Anatomy of a …. Good Landing Page

Key Takeaways

• Landing pages turn clicks from ads, emails, and promotions into leads by guiding visitors toward one clear action.
• Keep headlines and messaging consistent with the campaign or offer that brought visitors to the page.
• Use concise, benefit-focused copy and relevant visuals to quickly show customers what you offer and why it matters.
• Build confidence with trust signals like customer reviews, testimonials, case studies, certifications, and awards.
• Make taking action easy with one clear CTA and a simple lead form that only asks for essential information.
• Optimize landing pages for mobile devices and fast load times, and make sure every element works together toward the same conversion goal.
   

They’re where potential customers end up after clicking on your paid ads, email campaigns, and promotions. In other words, landing pages are where interest turns into real action. 

Which is why it’s so important that each landing page gets created with the right elements to generate the most, and the right kinds, of leads for your business.

We’re breaking down all the parts of a good landing page—like the headline, CTA, visual elements, and more—to make sure you’re making the most out of this powerful marketing tool.

[Related: Anatomy of …. A Search Ad]

What is a landing page?
In terms of digital marketing, a landing page is a webpage specifically created for a consumer to land on after clicking a paid search ad, paid social ad, or a link in an email (promotional emails in particular).

They’re created to coincide with a specific marketing campaign, offer, service, or action. Data shows that 48% of marketers build a fresh landing page for each marketing campaign or offer, because the more landing pages you have, the better. For example, increasing the number of landing pages from 10 to 15 can boost conversions by 55%.

Landing pages have a single focus: turn a website visitor into a paying customer.

[Related: What is a Landing Page in Local Business Digital Marketing?]

The parts of a good landing page

Before you start making a list of landing pages you need to create, or jump on the phone with your website developer, it helps to look at all the elements an effective landing page should include:

1. A clear, compelling headline

The headline on your landing page is one of the first things a potential customer sees once they land, so it needs to quickly confirm they’re in the right place.

A good landing page headline needs to connect directly to the ad, email, promotion, or other link that brought someone there. For example, if your ad promotes a free estimate for an HVAC inspection, your landing page headline should make that offer clear. Consistent messaging like this helps create a smooth experience from click to landing page. Visitors should wonder if they were supposed to end up somewhere else.

The headline should also focus on what matters most to the customer. Instead of simply naming the service, highlight the value they’ll get from choosing your business.

Make sure to keep it clear, specific, and easy to understand. It doesn’t need to be overly clever or pun-y (although there’s no rule against that)—it just needs to give visitors confidence that they’re in the right place and a reason to keep reading.

2. Concise, benefit-focused copy

Now that your headline has their attention, the rest of your copy needs to quickly explain why they should care.

Landing page copy should be clear, focused, and easy to scan. Simpler writing converts better. Think around a 5th-7th grade reading level. Pages that use overly advanced vocabulary tend to see a 24% drop in conversion rates. 

Customers want to understand what you’re offering, how it can help them, and what they need to do next. Focus on the benefits like:

• What problem are you helping solve?
• What can they expect to get?
• Why is your business a good fit?

Keep it short, use bullets when it makes sense, and make sure every piece of copy supports the same goal. The easier your page is to understand, the easier it is for someone to take the next step.

3. Strong visuals

Your landing page shouldn’t just be all copy, though. The right visuals can both make your landing page look good and help visitors quickly understand what you offer and picture themselves choosing your business. 

Use relevant photos, graphics, or videos that support your message on the page. Depending on your business, that could mean showing your team in action, highlighting a finished project, or giving visitors a closer look at the service you provide. Keep in mind though, that research shows that images with people in them have a 66% higher CTR than those with only objects.

Every visual should have a purpose. Keep them relevant to the offer and focused on helping potential customers take the next step.

4. Trust signals

Before someone takes the next step to contact your local business, they want to feel confident they’re making the right choice. That’s where adding the right trust signals to your page comes in.

Things like customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies give visitors a chance to hear directly from people who have already chosen your business. Over half of consumers are putting their trust in online reviews first, and 50% of people in a recent survey admitted that case studies convinced them to keep moving through the sales funnel.

Reviews aren’t the only way to build trust, though. You could also highlight things like certifications, awards, guarantees, years of experience, or professional affiliations relevant to your business.

5. A clear call to action (CTA)

You’ve gotten someone on your landing page, explained the offer, and given them a reason to trust your business. Now, you need to make it clear what step you want them to take next.

That’s the job of your call to action, or CTA.

Example CTAs include:

• Call now
• Request a quote
• Schedule an appointment
• Get started

Whichever you choose, you need to make sure it both shows visitors the next step you want them to take and connects to the overall goal of your landing page. Personalized CTA elements perform 202% better than regular ones.

It also needs to stand out and be easy to find. If your landing page is on the long side, don’t be afraid to repeat it in a few places so visitors don’t have to scroll around to find it once they’re ready to act.

Most importantly, keep it focused. Pages that focus on one primary CTA convert around 13.5% on average, much higher than the typical 4–5% conversion rate.

6. A simple lead form

If your goal is to generate leads (which it most likely is), your landing page needs to make it as easy as possible for visitors to get in touch.

And that starts with keeping your lead form as simple as possible too. That means only asking for the information you absolutely need to follow up, like:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address
• A few details about the service they’re interested in

The more fields someone is required to fill out, the more work you’re asking them to do before they even talk to you.

The form fields are just one part of the overall experience. You also need to let them know what happens after they hit “Submit.” Should they expect a call? Will they get a quote? Can they expect to hear back within a certain time frame?

A simple form with clear expectations can make all the difference. 

7. Mobile-friendly design and fast load times

Your landing page can have all the right elements, but they won’t do much good if potential customers have trouble actually using it.

So, you need to make sure your landing page works just as well on a phone as it does on a desktop. After all, over 96% of the global digital population uses a mobile device to connect to the internet. That means keeping text easy to read, buttons easy to tap, and forms easy to fill out without having to zoom in or scroll from side to side. 

Speed matters, too. If your page takes too long to load, visitors may leave before they ever see your offer, no matter how compelling it is.

Studies show 86% of the top-performing landing pages are optimized for mobile, so you need to make sure yours are too.

[Related: Anatomy Of …. A Blog Post]

Pull all the pieces together

A strong headline or an eye-catching CTA is certainly important to your landing page, but no single element is going to do all the work on its own.

For your landing pages to be the most effective, they should bring all of these elements together around one clear goal. 

• Your headline grabs attention
• Your copy and visuals explain the value
• Your trust signals build confidence
• Your CTA and lead form make it easy for visitors to take action.

Each piece needs to support the next. Because when everything works together, you create a clear path that takes someone from clicking on your ad or link to becoming a lead for your business.

That’s why it’s so important to think of your landing pages as more than just a place to send traffic. They’re a crucial part of the campaign itself and often the last, crucial step that drives direct customer interaction.

[Related: Why Local Businesses Need an All-in-One Marketing Platform]

Run campaigns that turn clicks into customers with Hibu

Hopefully this breakdown gives you a little more confidence in creating your own landing pages so that your campaigns run smoothly from start to finish, but if not, Hibu is here to help.

We know you didn’t start your local business to become an expert in webpage creation or anything else that comes with digital marketing. So let us use our expertise to help you out.

When you partner with us, we bring your landing pages and digital advertising together as part of one connected marketing strategy. That way, the message someone sees in your ad carries through to the page they land on.

And because your landing pages can work alongside your Search, Social, Display, and other marketing solutions, every piece can work toward the same goal: turning more clicks into more leads and more leads into more customers.

Ready to see exactly how we can help your local business do just that? Fill out the form for a free, no-obligation Hibu One demo or take a self-guided tour of the platform now.