How to Figure Out What Should Go on Your Landing Page, and Where

1. Headline and Sub-Headline

The main job of your headline is to immediately grab the visitor’s attention and not let go. It has to be intriguing, inspiring or provocative enough to influence the visitor to keep reading, so that they can find out more about what you have to offer.

Naturally, your headline should be positioned at the top of the page, and should not be crowded out by overbearing images or any other visual elements in the immediate area that may compete for the viewer’s attention. In other words, give your headline some “breathing room,” so that your introductory statement can be understood loud and clear. Sub-headlines are optional, and should only be included as a means to reinforce the message of the main headline.

2. A Supporting Image or Video Introduction

Keep in mind that landing pages should be as clean, concise and uncluttered as possible. Keep your use of images to a minimum; in fact, the best landing pages typically feature just one main image, but should you choose to go with more images, only one should be prominent. In lieu of using an image, you can include an embedded introductory video that briefly explains your products or services and communicates a clear call to action. The video should not be set to play automatically, as this can come across as annoying for many visitors.

3. Proof Elements

This technique is often used by popular websites to provide social proof regarding the viability or effectiveness of their products. Proof elements can include customer testimonials, reviews from media outlets or logos of clients that the company has worked with.

Since these items are designed to provide support to the main message, position your proof elements after the main call to action on your page. Also, be sure to display any security badges or other logos (trust seals, money-back guarantees, etc.) near the bottom of your page; these elements reinforce the trustworthiness of your website.

4. Contact or Opt-in Form

This is one of the most important elements of your landing page, as it will capture the contact information of your visitors. Once you have their information, you can transition them into the appropriate phase of your sales funnel. Try to keep the form as simple as possible by only asking for the most essential information (e.g., name, email address and phone number) in order to avoid a lengthy sign-up process.

Remember: The more complicated the sign-up process is, the less likely your visitors will see it through to completion. As far as positioning goes, one of the most popular areas of placement for the contact form is in the upper-right area of the landing page, a well-known high activity zone according to countless heat map and eye tracking studies.

5. A Brief Description of Your Offer

Try to keep the text brief and to the point. The landing page is not the place to spell out every single detail of your product or service; just highlight the major benefits and guide your visitor to the next step of opting in, signing up or making a purchase. Position your text description in the upper left area of the page, a highly familiar style of formatting for most visitors.

6. A Clear Call-to-Action

Your call-to-action should be prominent, clear and action-oriented. In other words, it should use active words such as “Download,” “Get It Now,” “Sign Up,” “Join,” “Find Out How,” etc. Keep in mind that the main purpose of a landing page is to tell your visitors what you want them to do, and to let them know how it will benefit them if they do it. Many high-performing websites use prominent call-to-action buttons as a means to direct visitors towards taking a specific next step.

There’s something about clicking a call-to-action button that finalizes the visitor’s action, and psychologically confirms to them that they’re moving to the next stage of the process. Your call-to-action should be placed in an area that logically follows your text description or sign-up form, so that you can make the entire process as intuitive as possible.

An effective landing page is nothing short of a money making machine. As you’re building out and deciding what should go on your landing page, be sure to keep the above points in mind to help boost the credibility, usability and effectiveness of your lead generation.