Visitors arrive at your landing page for a specific purpose by clicking online ads and links in emails and social media messages you've created.  But sometimes, visitors get packing as soon as they even get there. How come?



1. It looks nothing like the ad's call to action or theme.
How many times have you clicked an ad or link in an email only to find out that the page you land on has nothing to do with the ad or link? That mistake is so unbelievably irritating for the person who has clicked through to the landing page.

When visitors arrive on your landing page, they should feel the connection between the ad or link that got them there and where they've ended up. If your ad is appealing to the champagne-and-caviar set, you can't have them landing on a page that's for the milk-and-cookies crowd.

2. Your call to action is unclear.
Ineffective landing pages are bossy; they push you around in different directions, trying to herd you one way and then another, shouting at you the whole time. But the folks who arrive at your landing page need to immediately know what to do or how to get the info they need. You need to communicate very clearly what you want the visitor to do. So, imagine that you're writing an old-school telegram (or its modern equivalent, a tweet). You don't have a lot of time to get your point across, so just say it without getting too wordy or fanciful.

3. You showed off in smarty-pants language.
Let your credentials show your business savvy. Avoid sounding like a snake oil salesman shouting out the miraculous power of your product or service, but then don't go to the other extreme and end up sounding like a robot either.

"Speak human," Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman write in Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. "Communicate your brand missions, values, and philosophy in simple terms, using the language of your customers. Speak in a conversational tone, with personality, empathy, and true emotion. Kill corporate-speak, buzzwords, and other language that makes you sound like a tool."

4. Your content is buried.
You don't want heavy, bloated landing pages that creak under the weight of their own text. Website copy (not just landing pages) shouldn't remind visitors of dissertations by a 19th century professor. Write in crisp, snappy and focused sentences. Think Ernest Hemingway, not Charles Dickens.

5. You're rushing the goodnight kiss.
Crummy landing pages are like bad first dates. Instead of just enjoying the date and spending a reasonable amount of time building up interest and trust, the bad landing page is pushing the viewer along with excessive demands, unclear goals, and just wanting the reward at the end of it all. Make sure you're not demanding everything as soon as the person arrives to your landing page.

Are these landing page mistakes sounding familiar? Want to learn more about what makes a landing page an excellent destination for your target audience? Then be sure to check out our handy, dandy guide, Landing Pages 101: Common Mistakes That Confuse and Confound and How to Fix Them.