When it comes to websites, most people fall into the same trap: “If it looks good, it’ll work well.”
But if you’ve ever had a beautifully designed landing page that doesn’t convert, you’ll know the harsh truth – looks alone won’t pay the bills.
So, what is the secret to high-converting landing pages? Spoiler alert: it’s not just about fonts, colours or glossy graphics. It’s about function, focus and trust.
When it comes to investing in marketing, we understand the importance of not wasting budget or time on something that doesn’t work. So, if your website is one of the most important assets for driving leads and sales, let’s discover what truly makes a landing page perform.
What is a Landing Page Meant to Do?
It’s important to understand that a landing page isn’t just like any other page on your website. It is designed to be a conversion tool.
Whether you have built a page specifically to capture leads or promote a product or service, the purpose is always the same guide the visitor towards taking a specific action – whether that be making a purchase, downloading a guide, filling out a form or signing up to a newsletter.
Unlike your website homepage for example, which often serves multiple audiences and purposes, a landing page should be tightly focused and distraction free.
Why Design Alone Won’t Cut It
Don’t get me wrong – visual design matters and can have an impact on visitors’ perception of your brand and product/service offering.
Making sure that you have a clean, professional mobile responsive layout with strong branding will absolutely help you turn visitors into customers. However, we know that sometimes people focus too much on making something look pretty or flashy and forget the importance of substance.
Some of the key problems with landing pages can be:
- Vague messaging
- Hidden calls to action
- Not addressing what your audience wants to know
- Slow to load
- Not optimised for what users are searching on (i.e. desktop or mobile)
If your landing pages are suffering with any of the above, no matter how much you invest in a beautiful looking website, you will struggle to convert.
If you compare your website to a high street shop. Imagine having a stunning window display, but once you are in the store there is no one to help you, no clear signage, and the tills are hidden away or no one there to serve you, then you are likely going to leave.
The same applies to your website.
The Real Secret: Clarity, Trust and Intent
If you want to take anything away from this blog post, then let it be these three tips to keep in mind when designing and building a landing page for your website:
1. Clear Messaging
Your landing page should immediately answer the visitor’s core question:
👉 “What is this, and why should I care?”
We know this is hard sometimes but try as much as possible to avoid jargon and use plain English instead. Tell them exactly what you do and what they get as succinctly as possible.
You can utilise clear and snappy headings to grab readers attention and break up large paragraphs with shorter sentences and bullet points.
Tip: Your headline and intro text should be so clear that someone could glance at it and understand the offer without scrolling.
2. Build Trust (E-E-A-T In Action)
People buy from people (or businesses) they trust. Incorporating trust signals into your website landing pages is essential for generating those much desired conversions.
Google’s E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust) isn’t just about rankings —it’s about helping users feel secure enough to take action.
Some great examples of how to build trust on your landing pages are:
- Testimonials and Reviews – whether that is adding them manually to your site or embedding reviews from Google or other independent review platforms such as Trustpilot.
- Accreditations – are you certified, qualified, or award-winning? Then say so. Accreditations like these can make the difference between someone choosing you or a competitor.
- Clear Contact Information – don’t hide your phone number, email address, or location. If you want people to make an enquiry or come buy from you then it should be as easy as possible to do so.
- Transparency – Privacy policies, guarantees, delivery info – all help build confidence.
Find out more about implementing E-E-A-T here.
3. Match User Intent
Is your landing page matching where your audience are in their buying journey? You must remember that not all online searches are with the aim to make a purchase (at least not immediately in a lot of cases).
Some tips for improving a landing page based on search intent and buying journey are:
Ready to buy – if a user is searching with the intent to purchase then make sure that your calls to action are obvious and the process for making a purchase is clear and seamless.
Still researching – if a user is researching a product or service then think about offering a downloadable guide or free consultation. Something that can help answer their questions as part of that research or help show them that you are the best business to use.
Have concerns – Someone may not be convinced by your business yet or have concerns over whether a product or service is right for them. Address these common concerns with FAQs and social proof.
Optimising for Conversion Without Being Pushy
As a digital marketing agency, if we are in a room with other businesses the moment they hear we are agency or we build websites then people tend to immediately switch off, because they have an association that we want to sell to them.
People don’t like pushy sales approaches, whether that is in person or online. But what you can do is guide people to the right destination clearly and helpfully.
Our best tips for optimising a landing page for conversions without being pushy are:
Calls to Action (CTA’s) – make sure that these are easy to find and benefit-led. For example “Get a Free Quote” works better than “Submit”.
Layout and Flow – Keep the most important information and messages (something that will grab the user’s attention) above the fold, reduce the amount of scrolling users have to do to get the information they are after (especially on mobile), and make the page easy to read and flow by breaking up text and using bullet points.
Speed Matters – a slow loading page kills conversions, especially on mobile. Ensure you speak to your developer about how to improve the speed of your website.
Test and Tweak – remember you won’t necessarily get it right immediately. Marketing is sometimes about testing and adjusting, try different headlines and CTA’s to see what makes the most difference over time.
Need More Help Turning Clicks into Paying Customers?
A successful landing page doesn’t just look good – It works hard. It communicates clearly. It builds trust. It guides people to take the next step.
If you’re landing pages aren’t converting, then its time to start improving the message, layout and intent.
If you know your website and landing pages aren’t pulling their weight, then why not speak to our team about conducting an initial website audit to identify what improvements can be made and give you a clear roadmap.
No hard sell. Just honest, practical advice.
Call: 01285 50 55 50
Email: hello@allthingsweb.co.uk