Get tips on creating the perfect landing page that converts your visitors into customers with engaging content and effective design.
Simon Henneberg
What is a landing page? And how do you optimise a landing page for the best results?
Simply put, a landing page is any page on your website. It could be anything from a category page, a product page, and much more.
The reason for creating strong landing pages is search intent. If I type in “Buy white Nike trainers”, as a user, I expect to land on a page with the most relevant results. With this search, I have not specified a model number, size, fit, etc.
So, this search indicates that, as a user, I want to see a selection of different white trainers from the Nike brand. If you have products that match this search but no dedicated landing page, it will be virtually impossible to rank at the top of Google.
But… let’s get started. We’ve now covered what a landing page is and why it’s so important to have them. But where should you begin? Where do you start optimising?
Keep reading to discover my top tips for optimising your website.
Are you struggling to get people onto your website from Google? Or do you find it difficult to retain visitors when they do find your site?
If this sounds familiar, now is the time to pay close attention (or in this case… keep your eyes peeled)!
In this post, I’ll present my 9 steps to the perfect landing page, and show you how to optimise your content so you gain more visitors and drive more sales.
A great landing page is made up of hundreds of factors. I’ve selected my 9 favourites – ones you definitely shouldn’t miss out on:
Kender du det, hvor du mangler svar på et spørgsmål? Men du ved ikke helt hvem du skal spørge? Derfor henvender du dig til Google! Hvis Google ikke har et svar på dit spørgsmål, så er det spørgsmålet der er forkert.
Det første du møder i Googles søgeresultater er oftest annoncer. Efter de betalte annoncer, kommer de organiske resultater. Det ser ud som følgende billede:
For at optimere din landingsside mod et bestemt søgeord, er det vigtigt søgeordet optræder som det første i din sidetitel – og gerne én eller to gange i metabeskrivelsen. Sidetitlen og metabeskrivelsen er det første indtryk, din potentielle besøgende/kunde får af din virksomhed. Metabeskrivelsen har indflydelse på en sides CTR, klikrate, som Google også anvender som et ranking parameter.
Din sidetitel bør fylde mellem 30-60 tegn, mens din metabeskrivelse bør fylde mellem 135 og 160 tegn.
Længden på sidetitlen og metabeskrivelsen kan testes med dette værktøj.
Eksempel på sidetitel og metabeskrivelse:
Sidetitel: Søgeord | Gratis fragt og hurtig levering | minside.dk »
Metabeskrivelse: Søgeord – Køb søgeordet billigt hos minside.dk. Vi har landsdækkende levering og prismatcher altid nettets laveste pris | Læs mere her »
Every landing page on your website should contain at least one H1 heading. At the same time, there should be a maximum of one H1 heading per page. A good H1 heading includes the page’s focus keyword, ideally in plural form, and optionally a unique selling point afterwards:
Example: SEO – reach the top on Google!
A landing page can be effectively divided into smaller sections. Breaking up the text in this way makes it more readable for users. Each section should have an H2 or H3 heading so users can quickly scan the entire page and easily find exactly what they’re looking for.
Effective H2 and H3 headings can be long-tail versions of the page’s primary keyword, variations of the focus keyword, or semantic keywords.
Unique, high-quality content on a page is still considered one of the most important ranking factors for Google. Google loves text – and the more relevant text you have, the better. So, identify the page’s focus keyword, ideally long-tail versions, as well as related keywords to the primary focus. Don’t be afraid to write too much. My personal guide to writing content for a page looks like this:
You’ll find more good advice on how to write great copy right here.
But most importantly – write for your users, not for the search engine. Avoid overloading your text with the focus keyword. Write in a natural language that’s easy and engaging for the reader.
Semantic keywords help make the text more readable and provide a clearer overall understanding. For example, if your page is primarily about “weight loss”, it’s natural to include words like diet, exercise, activity, etc.
A video on a landing page can be valuable for many reasons. First and foremost, a video is more engaging than a looooong block of text. Videos are often better at keeping users on your page. They’re also a great way to showcase your best products or services. Videos are excellent for communicating knowledge, messages, and offers. They quickly become personal, allowing visitors to identify with them. If you’re dealing with a complex product, you can also use video to demonstrate it and provide instructions on how it works.
A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s an old saying, but it still holds true. Images on landing pages can often be the deciding factor in whether a visitor becomes a customer.
This doesn’t just apply to e-commerce sites with product photos. It’s just as relevant for sites selling intangible services, such as events. Here, you can showcase images from previous events and similar activities. Sometimes, an image can convey something that words simply can’t describe. Try explaining what it felt like to see the Danish men’s handball team win the World Championship final in 2019 against Norway at Jyske Bank Boxen. Isn’t it easier just to show a picture of the huge celebration by thousands of spectators?
When using images on landing pages, it’s important to:
Alt text, file name, and title all help your content get found in Google Image Search.
Graphs, infographics and tables are also effective for illustrating key points. In addition, graphs, tables, and the like can help you gain inbound links from other domains.
Interested in reading more about image optimisation and SEO? Then click here to learn even more about the topic.
Hvis ikke du ved, hvad du helt præcis vil have den besøgende til på siden, hvorfor så bruge tid på at få dem ind? Derfor er det vigtigt at sende den besøgende i den rigtige retning. Hvad end det er at købe et produkt, tilmelde sig nyhedsbrevet eller kontakte jer på telefonen, så gør det klart for den besøgende. Vær ikke bange for at fortælle den besøgende, hvad det er du gerne vil have dem til. Vær blot påpasselig med ikke at ville ønske for mange ting på én gang.
En god call-to-action fortæller klart og tydeligt, hvad brugeren kan forvente. Hvis der er en ”kontakt os” knap midt på siden, så forventer brugeren at finde kontaktoplysninger på jer. Ikke mere – ikke mindre!
Når vi snakker call-to-action på landingssider, så gælder det også knapper som ”læg i kurv”. Her kan du med fordel inddrage psykologiske triggere. Der findes et hav af disse, men for at gøre det simpelt, så kommer her to eksempler:
Vi som mennesker er rigtig gode til at gøre det, som vi kan se andre gør. Når der skal tilmeldes et nyhedsbrev, kan et eksempel på en ”tilmeld knap” være:
Gør som 500 andre og tilmeld dig nu!
Knaphed er et udtryk for, at den besøgende skal skynde sig. Har du produkter på din side, som ofte bliver udsolgt, kan du med fordel udnytte knaphed, som en call-to-action. Et eksempel kunne være:
Køb nu – begrænset antal i shoppen!
CTA og webshops er 100 % afgørende for netop din webshops omsætning. Bliver der ikke solgt noget, kan det være et sted at starte.
Internal links across your website are useful for many reasons. However, it’s important to point out that you shouldn’t add links just for the sake of it. Only create internal links when they’re relevant – for both Google and your users. Always link to other relevant pages on your website.
Want to know my four top reasons why internal linking is key to a great landing page? Then keep reading.
Firstly, it helps visitors. If users haven’t landed on the page they’re looking for, it’s a good idea to include internal links to other relevant pages as alternatives or substitutes. At the very least, you’ll want to guide them to the nearest main category.
Secondly, internal linking improves the user experience. It helps users navigate your site with ease, making it simple to find the exact product or service that meets their needs.
Thirdly, internal links tell Google how your site is structured. The anchor text used in internal linking also informs Google about the content on the linked pages.
Fourthly, internal links on your site have a positive impact on your external link building. External links are often built to the homepage. Imagine a certain amount of “link juice” coming to your site. With internal links from the homepage, you can distribute some of that “link juice” to your most important categories.
A short and easy-to-understand URL structure has an impact on rankings.
Source: http://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking
A URL should contain the focus keyword, be short and easy to understand.
Avoid characters like #, ¤, ?, =, etc. This also applies to Danish letters such as æ, ø, å or capital letters in the URL. Google finds it difficult to read special characters as well as æ, ø, and å. Instead, write them as ae, oe and aa.
If you have a blog post about “how to write great copy”, it’s important to know what the URL should look like. Dashes (-) are interpreted as spaces by Google, whereas underscores (_) join the words together:
Example 1 – with dashes: mywebsite.co.uk/how-to-write-great-copy
Read by Google as: “how to write great copy”
Example 2 – with underscores: mywebsite.co.uk/how_to_write_great_copy
Read by Google as: “howtowritegreatcopy”
If you want to change a URL, it’s important to set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Google sees a URL change as a completely new landing page, so consider carefully whether it’s worth it. If you’re launching a new website, the recommended structure is as follows:
https://mysite.co.uk/
https://mysite.co.uk/category/
https://mysite.co.uk/category/subcategory/
https://mysite.co.uk/category/subcategory/product-a/
When creating a new landing page, do not underestimate the value of outbound links. In the SEO world, there’s a lot of focus on external links pointing to your site, but people often forget the value of strong outbound links. If you’ve borrowed information on a given topic and you credit the original source with an outbound link, Google sees this as a positive signal.
When relevant, you can also link to external sites that may help your users more than you can on your own page, which improves the user experience.
A strong outbound link can be to a business partner highly relevant to your own company. For example, if you’re an interior designer with partners in lighting, you can link externally to them. This makes it easy for users to find, for example, lighting products, if you don’t offer them yourself. Google’s highest priority is to help its users. If you can demonstrate as a business that you help users in the best way possible, you can be rewarded with better rankings.
Citing external sources via outbound links is especially relevant for YMYL, Your Money Your Life, pages. YMYL pages are websites that typically relate to health, wellbeing, medicine, and user safety regarding money, loans, and finance. However, you could argue that all e-commerce sites also fall under YMYL, though to a lesser extent. On YMYL pages, it’s important that the author of certain posts meets the E-A-T criteria: Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness – and here, outbound links to high-ranking and trustworthy sites are key to verifying the information you provide.
If you’re writing a post such as “How to cure illness X”, it is vitally important that the author meets the E-A-T criteria. If not, Google will view it very negatively. If you want to write about a sensitive topic that falls under YMYL, you should always include an outbound link to expert sites.
Thank you for reading! You’re now ready to get started with creating a world-class landing page. A final word from me: every business and website is different. Be clear from the outset about exactly what you want to achieve with your specific landing pages. Once you’ve clarified your goals, simply follow my guide and you’ll be well on your way.
Still feeling a bit overwhelmed, or would you rather focus on your core business? We’re always here to help you with your SEO and landing pages.
Contact us today, and together we’ll take your website to the top of the digital league.
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