10 tips to start optimising landing pages for B2B lead generation

Even in 2020, landing pages are still one of the most important tools in the arsenal of a B2B marketer. They generate leads by capturing a visitor's information through a lead form. For that reason, I prefer the term ‘lead capture’ pages.

According to Inbound Marketing software specialist HubSpot, businesses with over 40 landing pages get twelve times more leads than those with only 1-5 landing pages. Unfortunately for them, over 62% of B2B companies have six or fewer landing pages. There is a great opportunity for those who are willing to steal a lead from the competition - literally!

Whatever you call them, if there is one thing that you can do to improve your B2B lead generation, it is to build more and better web/landing pages that are designed specifically to convert web visitors into leads by capturing their contact details.

Create a unique landing page design for each email, pay-per-click or social media campaign that you run and use it to target a particular audience by promoting a piece of content, such as an ebook, whitepaper, webinar or video that is tailored to the information needs of that audience. By referring respondents to a landing page you are directing them to the place where they can sign up for the offer that has attracted them in the first place. This makes the process simpler for the visitor and makes it more likely that they will complete your form and convert into leads.

Here are my top tips on how to create the perfect B2B landing page:

1. Keep it relevant

People arrive on a landing page with a specific goal or intention in mind, so it is important to make sure that you demonstrate relevance from the moment the visitor arrives – through the headline, body copy and offer. If your visitors click on an ad telling them to download a free eBook, they are expecting to be directed to a page where they can do that. Make it clear that they’re in the right place when they get to your landing page by keeping your ad copy and page title consistent.

2. Make sure people can understand your offer immediately

Keep the headline simple and clear - attention spans are very short when people are searching the web, even if you have laboured over your offer and landing page for hours! Be as direct and straightforward as possible and make a promise of what the visitor would be able to do by downloading this offer as in the example below:

In this example, the headline and subheadline set the expection of what the visitor will be able to achieve by downloading the offer, state that that the offer is a checklist and give the additional information that the ebook is free. The reader understands what is on offer without having to read the rest of your page.

3. Give as much information in your body copy as is necessary to sell the benefits of completing the form

BUT also be as succinct as possible. Keep in mind your target reader: what assumptions can you make about how much he/she knows and understands about the subject matter?

Creating a persona for your ideal customer is a good basis on which to write an offer and its accompanying landing page. Visitors must be able to understand the value of your offer and its relevance to their specific challenges. Just as importantly, they need to understand what they need to do to access the content that you are offering, so make that clear in the text.

Don’t make assumptions. People are probably too busy to work very hard at finding out what to do next. Bullet points and numbering will make the offer easier and quicker to understand. Bold and italicised text will draw attention to the key points but, like all design, if you try to make everything stand out it may all end up merging into one. It may be a good investment to employ an experienced web designer to create a layout that you can follow in future landing pages.

4. Use images, graphics & VIDEO that are relevant to the subject

If you are offering an eBook show a picture of its front cover and take the time to design it carefully to create a professional image that reinforces the credibility of your company and your offer. Remember people may not know anything about your company before they land on this page and first impressions count. They are much more likely to fill in the form if they see you as a credible organisation.

Video is rapidly becoming crucial to landing page conversion rates. It's claimed that using video on landing pages can improve the conversion rate by 86%.

Be careful, large image sizes can slow down the experience for the end users. The first five seconds of page-load time have the highest impact on conversion rates. Website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time. 

5. Remove navigation to other pages

Landing pages should funnel the visitor towards the action of filling in your form, so that they become a lead for you. Anything else will risk distracting the reader and reducing the likelihood of the form being filled. Once the visitor reaches your landing page, the only action they should be able to take is filling out your form. 

6. Make your form immediately visible

Use as few mandatory fields as possible to maximise the leads generated. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that more fields with specific relevant questions may produce more qualified, if fewer leads. For example, as a marketing agency we sometimes ask for people’s biggest marketing challenge, although in a non-mandatory field. Don’t forget that people are often worried about security so take the time to re-assure them.

7. Optimise your page

Choose a keyword that you would like to be associated with your page and write a meta description (a text snippet that describes what your specific web page is about). This is shown in Google search results. You want this text to convince viewers to visit your landing page, so keep it short and simple, but use it to convey value.

Crucially, you need to optimise for mobile. Over half of all web traffic is mobile now and more than 60% of B2B buyers claim that mobile browsing plays a major part in their buying process.

8. Ask your visitors to share your content

Ask readers to share with their social media connections. Help them to do so through social media links on your landing pages. The more people that come to your landing pages, the more leads you have the chance to create.

9. Follow-up a download with a thank you page and an email

This will give you the opportunity to offer those newly created leads further content, to subscribe to a blog or visit the rest of your site. Suggest next steps that will help you build a relationship and further increase the likelihood of them becoming a customer. 

10. TIMITI!

Isn’t this a lovely acronym? It just means 'test' really, but stands for Try It! Measure It! Tweak It! TIMITI and is a term coined by Jim Sterne, author of Web Metrics. 

Experiment. Get the data to back it up and get your landing pages to shine. Use the data from A/B test available on most major CMS' to see whether your experiments have a demonstrable impact on your work. 

Did you know that only 17% of marketers use A/B testing to improve their landing pages? Thousands of businesses are missing out on valuable data which is fundamentally losing them conversions, customers and money.

If you're looking for more support in optimising your B2B website for lead generation then check out our guide - Everything you need to know about optimising your B2B website for lead generation.

This blog was originally published in November 2013 and has vastly updated to provide a more accurate and comprehensive look at landing pages in November 2020.