Inbound marketing can be so simple. You create content that your audience finds worthy of giving you their contact information, place it behind a sign up page, and promote it through social media, email, blogs, and SEO. Then, you nurture the leads you generate on their way to becoming customer.

But the whole concept falls apart like a house of cards when you don’t get the landing page right. Even the best marketing tactics matter little if the page on which your audience should convert doesn’t actually convince them to do so. Are you getting the most out of your landing pages? Here are some inbound marketing tips and tricks that can help you maximize your lead generation success.

Consider the Content

At the risk of stating the obvious: without quality content, your landing page will fail. Everything on the page should get your audience just a little bit closer to filling out that sign up form. Your content, from your headline to the bottom of the page, is your chance to tell your visitors exactly how they benefit from becoming leads.

Going into 2017, that means one thing above all: mobile optimization. This year, mobile digital internet time was at 51%, jumping desktop usage (42%) by a significant margin. That obviously means an increased need for responsive design, but your landing pages should go beyond that. Minimize the text in favor of visuals, and break it up into small, digestible chunks where needed.

Incorporate Social Proof

It’s difficult to underestimate the impact social proof can make on your landing pages. If your visitors feel validated by others that signing up is a good choice, they’ll be much more likely to do so. That’s probably why among all types of website content, customer testimonials have the highest effectiveness rate at 89%.

It’s not a secret that your audience trusts their peers more than they trust your own, branded message. But especially for your landing pages, the beauty of social proof is its versatility; a video testimonial, for example, allows you to both increase your offer’s credibility and ensure the visual appeal of the page.

Minimize Your Links

Every landing page should be built with one specific goal in mind: conversion. Everything else only distracts from that goal, and can actually prevent customers from signing up. So why would you give your visitors the option to navigate elsewhere with a preponderance of links outside of your sign up form?

That’s the question conversion expert Oli Gardner asked when he came up with Attention Ratio. The concept simply describes the number of links on your landing page, in relation to your conversion goals. Ideally, that ratio should be 1:1. Even including your website’s navigation could be a distraction from the action you want your audience to take.

Optimize Your Form

All of the above aims specifically to get your visitors to your sign up form. But if you don’t optimize that form for conversions, you might as well stop trying. Your goal is to minimize friction, giving your audience as few obstacles as possible to becoming a lead.

That process starts with taking out any unnecessary fields. If you don’t need the information to segment your leads or improve your marketing, don’t ask for it. The exact length differs based on your individual needs, but most studies suggest a length between 3 and 7 fields.

Don’t stop at the length of the form. Pay attention to the sign up button, which should be both clearly visible and action-oriented. Instead of a generic submit, try something more relevant and audience-oriented such as Download, Click Here, or Do It.

Don’t Forget About SEO

Don’t overthink your search engine optimization. In addition to building a complex strategy aiming to improve your web traffic as a whole, on-page optimization on your landing pages allows you to get targeted in generating visitors who are just about ready to become a lead.

The process is simple: think about the core benefits of your offer, and engage in some strategic keyword research. What phrases would customers interested in this type of offer look for? For example, if you are making a free trial available for your financial software, optimizing your website for the phrase accounting software free trial may be all you need to generate visits.

Keep Getting Better

An inbound marketer’s work is never done. No matter how closely you follow the above tips, you can probably do more to increase your lead conversions on your landing page. How can you improve? The answer is simple: A/B testing.

The process works by showing two almost identical versions of your landing page to your audience, with a single aspect changed. Whichever version performs better is the one whose change will stick. Over time, you can use A/B testing to optimize anything from your headline to your form’s individual aspects, ending up with much-improved landing pages as a result.

The beauty of A/B testing is that you gain insights into your audience’s preferences that go far beyond an individual landing page. For example, you may find that a headline phrased as a question works better than a definitive statement. Now, you can use the same tactic in your email, social media, and and blogging efforts.

Inbound marketing is a complex process, but one that can help your business grow significantly. Don’t let your efforts fail because of poor landing pages. With the above tips, you can make sure that once your audience gets to the point of lead generation, they actually follow through. And if you need help in building beautiful landing pages that actually convert your visitors, contact us!