What makes the perfect landing page? One that converts, of course. The goal of any landing page is to convince consumers to take an action, whether that is to buy something, download a free resource or schedule a consultation.

When you promote your products or services, you need to send people somewhere. Your Home Page isn’t the best place. After all Home Pages are general, and the best ones are written to speak to the masses. They provide people with an overview of your organization, services and products.

Landing pages on the other hand, should be super specific and tell your visitors exactly what they need to do—and why it’s in their best interest to do it.

So, what makes up a strong landing page? The following elements.

A clear, compelling Call to Action (CTA)

Nothing is more important than the CTA on your landing page. It is the only reason you are driving people there in the first place, so don’t take this element lightly.

Words matter, so choose ones that visitors will relate to and that make them excited to learn more about your services, products or business. Your CTA should tell them exactly what they are going to gain if they accept the offer.

Beyond the words, use color and design elements to draw people’s attention to the CTA—and make sure you aren’t distracting them by adding links to other pages. Everything on the page should lead to the CTA.

Ideally, you will have the space and capability to include a form right on the landing page, so that you don’t have to drive visitors somewhere else. However, at the least, use a large, colorful CTA button.

A benefit-driven header and descriptive subheader

Headers should be prominent across the top of the page, so it is the first thing visitors will see. As important as placement and size, are the words you use. Your headline should make people stop, think and feel something. It should convince them that they need to keep reading. Do that by telling them as clearly and concisely as possible why your offer is important to them.

Subheaders aren’t necessary, but they do offer you an opportunity to briefly provide a bit more detail and expand on how the visitor will benefit from the offer, so if you have the space, include one.

Super succinct, meaningful text

In addition to the header and subheader, provide copy that describes what is in the offer. Use bullet points, short paragraphs, formatting, and plenty of white space to make copy easy to read and scan. Remember, your goal is to make people want to follow your CTA, so think of this copy as a way to tease visitors and leave them wanting more.

There is no hard-set rule for how many words you should include on any of your web pages, and landing pages are no different. It largely depends on your industry and how much detail you need to fully describe the offer. For example, for B2B audiences, short and to the point is effective, because busy business leaders don’t have time to wade through a bunch of dense text.

That said, use as many words as necessary to sell your offer and no more. Clear out the fluff and redundancies and keep visitors focused on the purpose of the landing page.

Visual elements

They really are worth a thousand—or even more—words, so use one powerful image or video. Some examples:

• Hero image. These provide visitors with a glimpse of how their lives will improve if they follow through with the CTA.
• A quick—experts recommend 90 seconds—video can take the place of hundreds of words. You could provide an explainer video that describes how your product or service works, for example, or detail how the offer can resolve a very specific problem your audience often faces. Or you could share a video testimonial of a customer who benefited from working with you.
• Photos of the product or premium. For example, include an image of the e-book you are giving away or screen shots of the dashboards on software you sell. It can show the value of the item, without having to include a ton of text.
• Charts or graphs. Use these to share data. For example, you could show the productivity gains of an average customer with a simple bar graph.

Proof of your excellence

Popping in a customer logo or testimonial, or highlighting your awards, credentials or security badges is a great way to add credence to your business and the offer. Just make sure that you:

• Choose testimonials wisely. Something like “I recommend so-and-so …” isn’t very compelling. If you use a testimonial, make sure it is a powerful statement that specifically states how your business changed the customer’s life or business for the better. Use testimonials only if the person is willing to also provide a full name, title and photo. Vague details, such as “Bill, VA” make testimonials seem fake.
• Take advantage of name recognition. If you have some widely-known customers, incorporate their logos. Or provide testimonials from well-known people in your industry. They have more clout.