In this SlideShare, we take an in-depth look into landing pages, analysing the layout and content used by a variety of B2B technology companies, to show how the best companies optimise landing pages, and tips and tricks for easy landing page fixes.

1. LANDING PAGES:
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
February 2021

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Agenda
What makes a great landing page?
• What are landing pages?
• What makes a good landing page?
• Landing pages in automation industry
• Landing pages in software industry
• Agency landing pages
• What the experts are doing
• Our top 5 tips for landing page design

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A single web page for a specific campaign that usually aims to generate leads
Landing Page Definition
In online marketing, a landing page, sometimes known as a "lead
capture page","single property page", "static page", or a "destination
page", is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a
search engine optimized search result, marketing promotion, marketing
email, or an online advertisement. The landing page will usually display
directed sales copy that is a logical extension of the advertisement,
search result or link. Landing pages are used for lead generation. The
actions that a visitor takes on a landing page is what determines an
advertiser's conversion rate. A landing page may be part of a microsite
or a single page within an organization's main web site.

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Few experts agree on the most important elements of a great landing page.
Ultimately conversions are what really matter
What Makes a Great Landing Page?
• Many different ideas of best practice
• Some of the suggestions we have seen include:
– Scent
– Appropriate colours
– Include pain
– Include pleasure
• Ultimately great landing pages are the ones that work
– Maximise high-quality leads, minimise “time wasters”

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No amount of design hacks will compensate for a poorly-planned campaign
4-Step Process for LP Development
• DETERMINE
– What’s the goal of the LP? How does it fit into the campaign?
• FOCUS
– Who are you targeting? What are their motivations? Journey stage?
• DELIVER
– Follow best practice for design
• ENHANCE
– Measure, test and test again!

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Let’s see how some companies create landing pages by viewing Google Ads…
Great LP Design
• Fits the flow
• Compelling headline
• Clear layout
• Clear CTAs
• The right copy
• An inescapable why
• Introduces urgency
• Form fields match the offer

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Which of the ads has the best landing page?
Variable frequency drive LPs
• Let’s look at a standard search
term in automation
• Variable speed (or frequency)
drives control AC motors
• We searched for:
– 10kW variable frequency
drive

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This is typical of a “product family” landing page
The “Product Family” LP
• Doesn’t flow
• Weak headline
• Confusing layout
• Poor copy
• Not optimised for
lead generation
Small chat icon
Big hero banner that’s
mainly not the product
I want
I’ve already searched!
How do I know which is
right for me?

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Routing people to your home page is not a good solution
The “Home Page” LP
• Even less effective
• Not related to our
search
• Lots of distractions
• Menu doesn’t help
find our 10kW drive
How do I know which is
right for me?

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Does the software industry do any better?
Static Analysis
• Static analysis is a software
term
• Tool that analyses code for
potential issues
• We searched for:
– Static analysis tool
• NB more specific searches
returned poorly-targeted ads

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Analyst reports are good content, but have to be sure that you’re targeting the right audience:
Use when driven by specific campaign, rather than broader one
The “Independent Report” LP
• Generally well-designed
landing page – classic style!
• Doesn’t use same terminology
– Static analysis
• Distracting menus
• Not really top-of-the-funnel
– Is the Synopsys product
right for my application?

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Much cleaner layout, but do we really need those social media icons?
The “White Paper” LP
• Fits the flow
– Search implies selecting a tool
• Weak headline
• Poor copy
– Obvious it’s a Parasoft puff-
piece when you read page
• Several form fields
– Although phone optional

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Demos have to be really compelling to be top-of-the-funnel offers
The “Free Demo” LP
• Demos aren’t usually top-of-
the-funnel offers
• Poor copy
• Lazy form
– What message should I
enter?
• Poorly targeted
– Not a static analysis tool!

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Let’s see what the experts do…
Marketing Automation Agencies
• These guys must know how to
do it, right?
• Not sure SharpSpring has quite
picked the right search term!
• … and the agency pages aren’t
brilliant!

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Let’s see what the real experts do…
The Experts
• Marketing automation companies have the most data on what works
and what doesn’t
• Let’s see what they do to find current best practice…

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Clear, compelling messaging makes this a great landing page
The “Competitive” LP
• Clear messaging and headline
• Identifies pain point and
solution
– HubSpot is seen as expensive
• Very simple form
• Social proof from awards
• Immediate trial
– Not unusual for SaaS

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Requires a lot of effort to create these pages.
Side benefit is that they can generate SEO traffic
Recent Landing Page Trends
• It’s about quality, not quantity
• Landing pages can filter out lower-quality leads
• Longer, content-rich landing pages
– Split into sections
– CTAs at different stages
– Different ways of achieving CTA (register, call, etc)

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Our Top 5 Landing Page Tips
1. Create custom landing pages
2. Get your targeting (of the promotion and offer) right
3. Be clear and direct (not British!), particularly for CTAs
4. Get the “why” right: what’s the pain and how do you solve it?
5. Don’t ask for too much information
Bonus tip: Test different approaches. Your audience is unique.
It takes work to create landing pages that convert, but the payoff is huge.

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Thank You!
Any questions?
mike@NapierB2B.com
www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/
www.NapierB2B.com