, there are plenty of places to find design inspiration and don't forget to talk to your current customers to find out what offer or benefit turned them from browser to buyer.

About the Author

travisTravis Bliffen is the founder of Stellar SEO, a Web design and marketing firm located in Spring Hill, TN. Travis and his team are equipped to handle any size SEO project and have helped numerous businesses to date build a rock solid online presence. When you are ready for more leads and sales, it is time to get #stellarized. Connect on Facebook or Twitter @theseoproz.
Travis Bliffen
Travis Bliffen
I am fiercely competitive and passionate about SEO, which means working with myself and the Stellar SEO team will put you on the winning side. Nothing about SEO is guaranteed, but we make a habit of helping brands dominate, even in the most competitive of industries. Since 2012, my company, Stellar SEO, has become one of the most highly regarded names in Search Engine Optimization. Taking the unconventional route, my journey to becoming an SEO industry expert began after reading a magazine article with a "Best Business to Start" headline. Starting with no funding or prior business experience, I began researching everything I could about entrepreneurship and SEO. In the process, I personally tested every theory, piece of sales advice, and "proven" method to deliver effective link-building campaigns. I found that there is no one-size-fits-all method or magic guru tricks to link building.