Build It, They Will Come: Your 2014 Website Landing Page

An optimized landing page is becoming just as critical to business success as an effective website. An organized and focused approach will provide your startup or small business with a landing page that serves as a 24/7 sales agent. HubSpot reports that 61 percent of global Internet users research products online. Prepare to be left behind if you don't have a page designed for users researching your service. These tips will help to create dynamic landing pages without a big budget or Web design expertise:

If Customer Aren't Landing, They're Running

Consider the stats: companies with more than 40 landing pages get 12 times more leads than those with 5 or fewer. Computer giant Dell saw increases of 300 percent when testing its 1,000 landing pages against other pages according to Ion Interactive. In 2012, only 57 percent of companies reported using landing pages, despite these facts. Companies fail to implement landing page strategies because they don't know how to set them up or are overloaded with other concerns.

The resources are there for any company to test and convert with landing pages. Lander allows you to create and edit a landing page without HTML or CSS and offers a 30-day free trial. The starter package is $9/month. A landing page is useless without thorough A/B testing. Optimizely is designed for testing landing and interior pages by highlighting and tweaking page elements. A 30 day free trial will provide essential information surrounding the core elements of a landing page.

The Power of a Call to Action

The purpose of a landing page is to turn visitors into customers. This isn't possible without an effective call to action. A CTA provides a clear sense of purpose for the reader and highlights the best product offering available. Readers will almost always skim your page, so provide a large button and link that instantly shows why your business solves their problems.

Calls to action are a great avenue to offer a free trial or discount. Make sure the CTA message aligns with any text ad in place. For instance, "20 percent off Oakley sunglasses" should go to a landing page offering the discount instead of a sunglasses vendor home page. The CTA should also be displayed in an eye-friendly way: encapsulate, bold or color the text so it can't be missed. But 70 percent of small business websites still don't utilize clear call to actions on their websites or marketing emails. A small business can get an edge on the competition by creating call to actions and testing their effectiveness.

Design Essentials

There are crucial elements of a landing page in addition to a CTA. There's room for innovation and variance depending on industry and digital focus. Keep these factors in mind when designing a lead generating landing page:

• Be Social: Show off your social following to add legitimacy to the product. Testimonials can be another social edge to earn new business.
• Limit or remove navigation: Too many links may result in a visitor leaving before diving into the meat of a landing page. Provide at least one link for visitors who want additional information.
• Above the Fold: It's been estimated that readers spend 80 percent of their time above the fold. Categorize landing page elements by importance and place them accordingly.
• Video and Visual: Video can be a good method of snagging visitors who need visual stimulation. A how-to or introduction video from the CEO can connect with visitors. A sustainability company can use applicable stock footage to create a video that fortifies the company message.
• Stay Fresh: Design landing pages around singular ideas instead of regurgitating existing pages. A landing page is essentially a sales pitch; take advantage of the space.