Designing Your Website’s Landing Page

November 22nd, 2006

Designing a strong website to convert visitors to buyers is one of best ways to increase your business.

I recently came across this article in regards upgrading your current site to a more functional site. When you create your site, it’s very important that your visitors understand immediately what your company is all about. They must know what site they have come to and “What’s in it for them”.

In this process, keep in mind that your companies image is at stake. Keep your site clean and to the point.

If this is of interest, read on…

Landing Page Quick Reference Guide By Michael Cordova A landing page is a website page that is created for one purpose - to persuade the site visitor to convert into a customer by making a sale, completing a form (thereby becoming a qualified lead), signing up for a newsletter, etc. We provide this landing page quick reference so you can pull it out every time you are creating a persuasive landing page. It is divided into 4 sections and is intended to be an all-inclusive tip sheet.

Most importantly, consider that you have 8 seconds or less to convince your visitor to act. If you haven’t convincingly made your case in this time then your visitor will move on and will be lost, as the Internet has created the most fickle customer in salës history.

Page Layout

  • Place your logo at the top left. Visitors expect it there so display your branding where it counts. 
  • If the visitor came from a search engine keyword search or a PPC ad, then place the keyword terms in bold at the top of the page. This reinforces to the visitor that they came to the right place. 
  • Always keep the Golden Triangle in mind. It is the most important and scanned part of the page. It is the area of the page that starts at the top left of the page moves to the top right side of the page then down diagonally to the bottom left of the page just above the fold. The fold is the area of a web page that the visitor sees without scrolling vertically. You should nevër force a visitor to scroll horizontally. This means that your landing pages should be able to be seen completely on an 800 x 600 screen resolution. Place your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) in the middle of the Golden Triangle. 
  • Contrast your Calls to Action with respect to the rest of the page - use contrasting colors, round vs. rectangular, straight vs. slanted, warm color vs. cold color, big vs. little. Make sure you can spot the Call to Action from 6 feet away.
  • Place assurances, testimoníals and guarantees in the far-right column 
  • Place logos to appropriate associations or online companies at the bottom of the page to show credibility - Verisign, BBB Online Reliability, certified by…, Alexa rank (if good), powerseller, live support, credít cards supported, open 24 hours a day, Hacker Safe, as seen in Entrepreneur Magazine, Chamber of Commerce, etc.
  • Don’t place external links on a landing page. Just allow them the option to proceed into completing the form and converting into a customer. 
  • Place privacy policies on the landing page. This instills confidence. 
  • Think of the Amazon.com website. Note their Call to Action is the hotspot at the top-right of all pages - add to cart, one click ordering, etc. This may also apply to you. 

Writing Style and Content

  • Spend time on your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and place it into the center of the Golden Triangle. A UVP is the core differentiation of a company’s product or service from those of competitors. A complete UVP will describe the market and a company’s competitors and the key difference between competitors and your own company. 
  • Ensure that you don’t have big paragraphs. Visitors tend to scan pages instead of reading all of the text on them. 
  • Write using headers above paragraphs that summarize the following text. 
  • Use bullets where possible as visitors can quickly scan them. Search engines also prioritize bullets instead of long paragraph text. 
  • If you want to add a picture ensure that it is going to reinforce your message. You can easily löse significant salës by having the wrong picture on the landing page.

If the purpose of the landing page is to provide a white paper or article then create an image for the paper with enlarged text like the one below and place it on the page:

The Form

  • Keep the number of fields on the form as small as possible. This is critical in getting them to complete the form. 
  • Add a Comments textbox asking for the visitor’s input. It can be key to qualifying leads. Those that complete this form with the services they are looking for should be contacted immediately. Here are some requests you can use for this Comments box: 
  • What is biggest problem that you need to solve now? 
  • What is the purpose of your project? 
  • Please list your goals for this project. 
  • How can we help you?
  • In case the visitor doesn’t complete the Comments textbox on the first page, add a 2nd page with only a Comments textbox on it requesting the visitors comments again. Tell them that if they complete the Comments box now then they will receive an extra free white paper that is relevant to the same visitor. These visitor comments are important. 
  • Have the visitor chëck a box that says something like “YES! Send me the free white paper that will change my life.” It is the psychological method of coercing them into completing the rest of the form. 
  • Prominently list the benefits of completing the form. It is a major validation. Make sure to write the benefits in terms of the user’s benefits instead of the features of your product or service. 
  • Ensure you save the form information into a database and send emails out as soon as the form is completed so you can immediately contact the visitor. The lead’s effectiveness drops dramatically as time goes by. Contacting a lead within minutes is ideal.

Landing Page Mistakes to Avoid

  • Graphics or text unrelated to the offer - limit copy to only the point of the landing page 
  • Long forms with unneeded fields - limit your form to what is absolutely essential 
  • Difficult to read fonts 
  • Navigation off of the landing page 
  • Placing important persuasive copy below the fold

About The Author
Michael A. Cordova is a managing partner at Mercury Leads, Inc. For questíons about our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Internet Marketing services go to MercuryLeads.com or call us today at 303-744-2178.

Planet Apparel designs websites as well as custom printed T-shirts, embroidered apparel and promotional products. Call us today: 888-682-9971

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T-Shirt Comparisons - Not all shirts are equal

June 14th, 2006

Not all shirts are equal. There a few important things to consider before ordering T-shirts.

The most commonly asked for T-Shirt, is the almighty Hanes Beefy T.

Quite simply, the Beefy T has the longest running ad campaigns around. It has been around since 1975. Most everyone has heard of the name.

The good thing about choosing the Beefy T is it’s brand recognition. You can’t go wrong ordering these, especially if you have a committee to appease.

The downside of this is that they are more expensive due to high marketing costs and more importantly the way they make them with ring spun cotton. Ring spun cotton, hands down has a smoother feel.

I have taken the liberty to compare some of the leading brands and the benefits each has.

Hanes Beefy T #5180 - High quality 6.1 oz ring spun cotton, but pricier.

Gildan Ultra Cotton T #2000 - High quality 6.1 oz open end cotton not ring spun, has a lower price.

Gildan is listed as the no. 1 brand overall and no. 1 T-shirt brand. (I was actually suprised to see that Gildan was larger than Hanes.)  

The next few brands are similar in comparison mostly by weight.

Anvil Brand T #979 - 6.1 oz. I loved these many years ago, but they seem to stretch kinda funny when washed.

Hanes Authentic Tagless T #5250 - 6.1 oz. Open end cotton. Great for the Hanes name, but not good if you are using these for a clothing line. There’s a tag imprinted on the inside of the neck. Lower price and comparable to the Gildan 2000.

Fruit of the Loom Lofteez - 20230R. 6.1 oz open end cotton. Good alternative, but low in the color selection. It has been a favorite of mine in the past and still wears nicely after many, many washes.

Jerzees Zt - 18z. High quality. Now here’s one of the few true contenders for the Beefy T. This one is a ring spun cotton and 6.1 oz. However the selection of colors comes up short.  

I almost forgot about the Port & Company shirt.

Port & Company Essential T - #PC61 Great shirt. 6.1 oz. Open end cotton. Large selection of colors. It gets a two thumbs up.

The next list of shirts are considered as the middleweight class. These are less than 6.1 oz. These are great for promotional use, shirts that will get dirty faster than they wear out. Construction companies, painters, demolition etc.

The price makes them worth it.

Top of the list goes to:

Gildan heavyweight - #5000 weighing in at 5.4 oz. Great shirt for a budget.

Hanes heavyweight - #5280 comes in at 5.5 oz. Another great shirt. Comes with the Hanes name as well.

Fruit of the Loom - #3930 5.6 oz. Great color selection and a pretty decent shirt as well. Good shirt to have for a T-shirt line.

And last but most certainly not least there is American Apparel’s

Standard American brand T - #2001. This T runs small. These are in huge demand for clothing companies and start up apparel lines. Weight - 4.3 oz and ring spun. These are almost equal in price to the Beefy T.

Some things else to consider when choosing your shirts.

This list was compiled with all 100% cotton T’s. 50/50 is another option and is typically less in price. They are not as popular, but clients do ask for them on occasion.

Color availability as well as stock availability can play a major role in what you choose. Also consider the stitching if this is an issue. Double or single stitching, shoulder to shoulder taping, and sizing.

Do you need XXL, XXXXL’s or more? Most colors only come in sizes Small through XXL. Black, navy, white and ash come in larger sizes depending on brand.

One of the last things to consider is if you are choosing to order longsleeves, tank tops, or pocket T’s as well. Having the same brand with the same dye color lot can be important to some. It’s your choice.

So here’s to T-shirts 101…I hope you find this helpful.

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