{"id":3720,"date":"2015-02-05T17:52:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T22:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/?p=3720"},"modified":"2015-02-05T17:52:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T22:52:01","slug":"design-high-converting-landing-pages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/design-high-converting-landing-pages\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Design High Converting Landing Pages"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

The thought of working backwards is counter-intuitive to most humans.<\/p>\n

From birth, everything we learn and every example we are given about how to get from point A to point B, whether it be on an actual journey, or eating dinner, or building a house; tells us to start at the beginning, follow the right path and get to the end.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/a><\/p>\n

But that \u201cstraight line\u201d approach to completing a task only works if we understand where we want to go: our goal.<\/p>\n

Without knowing specifically where we want to be after completing a task, we will not likely use the best route to the get there and we\u2019ll waste time and energy in search of it.<\/p>\n

And, not knowing exactly what is the goal we seek, more than once we\u2019ll think we\u2019ve arrived when really we haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

As an example, let\u2019s look a travelling to a known place versus a vague location. If you wanted to go to New York City, you would go to the airport, or the train station, or get into your car, and then travel to NYC. The landmarks and people will confirm that you\u2019ve reached your goal.<\/p>\n

If, conversely, you wanted to picnic at an oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert, you couldn\u2019t use the same approach. The Sahara is a vast expanse and you\u2019re not sure where to find an oasis. Even if you knew, what would be the best way to get there?<\/p>\n

To answer all the questions, you\u2019d need to determine exactly where you want to have your picnic. Then you would need to look for the airport or harbor nearest to that location. Then you\u2019d need to find an airline or ship that could get you to the port in a reasonable fashion and at a good price, and then get yourself to the point of embarkation.<\/p>\n

So you need to know exactly where you\u2019re going – your goals – if you\u2019re to have a good idea of where to begin and to know the best way to get there.<\/p>\n

In other words, when the goal isn\u2019t a known entity, like New York City or a finished bungalow, you need to start by defining the end of your task, your goal, and work backwards from there.<\/p>\n

So how do you design your landing pages?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to admit it, but most of us take the straight line, beginning to end approach to landing page design<\/a>. We start with the graphic approach, and maybe add a catchy headline and content. Then we\u2019ll bring in other elements like trust factors, testimonials and calls-to-action. After that, we\u2019ll launch the page and begin testing the different elements to try to improve conversion rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Guess what?<\/strong> It works. Especially in the case of a product page, where the conversion goal is to get the visitor to \u201cBuy Now\u201d, you will very likely generate a decent conversion rate.<\/p>\n

But What\u2019s a Decent Conversion Rate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no better indication that we take the wrong approach to landing page design than the paltry conversion rates we consider acceptable.<\/p>\n

2.5%.<\/p>\n

Seriously?<\/p>\n

Clearly, the destination we accept is not where we truly want to be.<\/p>\n

If you design your landing pages from the headline to the CTA button<\/a>, you\u2019ll go where you\u2019ve gone since you started optimizing. A vast conversion desert called 2.5%.<\/p>\n

You really want a higher conversion rate. That\u2019s your true goal, not a click on a CTA button, and that is where your landing page design must start.<\/p>\n

Working Backwards Means Starting at the End<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting with a conversion rate as the goal of your landing page design, it becomes the cornerstone on which you make every other design decision. But, unlike architectural cornerstones, you work backwards from your target conversion rate, your end goal, to set the entire structure, layout and content of your page. And, by extension, your adwords campaigns, SEO and any other digital marketing relating to the goal would follow your landing page design.<\/p>\n

Think deeply about the goal. Start asking yourself as many questions as possible. The answers will help you design a landing page that is focused on a very specific goal.<\/p>\n