How to Create High-Converting and SEO-Optimized Landing Pages
Copywriting is an exercise in creativity, but there’s a science to it as well. Within the boundaries of the creative process, there are certain principles you need to hit for a webpage, blog post, marketing email, and even an infographic to be successful—and by successful, I mean that it ranks high on search engine results pages and converts visits into leads.
Whether you’re building a landing page to promote a new feature, product, or as part of a marketing campaign, there are strong principles you need to address. A high-converting and SEO-optimized landing page must balance engaging content with SEO best practices.
This article presents a loose formula that you can use when building landing pages that celebrate your creativity, while also making room for the strategic elements that will convert your traffic and help the page rank well on search engines like Google.
Header, sub-header, and value proposition
Your header and sub-header reside at the top of your page in your hero section. They're what your visitors first see when they land on that page.
All components of your landing page are important, but because this is the first thing your visitors will read, it should communicate why they’re there, why they should care, and pique their interest enough to continue consuming the rest of the page until they take an action that you want them to take.
Header
Your header should be concise, outcome-based, and refer to the problem you solve. It should communicate what the user will gain from using your product or service.
For the sake of this article, we’ll use the example of a company that specializes in developing learning management systems (LMS) with client onboarding being their main use case.
Example: Reduce Client Onboarding Times by 50% with Automated Workflows
Sub-Header
Your sub-header should elaborate on your header by providing the “how” in your outcome-based value proposition communicated in your header.
Example: Our SaaS integration platform streamlines onboarding and reduces friction.
CTAs (Calls-to-action) in your hero, above the fold
Your hero section should also include strong calls to action, highlighted by buttons. These CTAs should be above the fold which means that you can automatically see them when visiting the page for the first time without having to scroll down.
Sometimes, it makes sense to include two CTAs—one for a prospect who is farther along the buyer journey in the decision phase, and a softer CTA for a new prospect closer to the top of the funnel.
A bottom-of-the-funnel CTA might be something along the lines of Request a Demo or Start a Free Trial.
A top-of-the-funnel CTA might direct the user to “Learn More” by downloading a gated lead magnet like a brochure or whitepaper to capture contact information like email addresses, to feed your funnel with leads to nurture.
Don't stop the CTAs there
Multiple calls to action should be strategically placed throughout the page.
Besides being action-oriented (ie. Download, Contact, Request, etc.) your CTAs should vary in terms of the ask they’re proposing. You want them to account for the varying stages of the marketing funnel your visitors are in.
If a CTA after the fold instructs the reader to contact Sales, the subsequent CTA should instruct the user to consume more detailed content like a brochure or eBook, and so on.
Contextual body text
After the fold, provide a bit of context following the SIR (situation, impact, resolution) methodology. This body text provides:
The situation which offers a bit more detail about the current problems your target audience faces like reducing the time and complexity of onboarding new clients
The impact of those problems such as decreased time to value for your customers and a long backlog of clients waiting to be manually onboarded which is also expensive, and
The resolution which is normally your platform or the service you’re promoting.
Benefits
List the benefits of your solution or offering with some visual aids like icons or images of the actual product or service itself.
For example: Reduce onboarding time by 50% | Track user progress with detailed analytics | Receive AI-powered suggestions for where to improve your onboarding process
Your entire page should be scannable so a visitor can digest the most relevant information in a short span of time, however you should also expand on each benefit with some detail. Explain how the user experiences that benefit. For example, the first benefit, “Reduce onboarding time by 50%” might offer some context such as:
Automated workflows accelerate customer onboarding, slashing traditional process times by half. Instead of manually triggering next steps, onboarding is self-paced, and reminders are automatically baked in.
Trust indicators
Provide client quotes as testimonials or display logos of clients that have used or are using the solution or service in question.
Regardless of how trustworthy you look, or the long-standing credibility of your brand, prospects are typically quite dubious and cautious. Credibility is difficult to facilitate and foster, but testimonials and logos go a long way in that endeavor.
Keyword implementation
Your landing page should include a keyword that you want to rank for. This keyword should be representative of the solution you’re selling. In the case of our example, it would be “client onboarding.”
With SEO in mind, your keyword should:
Be in your page title/H1 tag (for example, Seamless LMS Solutions for Accelerated Client Onboarding)
Be in your header
Be located once in your first paragraph of any body text. As a rule, you’re looking for 1% keyword density, meaning that if your landing page is a total of 500 words, your keyword should appear 5 times on that page. Once in the page title, in your header, and three times throughout the text. If your page is 1000 words, it should appear 10 times.
Be in your meta description
Be in your URL.
Other Considerations
This schema offers a loose structure for building high-converting, SEO-optimized landing pages. The elements and flow of your page will naturally change depending on the service, product, or offer being promoted.
For products, you might want to list features along with benefits. Interactive elements like ROI calculators or something similar may be added for a boost in engagement if the fit is right. A frequently asked questions (FAQ) section might be beneficial if questions are anticipated that require clarity.
This is all to say that there is certainly a loose skeleton and structure for landing pages, but lots of room and flexibility to dress it up according to what you're taking to market and what you want to accomplish.
Key Takeaways
Building a high-converting, SEO-optimized landing page combines strategic structure with creative flexibility. By following the framework of engaging headers, targeted CTAs, contextual content, and trust-building elements, you can effectively guide visitors through the buyer journey.
Tailor each section to highlight your product’s unique value and resonate with your audience’s needs, ensuring they find the answers they seek and feel compelled to take action.
With this blend of creativity and best practices, your landing page can transform traffic into qualified leads and rank well on search engines, driving high-quality opportunities into your sales pipeline.
