Putting Your Landing Pages to Work - Calling Them to Action
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So you've managed to entice a prospect to click through your ad to your landing page. You've given them the information they need to make a decision. You've even presented it in several different ways to appeal to different kinds of prospects. Now what?
It's a truism of the business that you never get the sale if you don't ask for it. Believe it or not, a prospect can't always tell what you want them to do. You must provide some kind of call to action. “Buy it now,” “Try it today,” “For more information, sign up for our newsletter,” “Click here to order the white paper” and similar statements are all calls to action.
Some even advocate including several calls to action on your landing page. That makes sense, especially if your landing page requires the reader to scroll down. Include one at the top, one towards the middle, and one near the bottom. Or, as you design the page, consider where the most logical “decision points” come up, and include a call to action in those places.
Your goal at this point is to make it as easy as possible for your prospect to convert, so it makes sense to include as many opportunities to do so as you can without causing annoyance. In my research I've learned that it's a good idea to include a link which takes the user from the landing page to a page where they can order, register, or do whatever you want them to do. There's nothing wrong with including that link in several prominent places on the landing page.
If you do use such a link, remember what I said about clicking through ads to landing pages; the user expects something specific, and if you don't deliver it, you'll only confuse them and cause them to click away. If they're ordering something, they'll probably expect to be taken to an order form. If they're downloading something, they'll expect to be taken to a download page. If they're signing up for a newsletter or otherwise registering for something, they'll expect some kind of web form where they'll need to put in the appropriate information.
Next: Refining the Details >>
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