No matter how fancy your design is and no matter how clever your copy is, your site will never convert as well as it could. Why? Because you are trying to please everyone by creating a standard site that fits all. For instance, you have visitors coming to your site from a Google campaign but those are different from the visitors who come to your site from Facebook or Twitter.

So, how can you increase conversion rates? Simple. Get to work and start creating landing pages that are tailored towards specific marketing campaigns.

Ready to dig a little deeper? Here are 6 things you need to have on your landing page if you want it to convert:

1. The solution in a headline

You should probably spend about 50% of your time writing your headlines. Headlines can make your most important benefits or solutions stand out. The best thing you can do is to use several headlines throughout the page to break out the content into easy-to-read chunks of information. It will make it so much easier for your visitors to skim your landing page and understand what exactly you are offering and why they should choose you over the competition.

2. The subheading

While your main headline offers a solution, that won’t be enough to convert visitors into buyers. You need more. Use your subheading to explain your solution. Make it short (one sentence is enough), clear and persuasive.

3. Include bullets

Bullets are awesome because they highlight the main benefits of your product and make it easier to deliver the information in a skim-friendly format.

Not everyone has time to read a lengthy landing page. So use bullets to give them the information they need in order to make an informed decision. Make them short and clear and tell users:

• Why they need your product
• How purchasing it can make their life easier
• How it can help them achieve their goals
• How it can save them 5-10-15 days of work.

4. Show them proof

Users love to see numbers, percentages, stats. So, use them wisely to back up your claims. If it’s the best selling product out there, show them proof. How many products have you sold last year or how many companies are using your product?

If you state your customers have achieved the best results, how do potential customers know you are not just one of the thousands of companies who are making the same claim? Get testimonials from your customers to back up the statements you are making on your landing page. Include all the details such as full name, a picture and the exact results achieved after using your product. Want to go a step further? Get video testimonials to make it even more believable.

By showing proof that your products have helped others achieve their goals, you’re not only backing up your claims but you’re also building trust among potential customers.

5. Never forget calls to action

A landing page cannot convert without calls to action. They’re an absolute must-have!

The best advice I can give you is to be as specific as possible in your call to action. While the generic “Find out more” or “See pricing and plans” might work in some cases, calls to action that are personalised to your product have higher chances of converting. For example, say you’ve created a landing page where you want to get users to download one of your SEO guides or e-books. Rather than saying “Download now” (which is generic and the most widely used call to action in this situation) you could say “Increase your rankings today”.

6. Add trust elements

Probably the biggest issue when buying products online is trust. If you’re not a brand like Amazon, you need to add trust elements on your landing page. Whether they’re testimonials from customers or SSL encryption showing them your site is secure, trust elements can really help increase conversion rates. Only when your visitors feel safe and comfortable enough to make a purchase from your site, they will buy from you. So use these trust elements everywhere, not just on your landing page, to show them you’re trustworthy.

Have I missed anything? What other elements do you think a landing page must have to convert? Share your thoughts in a comment below.