There is no doubt that landing pages play a vital role in lead generation conversion. Done correctly, landing pages have the ability to attract visitors right from the moment they arrive on the page, getting them into your sales funnel and driving them towards conversion.

The challenge for many businesses, however, is that it is all too easy to miss the balance between a high-converting and a low-converting landing page.

When landing pages are treated as just another website page rather than a highly specialised, carefully designed, and optimised page made purely for the sake of attracting visitors into your lead funnel, the page will not do its job very well at all. When the page is carefully planned and optimised according to best practices, however, you will soon see how much landing pages can aid your lead generation campaigns.

In this guide, we share some of the biggest landing page mistakes that can stand in the way of your lead generation results.

Landing Page Mistakes That Risk Lead Generation Conversion

Whether it is a poorly thought-out CTA, a clunky page that does not get to the point, a page that can only be viewed on desktop or even a dull page that does not inspire anyone to stay on the page, let alone leave their details, landing pages can all too easily fail to hit the mark. How do you ensure that your landing pages are more hit than miss? For starters, you can make sure that you avoid making any of these mistakes.

• ‍Too much text. A page that is full of text, with long paragraphs, no breaks, no bullet lists, and no headers will not convert. In fact, you will struggle to get visitors to stay on the page if you make it difficult for them to view your content. Lengthy paragraphs are hard to read. Remember that very few people will be reading every single word. Most will be scanning through to spot benefits, features, unique selling points, and the most important information. When it is hard to find this information, visitors will not bother scrolling and will instead leave the page. To avoid this mistake, keep the text short and to the point, with plenty of breaks to make your lead nurturing content easier to scan.

• ‍Too few images. A page without images is equally boring and hard to scan. Images work alongside your text, further breaking up blocks of content in a visually interesting way. Many people respond better to images than they do words. Images help to cement ideas and enhance messaging. That does not mean adding random images, however. Stick to relevant, carefully chosen images, infographics, and other visuals that highlight key messages without being distracting.

• ‍Too few calls to action. Calls to action are essential for any lead generation landing page. If you only have one at the top of the page and another at the bottom, don't be surprised when you battle to see any leads in your funnel. You will need to have enough CTAs to drive home your key point enough to get attention. Use them carefully throughout your content so that you offer visitors plenty of chance to convert.

• ‍Too many calls to action. At the same time, it is also possible to have too many CTAs. When you have a call to action after every single paragraph, you will very quickly annoy visitors. This is the lead nurturing version of spam and it is the worst thing for conversion. This is why you need to plan out your CTAs very carefully and consider where they have the most impact. You can then use them in a way that drives home your message without going overboard.

• ‍Unclear messaging. Going hand in hand with content and CTAs is messaging. If you ramble on too much without getting to the point or you start with information that does not apply to your offer, you will lose visitors. It takes just a few seconds for visitors to decide whether to stay on a page or leave. Having crucial information above the fold is essential and having clear messaging is even more important. Focus on short, easy to read sentences and always write from a benefits point of view. Keep your tone engaging, too, and make sure that your content is proofed before publishing your landing page.

• ‍Too many distractions. This includes side-bars, too many videos, pop-up forms, overly bright colours, flashing lights, and anything else that detracts from the purpose of your landing page. The singular goal of this page is to convert leads. That means that you cannot afford to let potential leads get distracted by anything other than your offer. As soon as you do that, you have lost the lead. Design your page to focus only on your primary offer, keep the layout simple, and test wherever possible to ensure optimal usability.

• ‍Complicated forms. At this point, you are not asking for too many details. You want to get a name and an email address. That is all you will need to begin your automated lead nurturing. When you ask for too much information, you have a far higher chance of losing the lead. When you keep your forms simple, you will find it far easier to get leads into your funnel. On a similar note, make sure that forms are easy to read and don't forget to add permission note to ensure compliance.

• ‍Not focusing on benefits. This is not a sales page. You are not listing your key features and talking about your services or products. You are attracting leads in a way that solves problems and meets needs. Rather than listing all of your features, think about what your business offers and how your products or services help potential customers. Consider what current or past customers have said about your business. Make a rough list of how your business can help and use that to sell the experience rather than the product or service. You will also need to make sure that you have a clear, easy to view USP.

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We hope that these tips make it easier to create powerful landing pages. For more lead generation insight, get in touch with the Grapevine Interactive team today and let us show you how a marketing automation platform can help you improve your lead generation strategies for optimal conversion.