Yesterday we talked about improving bounce rate on your site. While bounce rate applies to all the pages on your site, it is especially important on the so-called “landing pages”.

A landing page is, technically, any page that a visitor enters your site. But when marketers talk about landing pages, they are talking about specific, targeted pages on the site that are used in campaigns and advertised.

For instance, when you click on an ad in the search results, you are taken to the landing page for that campaign. Sometimes companies use a page from their usual site, but often they custom create a landing page that uses the general look and theme of the parent site and has a special offer pertaining to the ad.

Targeted landing pages are great for increasing quality score and conversion rates, and today we are going to work on building trust for your landing pages to increase conversions.

Improving Landing Page Trust

Trust symbols online are anything that builds credibility and trust for your viewers. From first glance, visitors immediately begin to judge your site and your credibility. Your landing pages are a great opportunity to build trust for your brand and your offers. Today we’ll cover several ways to increase trust, and increase conversions.

#1: Use Symbols or Logos

bbbUse symbols or logos that represent credible affiliation you have in prominent areas on your landing page. This will draw attention to your potential lead and make the feel more comfortable with your business.

Knowing that your company is BBB accredited could be the difference in someone abandoning the page or continuing through to the next stage. The same goes for co-branding. If you have your partnered sites information on your page, it too can build an extra level of credibility especially if they are well known in your industry.

#2: Include Customer Testimonials

Including a short quote from your happy customers and clients can really impact the amount of trust your visitors will have after visiting your site. A great place to put testimonials is right on your main landing page, underneath an image.
“This blog post about building landing page trust has truly shown me the best way to make a great page! I will recommend to all my friends!” – A Testimonial

Use testimonials that say something unique about your business. Also, make sure they are relevant and real – nobody likes a faked testimonial.

#3: Develop Your Brand & Keep Your Message Consistent

If all of the pieces don’t fit together, your audience may be confused. For example, your banner, landing page and destination sites should all have the same look and feel as if they were a big happy family.

Sometimes you want your landing page to look nothing like your branding. If you are running a one-off campaign, your landing page may have a completely different feel to it. That’s alright. Rules are made to be broken … occasionally.

Ensure your visual design is the same from one point to another. Also, keep your core message and overall feel the same. Your visitors will begin to recognize your brand over someone else’s; increasing the overall confidence they place in you and your business.

#4: Do Away with Popups

The last thing you want to do is annoy your visitors. I personally don’t think there is anything more annoying than popups interrupting your research or reading. You may at first see an increased conversion rate if you have used them, but it won’t last for long.

Things to Try Instead of Popups:

  • Live Chat Options
  • Interactive On-Page Content
  • Different colors and Design

#5: Don’t Ask For Too Much

Having a contact us form or a sign up form on your website is a great tool to get information about your prospects or clients, but please don’t ask for everything all at once. You will only scare off your visitors and ultimately lower your conversion rates.

When someone is researching a company online and trying to get more information, it is like a first date, they want to learn a little more about you before they commit to a long term relationship.

If you overwhelm them from the beginning, asking for their hand in marriage, they won’t even give you the time of day.

#6: Include Your Contact Information

Someone visiting your site should know how to easily contact you. Don’t hide your contact information 3 pages deep; keep it front and center for all to see. I hate having to dig around on sites in order to find a simple phone number or email address.

In addition to the basic information, include your hours of operation and the best time for people to reach out to you. Set their expectations up front about when they can expect a returned phone call or email as well. This develops trust and honesty. However, if you say you will contact someone within 24 hours, you better do it.

#7: Appropriately and Professionally Design Your Landing Pages and Sister Sites

This tip may seem like an obvious one, but so many people try to skimp on the design portion of their website. They want a good deal so they simply use a stock template or a family friend (who really doesn’t have time to help) design their site.

This in fact, is one of the most crucial parts of building trust on your landing page and sisters sites. There are so many well designed sites now that in order for yours to be recognized and trusted, yours needs to be too.

Design Tips

  • Keep it Simple.
  • Use Contrasting Colors.
  • Social Proof is Good.
  • Make the Contact Form / Goal Stand Out.
  • Avoid Clutter.

I know from experience, I have clicked off of sites before because of the overall design. If someone isn’t willing to invest in their business enough to create a well-designed and content rich site, then I don’t need to give them my business.

#8: Actually Be Honest

Be honest – what a concept! Never exaggerate what you can actually deliver or who you are as a company. It will only be a matter of time before your audience figures you out anyway. You not only want to convert your visitors into customers, you want to have them recommend you and repeat purchase as well.

There is nothing worse than a company that oversold themselves and then drastically under delivered. Not only do you not ever use that company again, you talk bad about them and also never recommend them again.

Final Thoughts:

As you can see, there are many elements to increasing the level of trust on your landing page. You need to think of content, design, contact information, testimonials, banner ads, co-branding, etc.

All elements are important for different reasons and should be thought through before launching your site. The more you can do upfront, the less you will have to change later when no one is buying your product or service.

“Trust is like a piece of paper, once it’s crumpled, it can’t be perfect again.” – Author Unknown