When you create a new landing page, the first thing you have to do is bring some traffic to it. Otherwise, how are users going to convert, right?
So when the traffic spike you’ve been looking forward to finally happens, you start rubbing your hands together: the increase in traffic rate is just around the corner. It will happen aaaany moment now.
That’s the way things are supposed to work in an ideal world. But (spoiler alert!) this is not an ideal world.
A traffic increase doesn’t automatically mean an increase in conversions as well. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s entirely fixable. Here’s how you can get a conversion rate curve that runs parallel to that of your traffic spike.
1. Start Your Investigation at the Source
The source of traffic, I mean. What are the top three sources that deliver traffic to your landing page? [You can easily find this information in your Google Analytics account.]
Got them? Good! Now let’s take a look at the most common traffic sources:
Organic Traffic
If most of your traffic comes from search engine results, then your keywords are likely the problem. They don’t match with the user intent.
In other words, the user may be looking for something that’s connected to what your page is selling, but your product/service is not an exact fit.
Oftentimes, it’s an entirely different type of content and intent. For example, someone looking for “social media management platform” may just need an informational article. If what they stumble upon is your super-salesy landing page that lists a ton of benefits but no beginner-style information, then the user will definitely bounce back to search results.
It’s like creating a page for “iPhone repair services” but also adding terms like “buy iPhone 11” or “buy discounted iPhones”. People who land on the page looking to buy an iPhone don’t care (yet!) about your repair services.
So, if your landing page has terms that don’t match the user intent you are looking for precisely, it’s time to edit them out.
Online Ads
If you run PPC ads on search engines (Google Ads, for instance), then your problem is identical to the one described above (except you’re also paying for each visitor, which makes it worse and more urgent).
If you run ads on Facebook or other non-search platforms, your problem is with targeting. In my experience, the most common culprit is including too many people on your target list. Are there really 1 million Facebook users that are interested in your services?
Probably not.
PPC ads aren’t fishing, so casting a wider net won’t help you catch more fish. On the contrary, you will spend too much on irrelevant traffic. Remember that Facebook may not show your ad to all 1 million people. Most likely, the easiest to target members of that audience (who, non-coincidentally, are the ones that come with a lower cost per action) will see it again and again but they will never buy. Because they were never supposed to be in that audience.
Go back to your targeting parameters and refine them as much as possible. Delete traits that you’re unsure of. Only keep segmenting options that are an exact match for your buyer persona.
If the problem is not your targeting, then your ad may be deceiving. Don’t overpromise in your ad copy. Instead, over-deliver in your landing page copy. That’s how you increase your conversion rate over night.
Referral Traffic
Noticed that a lot of your landing page traffic is coming from a referral link? Look at the page or article that links to it.
If it’s on your website, the solution is simple: edit it – or at least the anchor text. Your aim with the anchor text is to be as clear as possible about what the users will find when they click on it.
If the link in question is from a third-party website, first off make sure it’s not a spam website. In this case, you will have to disavow it. If that’s not the case, try talking to the website owner to edit the anchor text or the CTA (if any) or to move it to a more relevant page or article – again, look for a user intent fit!
Do all your traffic sources pass the test? OK, then the problem must be somewhere else. Let’s carry on with our investigation.
2. Does Your Copy Inspire to Action?
I see this mistake very often: people confuse content with copy. So their landing pages end up a crisscross between the two with lengthy, article-style explanations and a few CTAs sprinkled in.
A quick primer: a landing page is 100% copy. If you explain how something works, explain it with a focus on benefits, not features. You don’t need the history of the product or service you’re selling here, nor long sentences.
Every word you write has to have one purpose: to convert. You don’t explain; you don’t justify; you don’t draw conclusions. You convert!
3. How Many Things Are You Trying to Sell on a Single Landing Page?
If you answered more than one, you need more than one landing page. In other words: don’t use more than one key message per landing page. You will confuse the reader and your conversion rate will drop.
A landing page should have a clear (single!) focus. Think about a TV commercial: in the beginning, you see a gorgeous car from every angle. When you’re almost ready to say this will definitely be your next car and look for the dealer in your area, the spot changes gears and you suddenly see a toddler enjoying mozzarella sticks.
Ever seen something similar that was not a prank? No? It’s because switching focus does not work in any type of marketing or advertising.
Wrapping Things Up
I always advise my agency’s clients split test landing pages, especially the very important ones. Marketing is not an exact science, so it’s often hard to spot the culprit without testing.
More importantly, thorough testing and vetting can help you eliminate a dreary supposition that no one likes to think about: what if it’s not the page’s but the product’s fault? If the worst comes to happen, it’s better to stop money creating countless versions of landing pages for the same product and focus on something else – the sooner you know this the better.
Need help boosting your conversion rates? My team and I are just a click away and ROI-oriented copywriting is our specialty!
