Do landing pages stress you out?  Then this episode is for you.  We're talking with Ryder Meehan, CEO at Upgrow, about what to include on your landing pages and how to know if they're converting.

Do you hear the word “landing pages” but have no idea what it means or how to even know if they're working?

We are thrilled to have Ryder Meehan join us here on this episode to share some benefits to landing pages and make them work for your business.

Ryder has been on a 15 year journey to master the online marketing that fuels business growth. Before co-founding a performance marketing agency, he managed marketing for Razorfish, Fossil, Samsung Mobile and Tatcha. Today, as CEO of Upgrow, his mission is developing startup-inspired strategies for clients to grow conversions consistently and efficiently.

Ryder discovered landing pages late in his career.  Traditionally web designer/developer created the landing page and didn't have the same access as the marketing person might have.  Ryder wanted to have more control and more access.  This allows to track conversion better and ensure that the sales funnel is working.

In recent times, marketers have more access to creating landing pages.  He really likes utilizing Unbounce.  This is because of its ability to create dynamic content.  Dynamic Content will pull the keyword into the landing page to aid in SEO.

By using landing pages, marketers can create the experience for the user and ensure they're getting the information they need when they need it.

What is the difference between a landing page and a regular website page?

By definition – a landing page is the page your visitors land on when they first come to your website. 

You can control the page people land on by using paid advertising.  It's a bit harder to control with SEO because people will enter on the page that is ranking for that particular keyword.

Benefits of landing pages allow you to try and convert the user as quickly as possible.  You don't want them clicking all over the site.

Minimize the information on the landing page.  Most don't have a footer or header navigation.  There is one activity you want them to do.

How do I start?

Using tools like Unbounce, will provide you with elements you need to start.  They have premade templates that are tested and proven to work.

You can also purchase industry-specific themes from companies like Theme Forest.

Some elements every landing page should have.

1. Establish Relevancy – you want customers to see themselves in that page and understand what it's about.
2. Establish credibility and trust – there are several ways you can do this.  Sharing logos of companies using your product/service, stats about your business (1,000 customers served).
3. Prominent call-to-action – make sure this is above the fold and has a bold contrasting button.

How do you know how long to test your landing page before you make adjustments?

Take a look at the industry leaders and see what they're doing.  Use that as a blueprint   Don't worry about perfection

To determine how long you should test will depend on a few things.

• how big is your existing audience?
• how much are you paying in AdWords and/or social media ads?
• how much traffic does your landing page get?

What numbers should you be paying attention to with conversions?

“Good” depends – and we know that's a terrible answer!

If it's an asset or an offer, you should be looking at 10% – 30% conversion if it's compelling and you're hitting the right audience.

If you're selling a product, then 2% – 5% is more realistic product purchase conversions

Think about your business goals and reverse engineer the numbers.  If you need to sell a certain amount of product, then take it back to determine how many people you need to hit with your ads to get that 2% – 5% conversion.

This will help you determine how much you can pay for leads.

When creating landing pages, how many should you have for each offer to test?

Usually a few.

You can test different images, language, headlines etc.

Using stock photos is ok – as long as it doesn't lose credibility and trust.

Don't worry about the photos being super polished.  Taking a photo with your iPhone can be way more genuine and connect with your audience better.

The same goes with video.  Super polished images and video can seem fake and disingenuine.

What are some mistakes people often make with landing pages and offers?

Not building trust.

Ask your friends or customers to see if they can understand the offer you're giving them and if it makes sense.

Is your content relevant?

If you have a wide range of products, then you need to also have a wide range of landing pages.  Making sure the landing page you have makes sense for the user.

If I don't have room in my budget to pay for ads, how can I drive traffic to my landing page?

SEO.

Linking to your conversion landing pages from your existing blog.

Social media posts.

Include them in guest posts.

Guest podcasting, or interviews on other people's YouTube channels.

Fighting imposter syndrome

Look at the industry leaders.  They've been testing and probably have great success with the pages they're putting out there.

Then put your own spin on it.

Don't worry about feeling like you're not good enough because you aren't at the same level.

You do you and target your niche.

What else should people be tracking?

Depends on what actions you have people taking on your page.

For example, if you have a social share, then track traffic too and from social media.

If you have a phone number for people to call, track how many people are clicking through and making the phone call.

If you have more than one conversion, make sure it's all tagged.

Track video views if you have a video.

Optimize your thank you page.  Use the rest of that page to ask for me.  Ask for consultation, get them to sign up for the webinar.  They already have the trust so ask for more.

With analytics use Google Tag Manager. Integrate it with Google Analytics and all the pixels (Facebook, Pinterest, etc).

Google Data Studio creates beautiful reports that can be updated easily.  It also integrates with you ad channels to add them to your reporting.

How do you know what to change if your landing page isn't performing well?

Control your tests.

Make sure there is only one thing that is different about your different pages so you know what was performing better.

The best way to learn is to test.

Start small and do one core offer before you add more offers.  Make sure you are getting enough clicks so you have enough data to learn from.

Try out HotJar.  It is a heat mapping tool that allows you to see how people are interacting with your website.

It also does user screen recordings so you can see where people are spending the most time on your website.

You can see where people get stuck and where they're exiting your page.  You can also see where people are spending the most time on your page and what's most impactful.

Ryder's last piece of wisdom

Pre-landing pages.  

Point traffic to the blog or press that you've gotten.  Let them get to know you more in that third party review and then have the review point to your sales landing page.

It warms up your audience so you have less “selling” you need to do.

Time Stamps

(2:00) Meet Ryder and Upgrow
(3:10) How did Ryder learn about landing pages?
(4:27) What is Ryder's favorite platform for creating landing pages?
(6:06) Your website needs to be built for the user experience.
(6:38) What is the difference between a landing page and a regular website page?
(8:33) Using templates is a benefit of these tools.
(10:10) What are 2-3 essentials for landing pages?
(12:42) How long does it take to know if your landing page is converting?
(14:13) What stats should you be looking for?
(15:20) Reverse engineer your numbers
(16:04) How many versions of landing pages for each offer do you create?
(16:44) Is it ok to use stock photography?
(18:38) What is the biggest people make when creating their offers and landing pages?
(20:05) Are there ways to promote a landing page without paying for ads?
(21:27) Let's break it down!
(22:24) Imposter syndrome
(23:22) What other stats should people be tracking?
(25:33) Using Google's tools for reporting
(28:02) When things aren't performing like you want them to, how do you know what to change?
(30:29) Ryder's last bit of wisdom

Resources

Unbounce
InstaPage
ClickFunnels
Theme Forest
Google Analytics
Google Tag Manager
Google Data Studio
HotJar

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