Landing pages are great – they have a tight focus, they help you keep track on conversions, they get results, and honestly they look great. Yet, enthusiasmto launch and get landing pages to work shouldn’t be at the cost of ‘due diligence’. Here are some the essentials Your Landing pages must have:

Design

Bad design just doesn’t work – and this point here is not new. Yet, most marketers and businesses employ bad designs since they are available as templates, they come prefabricated from some monthly-subscription packages, or companies hire incompetent freelancers to design landing pages that they “thought” were great.

If you are on a budget and just starting out, there are services such as unbounce.com, Launchrock.com, and other web-based services you can tap into. Once you are ready to invest, go for the best design (read that as effective but simple) money can buy.

When designing landing pages, avoid too much content. Don’t overwhelm, just get straight to the point. Use a graphic or two. Deploy one single strong call to action. Dedicate one landing page to just one response you need from your visitors.

Keep it relevant

Many marketers pick up an expensive keyword while using PPC for example, and put up landing pages only to make customers think, “How on earth did I get here? This wasn’t what I arrived here for”. While using SEO or PPC, make sure that there’s a fair match between keywords used and the landing page you’ll set-up. For instance, if you mention a free eCourse in the ad, the landing page should take on from there and drive conversions for the free course; not to your membership subscription page.

Trust and Valuable content

No one buys fromcon artists and sleaze masters. More often than not, most visitors don’t buy immediately. They need to trust and like you. This is possible only if you have content that reeks of honesty, reflects a personality and is never biased. That’s why you work backwards. Your blog and all the content you continuously publish should help build that trust while your landing pages work on immediate closures. The content focuses on contributing value for the readers and not con them or force them into buying your products or services. This will take time, but it is the only true, tried & tested formula to convert your reluctant visitors into happy buyers.

Visuals always attract

Boring online offers always end up on your server. Plain text is very boring. Increasingly, Internet users are pampered with rich graphics, engaging video, and pleasant looking landing pages. Each picture is worth thousands of dollars, if you use it right. Visuals and graphics will giveyour virtual presencea “butch feel” by adding tremendous amount of appeal to your landing page.

Shocker Content, precision and controversy

Use “Shock and Awe”. Drive the immediate appeal of a controversy (just don’t create one yourself). Nothing grabs attention as much a shocker of some sort or some kind of blunt statement. Controversy can fuel clicks and that’s your final goal, isn’t it? Why stick to normal and boring copy when you can make your landing page sizzle? Stay precise and say just as much as you should.

Videos, Interviews, Media coverage, Association with Trustworthy Institutions

If images can say so much, what would a video do for your landing page? Have you thought about featuring yourself in a video introduction? Many leading marketers and brands are already using this to their advantage.

Feature any sort of media coverage or media association mentioned on your site like having logos of CNN, BBC, Fox News, etc. of course, you’ll have to earn it before you flaunt it. Similarly, association with newspapers, magazines and periodicals can be effective too. Further, adding logos of institutes like BBB (Better Business Bureau), Verisign, TrustE, etc. can go a long way in establish this trust factor.

Focus on Conversion, not traffic

Conversion is the ticket for your big fat bank account. No matter what you do, conversion is right at the threshold of your final goal: making a sale. Your landing page is instrumental,among other elements; in helping you achieve these conversions. Leave the obsession for traffic (although it’s important). Instead, focus on conversions. If a graphic element obstructs the flow of conversion, it has to go. Is your copy too long? That has to go too. Is the video on your landing page too lengthy? Clip it.

Why focus on conversions and not traffic? Traffic is a relative term. Let’s say you have 1000 visits a day, but not even 1% converts, what good is that traffic for you? If a landing page converts at 3% for the same traffic, we have a winner here.

Throw numbers, proofs, quote findings – just don’t make this up

One of the easiest ways to establish trust, which in turn maximizes conversions on your landing page, is to throw numbers, statistics, and facts liberally in your content. Although we buy on an emotional trigger, our minds will still feed on quantitative information to justify that purchase. You will also have to cater to the ‘reasoning’ part of the human brain while the actual buying is still an emotional act. Never use fake Photoshop rendered earning proofs, fake testimonials, and anything that doesn’t add up. Honesty goes a long way in business (even if it’s online and no one knows you just yet).

Use the footer and header (no one gives a damn about your disclaimer)

Have links in footer and header leading back to your blog and other pages. Although you might be a little reluctant to have mandatory pages on your sales page (because it ruins the focus of your call-to-action like " Buy Now" or " Download a Free Copy"), it is still important to have them somewhere on your landing page. Make use of unobtrusive places like your footer where it is still visible but doesn’t come in the way of your sales process. Don’t waste space by putting up unnecessary details like “earnings disclaimers” – put up this information on your website.

Your landing must do just what’s meant to – a landing page is not a website; it’s a page with a purpose.

Written by John Siebert: John Siebert is the President and CEO of TranquilBlue – A Web Design Tampa Company that focuses on all kind of website design, mobile app development and search engine marketing.