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Your landing page is the most important part of your sales funnel. 

Imagine this: you’ve poured time and energy into creating your business and have an amazing website and even better products and services. 

You want to promote said products or services, so you spend a lot of time generating traffic. The traffic you get to your site is in the thousands, but you don’t know how to turn those visitors into customers. 

How could you when you don’t have a landing page?

If this sounds familiar, I can help you.  

So, let’s get into how to create a high-converting landing page. 

What is a landing page?

Let’s start by understanding what a landing page is. I touched on it briefly in this post about how to build your first email list.

A landing page is the page where a visitor lands after clicking on a link. The link can be from an email, social media, or an Ad. The beauty of landing pages is that they have only one goal. 

Which is to CONVERT.

A conversion is when a visitor completes a desired action regarding your call-to-action, such as signing up, buying something, registering for something, etc. A visitor has “converted” when you successfully get them to take the desired action regarding your business. 

Back to landing pages: As I said, your landing page(s) should be focused and distraction-free. It should solely focus on converting your visitors. 

It is usually a standalone page on your website, and this is what it looks like: 

Landing pages are very different in look and size. Some could be as simple as a few words plus a form, while others could be quite lengthy, featuring images, videos, testimonials, and much more. 

As a business, you can have multiple landing pages. Research shows that companies saw a 55% increase in leads when they increased their landing pages from 10 to 15. So, you can have as many as you feel your business needs.

I know you’re eager to get to the main point of this post. But before we discuss the steps for creating a landing page that converts, let me clarify some things that might confuse you. 

Before you learn how to create a landing page, you must understand what it is and isn’t. 

What is the difference between a homepage, a landing page, and opt-in/pop-up forms? 

They all serve different purposes. Simply put, your homepage is the main entry point of your website; it features your brand and tells your story. 

As I said, your landing page is a standalone page that guides your visitors to take one specific action, like signing up or making a purchase. 

Opt-in or pop-up forms are smaller elements that can appear on your website pages. They, too, serve a purpose: to gather your visitors’ information, like email addresses, in exchange for something valuable (like a discount or downloadable resource), aka a freebie or lead magnet. 

Each of these elements plays a unique role in guiding your visitors through the customer journey.

For example, suppose you have a business selling candles. In that case, your homepage will be where visitors can learn all about your business, how you started, what types of candles you sell, and other useful information. 

You can have pop-up or opt-in forms around your website, offering freebies like sample scents or discount codes in exchange for visitors’ information.  

Let’s say you want to start a membership program where members get insider access to your new products or mini candles sent to them every month. You want them to sign up for this membership, so you create a landing page to get them to join your membership (this is the conversion btw). 

This is how all three differ but are very necessary to the growth of your business.

Now that you hopefully understand what a landing page is let’s get into the good parts–how to create a high-converting landing page. 

Steps to building a high-converting landing page 

1. Define Your Goal: What’s the Purpose?

The first thing you need to do is figure out the goal of your landing page. Are you trying to grow your email list, promote a product or service, get a subscription or membership signups, or encourage consultation bookings? 

A landing page can help you achieve most of your business goals, so take some time and decide what you want. Remember that your landing page should be very specific to just one goal. 

So, for example, you shouldn’t create a landing page that promotes both a product and a membership program. 

In this case, you will need two landing pages to serve the two goals. 

 A focused goal ensures that everything on your page serves one purpose: to move your visitor to take the desired action.

Ask Yourself:

• What is the main action I want visitors to take?
• How will I measure success (e.g., sign-ups, downloads, purchases)?
• Is the goal specific enough to build a clear call-to-action (CTA)?
  
  

2. Figure out your value proposition, and your why

Once you have your goal, you need to figure out your value proposition.

 

Your value proposition is basically why consumers should choose your product or service. Why should your audience choose your business? What problem does your business solve for them?

In order to convince others to choose you, you need to give them a good reason to do so. Think outside the box, put yourself in your target audience’s shoes, and try to figure out what they need help with. Then, craft your value proposition to be their solution. 

Back to our candle-making business example, let’s say the goal of your landing page is to get people to sign up for your new membership program. 

You need to figure out what your value proposition is.

Ask yourself: 

• What’s in it for your target audience?
• Why should they join?
• What problem does your membership solve for them? 
  
  

Once you’ve figured out a STRONG value proposition, you can move on to crafting your landing page. 

3. Craft a Compelling Headline

I cannot emphasize this enough: Your headline is incredibly important. 

It’s the hook. It’s how you grab attention. People’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter these days, so you only have SECONDS to get their attention. 

Make it count with a fantastic headline. 

Your headline should quickly and clearly inform the reader about your product or service and communicate its benefits. 

The best headlines are short, direct, and customer-focused. They answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”

Your headline should speak directly to your audience’s problem and how your solution can help. It should be within 10-20 words. 

Remember, your visitors are scanning, not reading in-depth—if your headline doesn’t grab them instantly; they’re likely gone.

4. Subheadline: Reinforce the Value

If your headline is the hook, the subheadline is the line that pulls them in further. This is where you expand slightly on the main promise and offer more detail on why the visitor should stay. 

It should be persuasive and talk about the benefits of your product/service. 

A common mistake business owners make when promoting their businesses is talking more about the features of their product or service than about its benefits. 

Connecting things back to your value proposition. The answers you came up with in step 2 should be communicated as benefits in your subheadline. 

For our candle-making business membership program, a good subheadline could be

“Join our Candle Connoisseur Club and be the first to experience new, handcrafted candles every month, plus receive delightful mini candles just for members.” 

Your subheadline should flow naturally from your headline, adding that extra bit of context or credibility to encourage the visitor to keep reading.

5. Use Eye-Catching and Relevant Visuals and Videos

Source: MailChimp

People process visuals faster than text, plus they don’t like to read anymore; they prefer watching videos, so use this to your advantage.

A landing page with the right visuals—images, videos, or infographics—will capture attention and convey your message better. 

When using photos, don’t use any generic stock image you find. Make sure the images are relevant to your product or service. 

Your visuals should support the headline and enhance your visitor’s understanding of your offer.

Tips for Visuals:

• Hero Image: A large image that aligns with your headline and showcases your product or service.
• Explainer Videos: Videos increase engagement and help explain complex information quickly. A short, 60-second clip can boost your conversions by explaining your offer and showing its benefits.
• Customer Testimonials: Include images of happy customers to build trust. Faces create a personal connection and make your page feel more relatable.
  
  

Visuals should enhance the user experience, not distract from your goal. Every image and video should serve a purpose, guiding the visitor closer to your CTA.

6. Write Clear and Persuasive Copy

The copy on your landing page is very important; it’s your chance to really sell and convince your visitors of your business offering. 

Copy is written text mainly used to inform, persuade, or entertain an audience.

To tie this back to step 4, your subheadline is part of your copy, but it, along with your heading, doesn’t need to be the only copy on your landing page. 

As I mentioned before, your copy should be benefits-driven; you need to show your audience how your product or service would benefit them. 

A genius hack for writing effective landing page copy is using emotional and psychological triggers. 

I’m talking about using pleasure and pain in your copy. People are driven by pleasure and pain; they want to cure their pain and increase their pleasure. 

To apply this to your landing page copy: position your product or service offering as a solution to your audience’s pain, and make sure they know you can relieve their pain. 

Regarding pleasure, sell the pleasurable feeling your audience will get from your business. Have you ever heard the term: “sell the feeling, not the product”? Apply it to your copy. 

Bringing this all together using our candle-making business, a copy example could go like this;

If you want to learn more about emotional triggers, read this blog post on using them in your marketing emails. 

Some other important things to note when writing your copy: 

• Avoid lengthy paragraphs—no one has time for a novel. 
• Use bullet points, short paragraphs, and bold text to highlight key points.
  
  

Your goal with the copy is to make it so clear and engaging that the visitor does not doubt the value of what you’re offering.

7. Create a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your CTA is the single most important element on your landing page. It should be clear, direct, and stand out visually. 

A nice hack to make your CTA button stand out is to use a contrasting color against the color of your landing page. This makes it big and obvious, and you want to avoid any chances of your visitor missing it.

You should also make the copy of your CTA compelling (do you sense the trend here on how important your copy is). A vague “Submit” or “Click Here” won’t cut it—your CTA needs to tell the visitor exactly what they’ll get when they take action.

Examples of Effective CTAs:

• “Download Your Free Guide Now”
• “Claim Your Discount”
• “Start Your Free Trial Today”
  
  

8. Optimize for Mobile (Because Everyone’s on Their Phone)

It’s 2024; your landing page should 100% be optimized for mobile phones. Over half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices, so your page needs to look and function beautifully and effectively on smaller screens.

Some Mobile Optimization Tips for you:

• Responsive Design: Ensure your page automatically adjusts to fit mobile screens. No pinching and zooming—everything should be easy to read and navigate.
• Fast Loading Speed: Compress images and streamline code to keep load times quick. If your page takes more than three seconds to load, expect a high bounce rate.
• Simplified Navigation: Remove unnecessary elements and make the CTA button easily tapable. Remember, users are interacting with fingers, not a mouse—give them a large target.
  
  

DON’T MISS THIS STEP. 

Mobile optimization isn’t optional; it’s essential.

9. Include Social Proof: Build Trust Quickly

Your visitors are more likely to convert if they see that others have had positive experiences with your product or service. This is where social proof comes in—use it to build credibility and trust quickly.

Types of Social Proof to Include:

• Testimonials: Highlight satisfied customers with a quote and, if possible, a picture. It’s more authentic and relatable.
• Customer Count: “Join 10,000+ happy customers”—showing a large customer base suggests reliability.
• Trust Badges and Certifications: Include any relevant certifications or endorsements from credible sources to build confidence in your brand.
  
  

The goal is to make your visitor feel secure in their decision—if they see that others have had positive outcomes, they’re more likely to convert.

10. A/B Test Everything

No landing page is perfect on the first try. So don’t be discouraged if you’ve followed all the steps but your landing page isn’t bringing the results you hoped for.

 

This is why it’s important to experiment and test everything. 

To make sure your landing page is converting optimally, you need to test different elements of your page. A/B testing allows you to compare variations (e.g., two headlines two CTAs) and see which one performs better.

What to A/B Test:

• Headlines: Try different messaging angles to see what resonates most.
• CTA Text: Test whether a more action-oriented phrase increases conversions.
• Visuals: Compare the impact of different images or video lengths.
  
  

Make small changes one at a time so you can track what’s actually making a difference. Over time, these incremental improvements can significantly boost your landing page’s effectiveness.

11. Simplify Your Form (If You Have One)

If your landing page includes a form (for example, to collect email addresses), keep it as simple as possible. You don’t need a form with ten information fields; the more fields you ask for, the higher the likelihood visitors will bounce. 

Aim for just the essentials—usually, a name and email will do.

Tips for Forms:

• Limit Fields: Avoid asking for too much information upfront; you can collect more details later in the funnel.
• Make It Mobile-Friendly: As we discussed, the form should be easy to fill out on mobile devices.
• Use Inline Validation: Show users real-time feedback when they enter information so they know they’ve filled out the form correctly.
  
  

Remember, your goal is to lower barriers to conversion. The easier it is for visitors to complete your form, the more leads you’ll capture.

12. Include a Simple Thank You Page

After the visitor takes the desired action, redirect them to a thank you page. It’s not just about being polite; it’s a chance to keep engaging with them. Use this space to:

• Confirm their action (e.g., “Thanks for signing up!”).
• Offer another resource or incentive (e.g., “Here’s a free e-book as a thank you!”).
• Encourage them to follow your social media or share their experience.
  
  

It’s all about making them feel appreciated and keeping the momentum going.

I know I’ve thrown a lot of information at you, but trust me, I wouldn’t talk about this if I didn’t think it was necessary. Knowing how to create a high-converting landing page(s) is crucial to growing your business. 

So take some time and work through these steps; you’ll be glad you did. 

Before I leave you, here are some quick tips to make your landing pages more effective. 

Tips to remember when building a high-converting landing page 

1. Fast performance – Page speed is important; people are very impatient, so don’t make them wait too long, or you’ll lose them. Make sure your landing page loads and provides all information quickly. 
   
   When your landing page goes live, always test the links from multiple sources (e.g., computer, tablet, phone) to ensure there are no issues with the load time.
   
    
2. Above-the-fold form placement -If your landing page has any forms, make sure they are positioned for optimal conversion. 
   
   An above-the-fold form placement means your form, and CTA can be easily seen without the visitor needing to scroll. When they land on your landing page, they immediately see your form and CTA.  
   
   If your landing page is long and visitors will need to scroll, then place both form and CTA at the top (visible without scrolling), then again further down the page (visible after scrolling)
   
   This keeps your CTA at the forefront of visitors’ minds wherever they are on your landing page. 
   
   
3. Remove navigation elements—Keep all elements and information on one page. The beauty of a landing page is that it’s a focused standalone page. The moment you require visitors to click to another page, you risk them never coming back. 
   
   

4. Keep it simple—I know I’ve given you lots of information on building a landing page that converts, but there is an important guiding principle to always remember: keep it simple. 
   
   Simple landing pages tend to convert better, so keep your copy short but impactful and get to the point quickly. 
   
   

5. Use a landing page builder tool – If this is your first time creating a landing page, the good news is you don’t have to do it all by yourself.  You can use a landing page builder tool. 
   
   There are so many amazing ones out there. My personal favorite is Kit (formerly ConvertKit).
   
   It has built-in templates that you can customize to fit your needs. It also gives you access to analytics to measure your performance.
   
   Another strong option to consider is InstaPages. It offers great targeting, split-testing tools, and useful AI features. 
   
   

6. Add a guarantee—Everybody loves a guarantee. It puts their mind at ease and assures them about their decision. 
   
   Guarantees can take many forms. They can be product or service specific or general, like satisfaction, money back, 100% No Spam Guarantee, etc. Just make sure it makes sense for your business. 
   
   You should also place your guarantee near your CTA so your visitors feel assured just before converting. 

7. Add contact information—Lastly, make sure you provide a way for your visitors to contact you. You can provide a phone number, email address, or physical location. 
   
   This might seem insignificant, but it can go a long way in making your visitors trust your business. 
   
   

Creating a high-converting landing page doesn’t require a big budget or a fancy design agency. It’s about understanding your audience, setting clear goals, and designing each element with purpose. 

Remember, your landing page is the gateway to building relationships with potential customers.