That new campaign is driving more traffic to your site than you ever imagined. But what happens once potential customers take the bait? Are you building those strong leads and closing the sale, or are they simply going somewhere else?

Many marketers and agencies are focused on driving traffic through traditional tactics, such as social media posts, text ads, and display ads, and they will proudly show you the detailed analytics that prove their success rate. However, increased traffic to your site doesn’t always lead to increased sales. That’s why, at ListPopular, we have identified the Top 10 landing page lessons to convert more sales.

In order to convert more traffic into increased sales, it’s important to focus on the buyer’s journey as a whole. Getting potential customers to click on your ad is only the beginning. What happens once they reach your landing page is one of the most important components of the buyer’s journey.

What’s So Important About The Landing Page?

You want to increase sales, so you’ve invested in creating a promotion to drive potential customers to your site. That’s a great start, but getting them there is only half the battle. The landing page is where customers end up when they click on the link you are advertising that directs them to your offer. Whether you want them to join your email list, make a purchase, register for a webinar or click through to another page, this is the part where you either reel them in or watch them swim away.

1. Responsive or Else

So when is the last time you sat down at your desktop computer to check in on Facebook? Most social media users access their favorite sites through their smartphones or tablets. If this is where you’re placing your ads, your landing page had better be responsive, allowing screen elements to resize themselves according to what device a consumer is using. If links are broken, or the content is jumbled, users (and potential leads) will simply go elsewhere.

2. Maintain Consistency

Everyone knows it’s important to share, but this goes for your branding as well. When a potential customer sees an ad for your offering, it should be visually clear that it came from your brand. The same should hold true when they arrive at your landing page. Many consumers check out multiple offerings before they buy, so if they are confused about your brand, they could easily confuse you with the competition.

3. Check The Expiration Date

You know the feeling. You’re all set to start your day with a big bowl of your favorite cereal, but as you shovel in the first big spoonful, you realize the milk is expired. You’re left with a horrible taste in your mouth that just might keep you from ever wanting cereal again. The same goes for customers when they see a great price on a product they’ve really been wanting, only to click on the ad and find out it’s expired. Talk about leaving a bad taste…they absolutely won’t be back.

4. Remove Navigation

Removing most of the navigation options is a useful tactic for keeping customers focused on why they clicked on your ad in the first place. If they have the option to browse around to other parts of your site, they could get distracted and then not have time to go through with their purchase.

5. One Offer At A Time

When a potential customer clicks on your ad, it’s because they were specifically interested in what you were promoting. If they get to your landing page and are overloaded with more products or more buying options, you’ve just given them a reason to doubt what had previously been a clear decision in their mind.

6. Stay On Point

Customers looking to make a purchase online typically want to get in and get out without a lot of fuss. If your landing page goes into too much detail or forces the customer to drill down through multiple pages to get the information they need, they’ll likely lose interest and just move on.

7. Make It Match

They saw your ad, and they liked what they saw. They clicked your ad, and now they have no idea what they’re looking at. Once you’ve managed to hook them, don’t cut them loose because your landing page content doesn’t match your advertised offering.

8. Make The CTA Obvious

Your landing page should be clean and uncluttered—remember, many potential customers will be viewing your offering on their smartphones. But this doesn’t mean your CTA should be tucked in a corner somewhere, or even worse, buried on another page. Make it absolutely clear what you want the consumer to do once they arrive at your landing page.

9. Command Attention

Make your offering stand out by providing something every consumer wants. Giving them something for free is always a safe bet. Whether it’s free shipping, a free trial or a free bonus gift with purchase, consumers have come to expect this type of promotion, and they know if you’re not offering it then someone else is.

10. Too Slow, So Long

Graphics are great, and it’s always important to showcase your product in some way. Just be mindful of how much time it takes for the images you choose to load and keep complex animations to a minimum. If your page doesn’t fully load in a matter of seconds, your customers will be long gone by the time it does.

Although, there is no exact formula to making a perfect landing page. Following these 10 landing page lessons will increase your chances of having a kickass website. But don’t forget, even after you create a landing page, make sure you continually test variations to improve conversions. If you’re looking for more information on landing pages, check out this article. It’s one of my favorites: Showdown! Landing Pages vs. Microsites