Your landing pages are often the first — and sometimes only — touchpoints a visitor has with your website and brand. A well-optimized landing page is your chance to make a lasting impression on potential customers, and can be the difference between a bounced visit or a new lead.

What is landing page optimization?

Landing Page Optimization (LPO) is the practice of improving landing page elements to enhance performance and increase conversions.

Landing pages are commonly dedicated web pages built outside of an organization's core website architecture. Integrated campaigns, such as paid advertising and events, use these pages with the goal of an immediate conversion. Organizations typically create landing pages on an as-needed basis and for a specified time.

LPO is closely linked to conversion rate optimization (CRO) as both focus on optimizing content, layout, graphics, and other elements to create more conversions. The main difference is that conversion rate optimization focuses on a company's entire website, whereas landing page optimization focuses on dedicated landing pages generally outside of the core website. 

Landing page optimization usually involves two main types of optimization: 

• A/B testing identifies the optimal landing page for the most conversions. 
• Rules-based personalization customizes a landing page for a specific audience or industry with the goal of increasing conversions.

Why is landing page optimization important?

A landing page might be the first web page visitors see when engaging with a brand. Visitors often follow a call-to-action (CTA) from a referral site or click on a digital or pay-per-click (PPC) ad that takes them directly to a dedicated landing page to perform a desired action. Landing pages actions can include a variety of responses, such as: 

• Requesting a demo
• Starting a free trial
• Signing up for a webinar
• Purchasing a product 

The goal of a landing page optimization strategy is to collect as many conversions as possible in order to help the overall business reach its revenue goals. 

Effective landing page optimization can lead to increased customer engagement and lower customer acquisition cost (CAC).

The difference between landing page optimization and website optimization

Landing page optimization and website optimization both have a goal of increasing conversions, but differ based on the page they’re applied to. 

Website optimization focuses on a brand’s entire website and individual web pages within the website’s architecture. Landing page optimization, on the other hand, optimizes a specific destination with the goal of converting from that page. Landing pages may be part of an organization’s greater web presence, but the focus of a landing page is to convert leads, while the greater website may have multiple goals and calls-to-action. 

An effective landing page optimization strategy has a direct effect on conversions, so linking these two metrics can be beneficial when analyzing the wider digital marketing strategy. Landing page optimization is a sub-strategy of CRO and can be helpful in identifying how many conversions come from a landing page as opposed to elsewhere on the website. 

Types of landing page optimization

There are three main types of landing page optimization: 

Associative content targeting

Marketers tailor landing page content based on parameters such as visitors’ locations, search keywords, industry, and other demographic information. This process helps marketers optimize a landing page based on a specific target audience with different consumer characteristics.

Predictive content targeting

A more active methodology involves adapting web page content based on known information about the visitor, including their purchase and browsing histories. This information predicts future consumer behavior and enables marketing teams to be more effective in retargeting and other marketing campaigns.

Consumer-directed targeting

The most transparent of the three types, this LPO method involves using publicly available information such as reviews and ratings, often referred to as social proof, to create page content that relates to a prospective customer’s sentiments.

Components of effective landing page optimization

An effective landing page optimization strategy should include the following key elements:  

Clean landing page design

Generally, a landing page uses simpler and more concise language than a standard website to streamline the user experience (UX). The goal is to set a clear call-to-action so visitors convert on that page visit. Don’t forget that quality landing page design includes optimizing for mobile devices.

A clear value proposition

Marketers should showcase how their solution solves problems for their target audience. Leveraging social proof, customer testimonials, and any relevant case studies are simple ways to ensure you’re building a high-converting landing page.

Effective calls to action

Your CTA should provide a clear (but short!) description of what the user will get if they click the button. Experiment with different messages and make sure the copy accurately describes what the user will receive if they take the action. Clear and optimized messaging will boost both click-through and lead capture rates on your landing page forms.

5 steps to get started with landing page optimization

Here are a few tips to get started with your landing page optimization strategy.

1. Research your target persona 

Before building a landing page, identify the target audience the page is meant for and adapt the content and page elements specifically for that target audience. Ask yourself: 

• Am I clearly communicating my value proposition in a way that resonates with this audience? 
• What questions do they have about my solution? 
• What solution is most interesting to them? 
• What would get them to sign up for my service or for more information? 

Knowing these answers will help you create an experience that keeps potential customers on the page and encourages them to take action.

2. Set clear measurement goals 

What metrics are you tracking to consider your optimization efforts successful? Outline conversion goals with your digital marketing team or other partners and ensure alignment on any industry standard conversion rate benchmarks you’re aiming to hit.

3. Keep the sales cycle in mind 

Consider where potential customers are in the overall sales cycle. The content and messaging you use on landing page forms should differ based on where someone is in their buying journey. Consider a progressive form if the visitors are already in your database to limit what types of contact information you collect upon lead capture.‍

4. Take stock of your competitors’ strategies 

What are your competitors doing to attract the same target audience? Not only will this data help you ensure you’re following industry standard landing page optimization best practices, it can also provide insight into how to differentiate your strategy from your competition. 

5. Adopt an always-on testing approach 

When launching landing pages, you should keep continuous optimization in mind. Optimization tools can be useful at this stage, where there’s no shortage of elements to test. Continually experimenting with elements such as landing page copy, contrasting colors, form fields and form placement, CTA button (size, shape, color, etc.) can all contribute to optimizing landing page performance.

How AI can help with landing page optimization

Landing page optimization is an effective way to increase conversion rates across digital marketing campaigns. Coordinating efforts across SEO and ensuring the most important elements of your landing page serve the needs of your target audience, LPO ensures a more personalized and relevant experience to your website visitors.

If you’re stuck on how to get started with landing page optimization, AI can be a helpful part of your optimization tool arsenal.

Learn more about using AI to scale landing page optimization and your website personalization program by getting in touch with our team today.