The right landing page is a goldmine for conversions. Here are the best practices for building Shopify landing pages that will convert time and time again.
Landing pages are goldmines when you use them right. The problem is that 77% of you are still using your homepage as a landing page and missing out on loads of conversions as a result. Stop doing that. Now.
You can’t just pull an effective landing page out of your imagination and hope for the best. There’s an art and science behind it.
I’m going to show you how to make high-converting Shopify landing pages that will massively boost the ROI of your store.
A gift-wrapped bottle of whiskey can’t hurt now, can it?
What to include in a landing page
I want to show you what to include in your Shopify landing page before we get started. It’s no good if you have a bunch of advanced gems to throw into your landing pages if you don’t even know the basics of how to make one.
The basic design elements of a landing page are:
- A header that offers value
- A short description of what you’re offering
- At least one image or video
- Testimonials and social proof
- A call to action button
How to make monster Shopify landing pages
I’ve split this into six sections and I don’t recommend you skip any of them. Each point is backed up by research, as well as trial and error from countless merchants over the years.
Here’s what you need to do in a landing page:
- Deliver value
- Get rid of the navigation
- Ditch social media sharing buttons
- Use social proof the RIGHT way
- Have one for every campaign
- The right tools
Hold on to your apple juice, it’s time to get into it.
1) Deliver value
Everyone is competing for my attention, so give me something that’ll make me stick around.
The most important thing to include in landing pages is value. Rewarding people for their time is essential in a hyper-fast-paced world dominated by advertisers competing for people’s attention.
Research shows that you’ve got 10-seconds to convince people to stay on your page, so you’ve got to be bold with your value proposition.
Khan Academy reinforces the fact that their massive service will always be free.
You have to ask yourself, why would I take valuable time out of my lunch break so you can try to sell me something? The answer is because you’re giving me something in return. Examples are:
- Discounts and coupons
- First-time buyer offers
- eBooks and free courses
- Free membership trials
- Exclusive access to a sale
PRO TIP: Stick to one offer. Landing pages that make multiple offers can decrease conversions by up to 266%.
Failure to do deliver value will result in low-conversions. People don’t want their time wasted and they don’t like feeling like they’ve been ‘used’.
The disdain for advertising
Research shows that 30% of internet users have an ad blocker installed. That shows you just how little the average person appreciates advertising.
You have to make your landing pages appear less ‘salesy’ and more like an offer that delivers value if you want people to respond to them.
Shopify offers you these great benefits after your free trial ends.
Landing pages that just try and push products on people will not be respected and will have an abysmal conversion rate.
You can still reach people – you just have to do it with dignity. Keep this in mind when designing your landing pages, social media content, and your wider marketing campaigns.
2) Get rid of the navigation
Draw my attention in by removing all possible distractions.
An effective landing page keeps the viewer’s attention focussed on your value proposition. This means removing any possible distractions from the page – including your main menu.
Removing site navigation can increase landing page conversions by up to 100%.
Shopify wants your email address so you can start a free trial.
You don’t want someone to land on your value proposition and then wander off to the ‘About Us’ page. You want them to make their way to that Call to Action button and complete whatever task it is you’re leading them towards.
But isn’t it a good thing if they go deeper?
I understand that you might be thinking it’s a good thing if visitors make their way deeper into your website.
But the research shows that people are less likely to convert when they’re on your homepage than they are if they’re on your landing page, so it’s best to stop them from wandering off.
You successfully build a relationship with a person when they complete your call to action. They’re much more likely to buy something from you if they’ve gained something from your brand.
Keep them focussed on your offer. Keep them on your landing page.
3) Ditch social media sharing buttons
People aren’t actually sharing much. Stop distracting them from your CTA.
What’s your call to action? Is it ‘Sign up for a one-month free-trial’ or ‘Share on Facebook’? You have to choose one.
And only one.
Social media is an inseparable part of life for most people. This has led marketers to believe that including social media sharing buttons is essential for everything from blog posts to landing pages.
The opposite is in fact the case. Merchants have seen landing page conversion rates increase up to 18% after removing sharing buttons.
Including social sharing buttons on your landing page distracts the prospect from your CTA. It’s just another form of website navigation and it causes people to lose sight of where you’re trying to lead them.
People can always copy and paste the link if they really want to share the page. It isn’t difficult.
4) Use the RIGHT social proof
Don’t put people off with weak social proof.
Let’s assume you’ve got a great value proposition and some awesome copy on your landing page. A visitor who has never seen your brand before likes the sound of your offer, but they aren’t sure about your credibility.
This is where social proof comes into play.
Killer testimonials for the Nextsale app plus a clear benefit of using the service.
Social proof can convince an on-the-fence prospect to go all the way. But it needs to be done right. Avoid anything that sounds weak or unconvincing. User-generated content (UGC) is a great form of social proof for upping conversions.
- Use enthusiastic testimonials
- Highlight high customer numbers
- Show off influential clients
- Utilize UGC
User-generated content is a great way to boost your conversion rate. In fact, 88% of people trust recommendations from other customers as much as those from their friends.
Testimonials
User testimonials are a great way to convince someone who is still on the fence to jump over to your side. A customer’s confidence is often enough to settle anxiety about whether your brand can live up to its promises.
See high-caliber social proof in action on Shopify’s landing pages.
You should avoid over the top testimonials. It goes without saying that you can’t make them up yourself. Find a customer review that speaks volumes about the benefits of your product.
PRO TIP: Track the success of your landing page and social proof with Nextsale. This third-party add-on for major eCommerce platforms allows you to track and analyze the data of your campaigns so you know how to improve them in the future.
5) Have a separate landing page for every campaign
The numbers are in. Research shows that only 48% of companies make a new landing page for a new off. On top of that, firms that have more than 30 landing pages generate up to 7x more leads than those that have fewer than 10.
It’s pretty obvious that building new landing pages for each successive offer is essential. You’re putting yourself ahead of more than half your competition by doing keeping things fresh.
Switch things up with content
You can inject a whole new lease of life into your marketing by building new landing pages in a different way. Don’t just reword your last template.
- Add videos – you’ll potentially double conversions
- Mix up the length. Longer landing pages can get up to 3x more conversions
- Change the design – use PageFly to make unique Shopify landing pages
- Make unique offers
- Offer a course or eBook
6) Use the right tools
A builder is only as good as his tools, right? So why should it be any different with landing pages? You could actually just pay someone to make a great landing page for you – but that’ll set you back a lot of money.
Use PageFly – Advanced Shopify Page Builder to make monster landing pages that’ll smash conversions. The app uses a super-simple rag-n-drop mechanism to make building your next mega-converting page a breeze.
Using the right tools will save you time and money. You’ll have everything you need to do a better job than the average web designer.
You’ll want to track your page once it’s live. Use Nextsale for this. You can gain insight into your page performance across devices and audiences to ensure that you’re taking into account the specific needs of your prospects.
Final thoughts
Building incredible landing pages that make people want to indulge themselves in your brand doesn’t have to be rocket science – unless you’re building a landing page for a rocket scientist.
Use the tips I’ve given you to produce something marvelous. Try something different each time you make a landing page so you don’t fall into a rut of repetition.
You’ve got something great to offer the world. Now let’s show it to them!