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We’ve all seen them. The huge red headlines. The sales letter format. The yellow highlights. The intrusive testimonials. And the infomercial-style sales pitch. Of course, I’m talking about ugly landing pages.

A few years back, when I was an internet marketing noob, every time I saw one of these landing pages, I would shudder. I thought they looked like blatant spam, and I couldn’t believe visitors would actually do business on such a sketchy/ugly website.

But after time and time again seeing just how well some of these ugly landing pages convert, I had to realize that I was just wrong. The people designing and writing these landing pages know what they’re doing. Many of them are affiliate marketers whose entire living depends on getting the highest number of conversions possible, so you have to realize they’ve tried everything and have found these sales letter landing pages just flat out work. That’s all there is to it.

But why? Why do ugly landing pages convert so well?

1. They have no distractions—One thing you have to admit about the sales letter landing page is that it doesn’t include anything that distracts the visitor from the main message. There isn’t any navigation, and there aren’t any unnecessary graphics. As soon as someone lands on the page, there’s only one thing for them to look at, and that is the sales message.
2. They’re easy to scan—By now, you know that online readers tend to scan content rather than read it word for word. These ugly landing pages are set up perfectly to accommodate scanners. They include bolded/highlighted phrases, bullet points, subheads, and other elements that allow you to quickly scan the content without having to read everything.
3. They include frequent calls to action—Too many landing pages have a buried call to action. Web users spend 80% of their time above the fold, so most visitors don’t even notice a call to action at the end of the page. That’s why it’s important to feature the call to action prominently and to repeat it regularly so visitors always have a way to take action no matter where they are on your landing page.
4. The main message is repeated regularly—I hear a lot of copywriters complain about long, sales-y landing pages because they feel like they’re just repeating the same things over and over. And to an extent, that’s true. But it’s also smart. Your message might not stick in the consumer’s brain the first time they see it, but by driving the point home over and over, it can become clear and motivate them to take action.
5. The testimonials verify the claims—Whether you believe the testimonials or not is irrelevant. The truth is testimonials build credibility, and consumers feel like they can trust their peers. So, whenever they see testimonials that verify the claims being made on the page, they start to think “Maybe this isn’t too good to be true.”

What do you think of ugly landing pages? What are some other reasons they work so well?

One of the biggest myths is that customers want a lot of choices. Businesses think by giving their customers a lot of different things to choose from, they’re bound to find something they like. It’s the old “throw a bunch of $*@! against the wall and see what sticks” theory.

The only problem is it doesn’t work.

Why doesn’t it work? The concept is called Choice Paralysis. The idea is that when you give customers too many choices, they end up choosing nothing at all. The choices overwhelm and confuse them, and it quickly becomes easier for them to choose nothing than to pick the right thing from all the options in front of them.

Applying Choice Paralysis to Landing Page Design

I’m always hunting for new ways to get more conversions. One of the ways I believe you can stop losing sales is to limit the number of options on your landing pages. Whenever someone comes to your landing page, you should have a clear action you want them to take. If you’re throwing several different options in their face, your call to action gets diluted because visitors don’t know what they should do.

Of course, this begs the question: How many options should you give landing page visitors? Do you want to corner them into choosing one thing?

Personally, I prefer landing pages that have no more than 2 options. This allows the visitor to more easily see the differences between the options, allowing him to make a decision without the stress of comparing several options.

One way to keep Choice Paralysis from setting in is to use a clear chart showing the benefits/features of each option. For example:

This gives visitors a visual tool for clearly recognizing the differences between the two options, allowing them to make a quick, well-informed decision. Just make sure you don’t get out of control with these tables and have them compare dozens of features, as that too gets overwhelming.

What do you think? How many options do you typically offer on your landing pages?

By now, you probably already know that I love discussing landing pages. From landing page design to the copy, every facet of the process is fascinating to me. In the past, I’ve offered tips for improving conversion rate, and today, I’m going to add to that list.

Below, you’ll find even more tips for increasing the effectiveness of your landing pages and getting more conversions.

• Place a call to action in every screen view—Too many times, the call to action is buried at the bottom of the page after 2000 words of copy. Most visitors never even make it that far, so they never know which action you want them to take. That’s why I recommend placing a call to action in every screen view. That way, no matter where someone is on your landing page, they have a way to take action. Always make sure your call to action is clear and to the point.

• Focus on using testimonials that tie into the benefit you’re discussing—You already know that testimonials go a long way to building your credibility and increasing your conversion rate, but simply slapping up dozens of testimonials isn’t always the most effective strategy. Instead of tossing up any and every testimonial you have, focus on using testimonials that tie into the overall message of your page. For example, if you’re landing page is focused on the benefit that your company offers a quick turnaround for its services, include testimonials from customers praising you for your fast service.

• Don’t offer multiple pricing plans—I understand why companies offer customers different packages and pricing choices, but I don’t think it’s the best idea for a landing page. Too many choices overwhelm visitors, causing them to take no action at all. Simplify your pricing structure, and eliminate all of the different choices from your landing page.

• If you must link, use pop-ups—You can’t expect to convert visitors if you’re constantly sending them away to other pages on your website. Landing pages that are full of links are like a boat that’s full of leaks. If you must include links to other content, use pop-up windows so that visitors don’t leave your main landing page.

• Edit. Edit. Edit.—I’m not saying you have to use short copy on your landing page. In fact, there are many cases where long copy is necessary. However, I am saying that your copy needs to be tight, regardless of its length. Trim the fluff, and eliminate anything that distracts from your main message.

• Don’t be afraid to start over from scratch—We tend to focus on tweaking landing pages to improve conversion rate, but sometimes, you need to go back to the drawing board because your landing page just isn’t working. While it’s a daunting task to start over from scratch, don’t be afraid to do it. A fresh approach could be just what you need to get the conversion rate you’ve always been wanting.

Which tips would you add to this list? Leave a comment with your advice for improving landing page conversion rate.

As 2009 gets underway, one thing is clear: your conversion rate is more important now than ever before. With the economy in shambles, you have to get the absolute most bang for your buck. In the past, I’ve given tips for improving your website’s conversion rate, and hopefully, you’ve put these into action by now. If so, you’re ready to add in these 5 new tips to take your conversion rate even higher.

1. Use Emotional Copywriting- Buying is an emotional decision. Sure, there is reasoning involved, but the actual decision occurs because of an emotion. In fact, the University of Rochester School of Medicine did a study that determined without emotional guiding factors, people simply can’t make decisions. What does this mean for you? It means your copy needs to appeal to their emotions. The best way to do this is to instantly connect with their problem and to tell them how your product will benefit them. By letting them know what’s in it for them, you’re tapped directly into their needs.
2. Incorporate Facts into Your Copy- Of course, you can’t have all emotions and no logic. Remember, people are still wary when buying from companies online. That’s why you need to get your visitors’ trust if you want to convert them. One way to do this is to use facts from case studies or other research. A well placed statistic gives the visitor the reasoning needed to justify their emotional inclination to buy. (more…)

Whether your goal is to generate a lead or to close a sale, creating an effective landing page is necessary for reaching your goal. With a great landing page, your visitors will be far likelier to take the action you desire. Unfortunately, most landing pages aren’t great. Instead, they seem to be created simply as a filler page for customers to land on. As a result, the visitor hits the “back” button as soon as they land on the page.

So, what can you do to ensure your visitors are sticking around? Follow these 7 tips for successful landing pages.

1. Write a Great Headline- The first thing visitors to your landing page see is the headline. A boring, keyword-stuffed headline won’t do the job here. Your headline needs to refer to the place from which the visitor clicked to get to your page. It also should be strong enough to entice the visitor to keep reading. Some copywriters prefer using leading questions; others favor writing compelling headlines that sell a benefit.
2. Use Clean Design- Remember, this is a landing page, not your home page. Keep the design as simple as possible. The goal of your landing page design should be to direct the visitor’s eye flow toward the call to action. For this reason, you need to eliminate any unnecessary distractions from the page. Keep it simple! (more…)