How to create an SEO landing page that ranks!
SEO landing pages are the bread and butter for any digital e-commerce activity. If you need to land leads and drive conversions, then ensuring your page is appealing to both users and search engines is crucial. But how do you get your LP up to scratch – and how do you make sure it resonates with your readers?
In this guide, our team of in-house experts will take you through all the essential steps when it comes to creating an SEO landing page. Not just one that ranks high in search results and compels users to take action, but works like a huge, glowing signpost for your brand that says ‘click here! You know you want to!’
Let’s get into it.
What are landing pages for SEO?
A landing page is a standalone page on your site that users ‘land’ on when clicking your URL (maybe from an Ad or email), and it’s designed to drive conversions.
Landing pages that aren’t built properly or optimised for the search engine will lose you valuable customers- you managed to receive their click, hooray! But that customer you attracted doesn’t convert purely because of how your landing page is built. So what’s the point of them even clicking?
The goal is to convince the user to perform the desired action, and that’s virtually impossible if they’re taken to a page that doesn’t give them a positive user experience. You also want these pages to rank well, as without visibility, it’s much harder to generate leads and find potential customers.
Attract, engage, and convert: why are SEO landing pages useful?
If you’ve not paid much attention to your existing landing page – or are wondering what all the fuss is about – it really comes down to showing up and getting clicked. SERPS are not to be messed with, especially for digital storefronts, and optimising your landing pages to rank highly is one of the best things you can do.
Here, we’ll take a closer look…
- Boost organic traffic: Well-ranked pages attract free, targeted visitors who are already interested in your offerings – pushing them into the next part of the sales funnel.
- Optimise conversions: When CTAs are used correctly and keywords leveraged, SEO landing pages increase the likelihood of visitors taking desired actions – from newsletter signups to crucial click-to-basket.
- Get your brand seen: High-ranking pages can boost your brand’s presence in search results, so your users become more familiar with your output.
- Gain user insights: SEO landing pages can provide valuable data on user behaviour, helping you refine your strategies to better suit them.
- Strengthen website authority: Utilising well-structured SEO on landing pages can boost your entire site’s ranking potential through site exploration.
But don’t walk before you can run. Before you even think about pulling an LP together, conduct thorough keyword research to spot relevant terms with high search volume and low competition. You can use SEO tools to speed this process along.
Search intent for first impressions
You need to unpick your audience’s search intent before subscribing to a particular keyword. This can help you better address their needs.
Search intent is split into the following:
- Navigational
- Informational
- Transactional
- Commercial
Empathy comes a long way here, so look into the headspace of the user. What do they want to see? Why are they clicking? Once you’ve got this down, you’ll be able to craft a landing page that puts search intent at the centre and attracts the right customers.
Copywriting comes in clutch
As your headline and meta description are the first things users see in search results, you need to make them enticing enough to garner clicks.
Don’t go for style over substance though, as they still need to be informative and keyword-rich to show up. Make it clear what your page is about so customers know if you fit their needs, and remain relevant to the services you’re providing.
Misleading a customer to click on your landing page will eventually lead them to click back off and look elsewhere, so tell them right from the off what you’re all about.
Focus on your SEO elements
Here are some areas to focus on when it comes to planning your LP. These are non-negotiables for SEO, so make note!
- Craft clear URLs: Create concise, relevant URLs that include your target keyword.
- Structure your headings: Use H1, H2, and H3 tags strategically, naturally incorporating keywords.
- Develop top-level content: Write clear, valuable text that meets user search intent and includes target keywords organically.
- Internal links: Including internal links improves the usefulness of your site for a user, and you need to use the appropriate anchor text to highlight their topic.
- Optimise images: Compress image files for faster loading and use descriptive alt text with relevant keywords.
Not only do these on-page elements help a user navigate your content smoothly, but they also help the search engine bots crawl your site and index it properly- giving them as much information as possible regarding what your site is about is super helpful.
Experience-led
Even though it’s in the name, SEO is not just about search engines. As Google puts user-led content first, you need to consider user experience too. Ensure your landing page is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate – all to avoid that dreaded bounce rate!
Google uses mobile-first indexing, so it prefers indexing the mobile version of your site as opposed to the desktop version. That itself proves just how valuable a mobile-friendly site is. Implementing a responsive web design that adapts to a mobile screen and separating chunks of content can help the mobile version of your site.
Want your visitors to do something? Then tell them exactly what to do! Clear, concise and compelling CTAs are essential for driving conversions, so make sure to include them in eye-catching buttons or whenever an action is needed.
Need some help? We’ve got you covered.
By following the advice in this guide, you will be well on the way to creating strong, SEO-optimised landing pages that draw in targeted traffic, captivate visitors and boost conversions.
But what if you need a little help to take your landing pages to the next level?
With a focus on both SEO best practices and user experience, the team at Embryo can help you create LPS that are catnip for targeted traffic and can help fuel your online presence.
With extensive experience crafting tailored content plans and SEO strategies, we can help lay the groundwork for your brand’s SEO success, ensuring a solid foundation for your online presence.
To get key insights into your existing SEO position – or to get your content journey started – get in touch with us today!
