20 Conversion Enhancing Landing Page Tips & Advice

First before I get to my own tips, I ran across a good article that is sort of related the other day.

News Article Design: 20 Tips For Good Web Copy
by Jason Lee Miller

Clean is better. Eye-tracking studies say so. Web copy should be bulleted, concise, easy. Photos should be informative, not decorative. White space is good. And guys like looking at George Brett’s protective cup.[...]

Link to the Rest of the Article: News Article Design: 20 Tips for Good Web Copy

Also, I’m going to give you a list I’ve put together from my experience that have made an impact for me.. Some of this might overlap a little from the above article.

Note that you still need to split-test these. Every market is different. We all deal with different visitor personalities, demographics and scenarios.

1. Headlines: Don’t always assume red is better. Especially out of the Internet Marketing markets. Test blues. It will provide a sense of professionalism.
2. Use Lists.. lots of lists. People like lists. They really like them! Did I emphasis that enough?
3. Use sub-headlines throughout your sales copy to draw the visitor back in.
4. Don’t overdue highlighting. Highlight or bold words that make an impact.
5. Use your picture on a pre-sell or sales letter. Test it though. It should match what the audience can relate to.
6. Don’t be shy, use those header graphics. You still want them to see your headline so keep the header thin and mellow.
7. Use graphics for your bullets! Don’t ignore that one. It will make a noticeable difference.
8. Use a graphic signature at the end of a pre-sell or sales letter.
9. Place order links in your post scripts (p.s.)
10. Use copyright dates at the bottom of your page.
11. Use bonuses in your offers. It gives the impression of more value and they will spend a lot more time on your page having them there. The more original and compelling the bonuses the better.
12. Definitely use guarantees; I would use professional graphics so they jump out at the visitor and give them comfort.
13. Use a support center. Even if it’s something like the free version of Cerberus. It can make a big impression. Things like adding your phone number or having a support center can add a big boost to your profits. You will instantly be seen as professional and trustworthy.
14. Testimonials.. Use them. If someone gives you any kind of positive comment about your product, use that as an opportunity to ask for some comments that you can include on your pages… Yes, this is for Affiliate Marketers as well! Find creative ways to capture comments and interact with some of your visitors.
15. And if you can, include your address and phone number at the bottom. Another area that can give comfort to the visitor that you are a legit operation.
16. Use keywords in your heading. This will tell the visitor to read on; you have the answers or results they were looking for.
17. Make sure you use a call to action and get them to click that link to your affiliate program!
18. Know your audience and write for them. Become one of them and talk on their level.. If they are clowns, you be a clown. If they are fighters, use fight in your words.
19. Keep your paragraphs short. This isn’t College English. This is the web. Write for the web. As a general rule of thumb, no paragraph should be longer then 4-5 lines.
20. Create Urgency. Limit an offer.. limited time or limited quantity.

All these things can be applied to affiliate sites. We are not any different then merchants or marketers selling their own products with sales pages. The same rules basically apply.

This list is not meant to be comprehensive.. And you won’t use all of these in every situation or market; always test. These are some of the top things to consider if you want to take your site from doing ok to doing really good or great!

-Matt Levenhagen