Conversion Rate Optimisation – where to start and how to do it like the PROs

Here are some award winning simple landing page designs to show you what we mean:

http://www.awwwards.com/websites/minimal/

How to Figure Out What Really Needs to Be on Your Landing Page

What do your customers need and what do you want them to do? These are your two most important questions for a landing page. Maybe you want someone to sign up for a trial of a service, perhaps it's more important that they can search your stock easily. Whatever it is that will most likely  turn a passive browser into a client should be the main focus of your landing page.The design is important of course and there are plenty of great tools to help you design your site as well as loads of designers who'll be happy to help you do it. Great design will help you get your message across, but first you need to decide what that message should be. The chances are it's shorter than you think.If you already have a nice-looking website with all the necessary information and fancy photos, it's time to think about conversion of visitors into clients. It's surprising how much more effective your site will become with some small and simple personal touches. After your potential customer has found your site and looked at your products or services, they're interested and ready to take the next step. It's your job to make that next step as simple and attractive as possible.

Let’s start with the keywords you would like to optimise your page for. Choose them wisely!

Choose one main keyword and 2 to 3 relevant keywords. Use them in the META elements of your website – Here is an example:

What would visitors expect:

1. Residential electrician
2. 24/7 available services
3. 20% discount

What a basic page looks like:

Here is how to optimise your page:

Show visitors what they expected to find after they’ve clicked on your result in SERP - use relevant design, photos and texts The key to success is the quality of the visual content. Try to use your own photos. We all like stock photos because they are cheap and look professional, but let's face it - real people make it much more personal. Customers would like to see the same person after they book your service. Here is the difference: People are looking for a specific service or product and click on your result for a reason. Let them see it again. They need same day delivery - then show it. Everything that makes you stand out from the crowd is worth showing off.In this example, we offer 24/7 available services and 20% off. It is important to show this right away: It's important that to know where you want your customers to look. There's no one right size or colour that's perfect for all sites, but there will be options that work a better or and worse options for you. Running some A/B tests and monitoring your results will show what works best for your unique audience. One place definitely worth personalising is your 'Call to Action'.For Amazon or Paypal, 'pay now' is fine. It's what they want you to do and they know their system. It's generic, but both of these internet giants sell thousands of different products. Making your call to action more personalised and specific gives your customer a surprisingly powerful subconscious message to do the next thing.Imagine being your customer: what motivates you to take the next step? That's what you want your CTA to say. If you're a guitar teacher then 'How much will it cost me to learn guitar?' is more appealing than 'Call us for music lessons'. Needless to say, 'sign up for your free trial lesson' is yet more powerful! If you offer something for free - boast with it! We all know the difference between “shoes” and “Final 50% off of shoes until the end of the month”. It’s the same with the most of the airlines websites . The “2 seats left”  label - it’s there from the beginning till the end. Just to make it look urgent. So use the same tactic with your offers. How to use it, check the example: By comparing two versions of a web page, you can immediately see which one performs better. This is known as A/B or split testing. By showing the two variants to similar visitors at the same time you’ll be able to determine which version works best. This is a vital part in ensuring the growth of your small business as neglecting your website can even lead to business losing its online customersIf you decide to come up with test ideas yourself, you can determine what you want to test and then prioritize from a plan. You can run the tests with the help of recommended tools and get feedback from user testers. Design individual experiments for each of the areas you want to test and refer to your resources when setting up. The optimal time frame for the tests is more than a week which will give you plenty of time for statistically significant results to come in.You’ll need to review these results and make any changes needed based on your analysis. Use the information gathered to be one step ahead of your competitors!