A 50-Point Checklist for Creating the Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

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A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page

By Oli Gardner | Google+ in Landing Pages | 33 comments

About The Author

Oli Gardner Oli is Co- Founder & Creative Director at Unbounce. He is a former Director of Marketing & (Image source) Interaction Designer who tends to use metaphor more than he probably should in his writing. He likes it when You think your landing page is top-notch, right? Maybe. Perhaps. Probably not. Most you jump in the conversation by landing pages suck and it’s easy to run a marketing campaign that doesn’t deliver the commenting and finds writing in the 3rd results you’re hoping for. But it doesn’t have to be that way. person like this slightly awkward. Oli writes about conversion centered Admitting you need help is the first step towards making your page better. But how design and is one of the main voices of the Unbounce Twitter account. do you do it? It’s not like there’s a 12-step program for this type of thing. Actually, there is. But for the sake of making this post meaningful, let’s pretend there isn’t. » More blog posts by Oli Gardner

Using the Checklist

To find out how good your landing page is, check off everything you are currently doing and Subscribe to our Conversion you’ll see your score add up in the counters (hopefully a lot). This will show you how good Blog for Optimization Tips or bad your page is, and after you’re finished you can make a to-do list from the Enter your email address... remaining items.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG

Total Score: 0/50

Landing Page Examples See our collection of landing page

http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 1 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

examples - each with a critique about how Note 1: If the checklist item doesn’t apply to you (e.g. it mentions video or it could be better with A/B testing and a form when you don’t have one on your page), then check the box optimization. anyway.

Note 2: If the counter isn’t going up when you check all those boxes, give the page a refresh. It’s finicky. Marketing Infographics Embed our collection of marketing infographics on your blog or website. 1. Does your landing page headline match the message on your ads?

2. Is your landing page messaging focused on a single purpose?

3. Could a stranger understand the purpose in 5-10 seconds? (test this) Follow Unbounce

4. Is it clear who your company is and what you do? (a logo and tagline)?

5. Do you have a simple secondary description to enhance the headline?

6. Do you use bullet points to describe the benefits of your product/service?

7. Are you using a relevant and original main image or video that shows it being used (context of use)? Search The Blog

8. Does your page message have the clarity of a 30-second elevator pitch? Enter a search term... (Read out your page copy to someone and see if they understand it.)

9. Is your primary headline phrased to answer the question “What is this page SEARCH about?”

10. Have you removed extraneous links (like the global nav) – to remove page leaks?

11. Does your landing page explain how your product/service is unique (USP)?

12. Does the writing focus primarily on benefits rather than features?

13. Did you resist asking for any unnecessary information in a form (be completely honest cos it’s bad)? (check the box if you aren’t using a form).

14. Do you explain the value or size of your lead gen giveaway (discount amount, number of ebook pages, $ value)?

15. Do you provide examples of previous customers using or complimenting your product/service? (Testimonials and other trust factors)

16. Do you offer multiple contact methods (phone, email, live chat)

17. Do you make it clear what the visitor will receive by clicking your CTA?

18. Does your landing page appear to be professionally designed?

19. Does the design of your landing page match the visual style of your ad creative? (Banners)

20. Does the design match the style of your main website or brand? (Only relevant if you will end up there after clicking the CTA)

21. Do you use lightboxes to show extra information without leaving the page?

22. Do you provide a privacy and or terms & conditions statement/link?

23. Are you providing a sample (preview of first chapter etc.) of your giveaway, if applicable?

24. Do you show certifications or logos of partners/affiliates/security registrations (like Verisign)?

25. Are your claims and facts verifiable? Multi User & Client Management for Marketing Teams & Agencies See What's New 26. Do you repeat your offer in the form area to reinforce what the purpose of your form is?

27. Do you use visual cues (eye direction or graphical arrows) to direct attention to CTA?

28. Is the CTA large enough to stand out from 6ft away?

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29. Does the CTA use contrast to stand out from the rest of the page?

30. Is your CTA in a prominent position near the top of the page?

31. Are you including a link to your privacy policy next to the email field of your form?

32. Are you using your confirmation page to provide the new lead with further instructions? (share this page, follow us, download this extra free ebook, register for this webinar).

33. If your offer is time limited, do you make this clear for the sake of urgency?

34. Are you creating a separate landing page for each inbound source (email, social, PPC) and see which gets you the most conversions.

35. If you use video, have you set it up for user directed playback (vs. an autoplay)?

36. Do you end your video with a call to action?

37. Have you limited the number of CTS’a on your page to 1? (Unless it’s a long page in which case it’s okay to repeat it).

38. If you are getting people to sign up for a webinar, are you showing the number of registrants as a form of social proof?

39. Leave this box unchecked if you have an exit popup window.

40. Are you doing A/B testing on your pages?

41. Are you seeking feedback from your customer to help develop a hypothesis for your next test?

42. If you have a multi-step process (sign-up etc.), do you make it clear to visitors? (30 seconds, 3 steps etc.)

43. Have you optimized your landing page to get a paid search quality score above 7?

44. Do you use a separate landing page for every promotion/campaign?

45. Have you tested using a short page vs. a long page to understand how much information your visitors need to convert?

46. Does your landing page follow the principle of unity, where every element of the page is focused on explaining a single concept?

47. Have you Krug’d your landing page? (Remove 50% of the copy, then delete half of what’s left. (To ensure maximum simplicity and clarity).

48. Leave this box unchecked if your form button says “Click Here” or “Submit”.

49. If you use a form, is it encapsulated in a colored background box to make it clearly stand out as the most important part of the page.

50. And finally, have you ever used Unbounce? (Had to ask).

Total Score: 0/50

So what’s your score? It would be great if you’d share it in the comments to show how great a marketer you are. And remember to take the unchecked items and use them as your to-do list.

– Oli Gardner

http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 3 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

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Comments

Oli Gardner says: December 11, 2012 at 2:30 am w00t – I got 43/50 = 86%

Remember to show your scores and I’ll give you feedback if you also share where you didn’t check the boxes.

deborah says: December 11, 2012 at 2:58 am very purposeful!!thanks!!

Why is this required says: December 11, 2012 at 6:37 am Very disappointed ! I started to take your test, then realised half of it isn’t relevant. I thought I might comment so I clicked on

http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 4 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

Why is this required says: December 11, 2012 at 6:40 am the bold bits above. Which don’t go anywhere. Then I got asked to fill in a form !!!!! in order to leave a comment. Wow – so dotcom 1.0.

Oli Gardner says: December 11, 2012 at 9:17 am Not sure what you’re meaning here. Every blog has a form to leave a comment.

John says: December 16, 2012 at 11:41 am I think he expects pre-integrated single sign on, like one-click through facebook/twitter, or whatever. Less information exposure that way.

Steph says: December 11, 2012 at 7:01 am Hey this is super useful Oli… I will definitely be using this in the future. Thanks!

Startups, your landing page sucks | altaveux says: December 11, 2012 at 7:36 am [...] 11/12 : Creus que la teva landing page és infalible ? Posa-la a prova amb aquest qüestionari de 50 elements a tenir en compte. Compartir:Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was posted in Links by altaveux. [...]

Pat Thomas says: December 11, 2012 at 8:28 am You should sell this-it’s just that valuable! I am in the process of testing–I’m a new blogger

Garerth says: December 11, 2012 at 8:33 am 30/50

Oli Gardner says: December 11, 2012 at 9:16 am Nice score!

Oli Gardner says: December 11, 2012 at 9:32 am I’m on 40/50 – still room to improve

Niels says: http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 5 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

December 11, 2012 at 1:06 pm 35/50 but it’s for a smartphone product page so a lot of the questions regarding forms and such were irrelevant. But this is good inspiration for my own check lists.

And you gave me an idea about using light boxes to hide some information which is only interesting for people paying through installments. That would make Steve Krug happy :-)

DA Lewis says: December 11, 2012 at 2:54 pm 34/50, higher because of non-relevant bits. Good ideas to consider as I go forward. Thanks for sharing.

ashok says: December 11, 2012 at 8:02 pm Too long a list ..waste of time ..impractical

Oli Gardner says: December 12, 2012 at 3:04 am Any reason why?

Norixism says: December 12, 2012 at 1:58 am What’s CTS? What’s CTA? We don’t all speak landing-pagese…

I’m guessing CTA is Click Through Action?

Oli Gardner says: December 12, 2012 at 3:05 am CTA is call to action. Apologies if I didn’t explain it at the start of the post. It’s the thing you want people to do/click on to complete your conversion goal.

Quickthink » Blog Archive » Let’s Convert says: December 12, 2012 at 2:09 am [...] (not just what it looks like). Then start thinking about how it can accomplish that better. This post, for example, offers 50 tips to make it a more effective conversion [...]

Chris says: December 12, 2012 at 9:15 am Oli– 1.) Great post. Definitely useful for startups and those of us working online.

2.) Loved your “about the author.” Writing like that always weirds me out.

3.) By trying to include all these things, do you think you could run the risk of cramming too much stuff in at once, and ultimately end up detracting from the page as a whole?

http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 6 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

Chris Millard says: December 12, 2012 at 9:18 am Oli– It wont let me comment–keeps saying it’s a duplicate even though I’ve yet to post anything. refreshed page doesn’t work, trying new content…

Chris Millard says: December 12, 2012 at 9:19 am Ok so that worked. Let’s try to Original Comment:

Oli– 1.) Great post. Definitely useful for startups and those of us working online.

2.) Loved your “about the author.” Writing like that always weirds me out.

3.) By trying to include all these things, do you think you could run the risk of cramming too much stuff in at once, and ultimately end up detracting from the page as a whole?

Oli Gardner says: December 12, 2012 at 1:45 pm Thanks Chris – great comment. Yeah, I don’t think I made it clear enough that these are things you should be doing, but just in your use of landing pages in your marketing in general. Doing them all on the same page might work out great, but they aren’t all about the same type of page. Some are lead gen, some click-through, some with and without video etc. So really it’s about checking off things that you *have* done and then learning from what you haven’t.

Make sense?

Chris says: December 12, 2012 at 1:55 pm Totally. I guess it would be good to check everything that you can, but maybe write out a one-sentence explanation for why a certain list item wouldn’t work, rather than just passing it off as N/A. I know I might fall into the trap of saying something isn’t relevant if it’s really hard and I don’t want to do it.

I think the post did a great job of crystalizing some of the larger markering concepts (like in #12 and #14), but also amalgamating all the little things that we sometimes forget (say, #16 and #24). Thanks for the advice!

Considering A Ultimate Collection Home Improvement Ebooks says: December 13, 2012 at 6:40 am [...] Automation, Automation Ultimate Collection Of Home Improvement eBooks – 6 Sites To Promote! A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page … A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page. By Oli Gardner . Do you explain the [...]

Alexander says: December 13, 2012 at 7:49 am Really great post Oil. Now, do you have an example of a 40+ landing page that meets these criteria that I could look at for inspiration? If you do, that would be really helpful!

Donna says: http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/checklist/ Page 7 of 9 A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page | Unbounce 28/12/12 5:35 AM

December 14, 2012 at 8:56 am Oli, I’m a big fan of checklists and this is one I’m happy to share. Just wanted to add that I like Alexander’s suggestion that examples would be helpful. Thank you for this!

Friday Catch-Up: Most Important News and Posts about SEO and Online Marketing This Week Promodo SEO Blog says: December 14, 2012 at 9:02 am [...] These include usual suspects like attention-grabbing design, company logo and clear message. There are also some things which developers don’t focus on, such as popup boxes. Tally your landing page with the checklist to see how good it is. Read more at Unbounce. [...]

Carol Lynn says: December 14, 2012 at 7:05 pm Love this! So thorough and entirely useful. The scoring is great – you know how we all love our numbers. It’s always helpful to check against something like this and work for that “perfect score”. Will be bookmarking and keeping this one.

Sourcing3 Buyer & Supplier Magazine - Best of B2B Marketing Zone for Week of December 8, 2012 says: December 17, 2012 at 3:31 pm [...] A 50-Point Checklist For Creating The Ultimate Landing Page UNBOUNCE.COM | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 [...]

Tim Cull says: December 18, 2012 at 4:24 pm Man, I’ve got some homework to do :(

Incidentally, anyone have a good link for doing things like getting rid of the main nav bars on landing pages when using WordPress as a CMS?

Becky Miller says: December 22, 2012 at 10:25 am 22. fAIL.

Check-in para hacer Landing Pages « TIC's en la Web says: December 26, 2012 at 12:49 pm [...] fuente : Oli Gardner blog unbounce [...]