Landing pages are everywhere — and there’s a good reason for that.
Landing pages are one of the most crucial parts of the lead generation process.
And there's a good chance you need more of them. According to HubSpot, companies that increase their total number of landing pages from 10 to 15 see a 55 percent increase in leads.
Not too shabby.
But what makes a good lead capture page versus a standard landing page? And how do you make sure your page actually generates leads?
First, let's talk about the difference between standard landing pages and lead generation landing pages.
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What is a landing page?
A landing page is a web page created for a specific audience coming from a single advertising campaign with the goal of driving one distinct action.
Depending on the goal of the campaign, the goal might be to encourage conversions, gather leads, educate, or something else entirely. Unlike content marketing for lead generation, landing pages are the end of a paid advertising campaign, so they can be more forceful and direct.
The landing page is the last step in the lead generation pipeline, which is why it’s important to use lead generation best practices as well as landing page best practices.
If your landing page works, you'll be able to identify leads, generate sales, and drive ROI.
How to create a landing page for lead generation + best practices
The simplest way to create a lead generation landing page is using a landing page builder. These no-code tools offer drag-and-drop creators that are simple to use and don't require a computer science degree. 💪
Unbounce and Leadpages are the top landing page builders, but they can be a little pricey if you only need a few pages. Carrd offers most of its core features for free, so it's a bit more budget-friendly.
Depending on your CMS and hosting company, you have the capability to build landing pages there.
Now that you know how to create a landing page for lead gen, let's talk about what it should look like.
Don't just throw up a form and call it a day. Instead, make sure you follow lead generation landing page best practices.
Best practices for landing page designs to drive leads
The best landing pages for lead generation combine landing page best practices with lead generation best practices to ensure traffic turns into leads.
Here's how to create an optimized landing page for leads:
Use a short headline that focuses on benefits: While landing pages aren't as short as ads, you still only have a few seconds to grab users' attention. Use a short headline that tells them exactly what they'll get and why they should care.
Add an action-focused subheading: The subheading gives you a bit more space to convince the user to convert. Here, focus on action—what should they do or what will be the result of converting?
Include an engaging image: Visual images break up text, but they can also tell a story. Use images to engage users, keep them on-page, and help direct their attention to important content.
Add multiple CTAs: What do you want people to do? CTAs should use strong language and tell users exactly what will happen. For example: "Download the guide," "Get a free trial." Avoid vague language like "Click to learn more." Include at least 2-3 CTAs throughout the page so users can convert when they are ready.
Minimize form fields: Asking too many questions reduces conversions, but can make it easier to qualify leads. Make sure to only ask for the information you need to balance quality and quantity of leads.
Remove page navigation: Landing pages serve one purpose—in this case, to drive leads. Removing navigation from the top of landing pages reduces distractions and helps keep users on task.
Limit links: Removing external (or even internal) links keeps users on that path to conversion. While you may occasionally link to relevant information or social proof, limit links as much as possible.
Optimize for search: While most traffic will come from a paid ad or other marketing initiatives, landing pages can show up in search results. Make sure to optimize for mobile, include key terms, add image alt tags, and use headers to optimize for (free) organic traffic.
Here's a quick checklist to ensure your landing page is optimized to drive leads—and show up in the search results.
Lead generation landing page examples
Here's the thing about best practices—they're only right some of the time.
If everyone follows the same strategies, no one wins. Sometimes best practices don't fit your goals or branding. Here are examples of top lead gen landing pages that follow best practices—and a few that don't.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a popular social media managing app for scheduling social posts on multiple platforms and tracking social engagement. This landing page shows up in search results for "best social media scheduling app."
There are several notable strategies at play here—first, the number of CTAs. In just this above-the-fold section there are THREE CTAs to try their platform. Their goal is to get users to sign up for a trial and then, hopefully, convert once they've tried it.
The image is also on the left, not the right, which is different. (Most landing pages tend to put the image on the right.) They also showcase their dashboard, so users can see how it looks.
There's also only one link that isn't a CTA, which they use to promote the addition of TikTok to their platform. There is no navigation bar, no clutter; it's short and to the point.
Workato
Workato is a workflow automation platform. This landing page is for a campaign targeting "marketing automation." You'll notice they don't use any images at all and keep the navigation bar.
There could be a few reasons they deviated from best practices—the brand isn't as well-known, so they might want to help users learn more about them. Also, the brand's goal is to streamline and simplify workflow, so leaving the image out makes the page feel cleaner and less cluttered.
They included two CTAs and one additional link to their automation report, which keeps users on task. Finally, they included social proof in the form of big brand names that, presumably, use their software. That can go a long way to establishing trust and driving conversions.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs, a popular SEO tool and dashboard, breaks a few landing page best practices as well. Like Workato, they also included their nav bar. The only images on this page are icons of a star and a mountain.
There are a few strategies that stand out—the CTA is clear and direct. The orange color of the button stands out from the blue background. The heading is benefit-based and tells leads exactly what to expect. The page also offers social proof by displaying the number of new accounts created in the last week.
Overall this landing page is clean, uncluttered, and drives users to take one, specific action—sign up for an account.
Aircall
Aircall, a call recording software, offers a more traditional landing page that leverages all the best practices. The landing page includes a video, rather than an image, which is more engaging.
Notice the form field asks for more than just an email address, which makes sense for a B2B company looking to qualify leads. Still, there are only four form fields, so it's not overwhelming.
There are two CTAs above the fold, making it easy to get started. One is for a demo, while the other lets users get started right away.
The page also includes links for current users to sign in or get support, which ensures users can find what they need. The heading and subheading also focus on the benefits of the software by addressing pain points like call quality and data storage.
CallTrackingMetrics
The CallTrackingMetrics example is a little busier than the other lead generation landing page examples here, but it still works. The heading and subheading quickly describe what the software does and explains the first month is free.
By using a button to book a demo, they are able to avoid including too many form fields and keep the page from looking cluttered. The bottom of the page shows the awards the company has won, further establishing trust.
Start with best practices—but make sure to test!
Lead generation landing pages are the final step in your conversion process, so make sure you get it right. As you can see from the examples we've shared, best practices don't have to be followed to a T. Start by using as many as possible, but make sure to A/B test to see what works for your company.
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