Landing page SEO best practices: A step-by-step guide

By Phil Norris December 5, 2023

Touchdown pages are implausible at driving leads and gross sales, however they’re usually not so good at bringing in natural site visitors.

Why? As a result of the very components that assist touchdown pages convert guests — minimal content material, few hyperlinks, and extremely promotional messaging — are just about the reverse of what search engines like google like Google are searching for.

However, in case you observe some tried-and-trusted methodologies, it’s completely attainable to construct touchdown pages that rank effectively, usher in tons of site visitors, and obtain sky-high conversion rates.

Find out how in our information to touchdown web page search engine optimization…

What’s an search engine optimization touchdown web page?

search engine optimization touchdown pages are net pages optimized to:

• Rank effectively in search
• Drive numerous leads or gross sales

Landing pages serve a single objective or objective. Most frequently, the objective will probably be to promote a services or products, seize an e-mail tackle or drive signups to an occasion or webinar.

Usually, a touchdown web page is one among many pages on an internet site.

However there are additionally loads of standalone touchdown pages on the market, constructed utilizing landing page tools like AWeber and Unbounce.

They generate related site visitors by focusing on particular key phrases. They usually function some form of name to motion (CTA), usually a lead seize type or a “purchase now” button.

Identical to this one:

Why isn’t your search engine optimization touchdown web page rating?

It’s a troublesome job getting any search engine optimization touchdown web page to carry out effectively in search.

Reality is, Google (most likely) makes use of 200+ different factors to find out rankings, together with:

• Content material high quality
• Backlinks
• Key phrase optimization
• Web site pace
• Cellular friendliness

It’s onerous to fulfill lots of these components in case you don’t have a lot content material in your touchdown web page. And it will get even tougher in case you’re constructing a standalone touchdown web page.

For starters, you don’t have the authority of an present web site to prop up your rankings. 

What’s extra, you may’t reap the benefits of inside linking — a simple-but-effective search engine optimization tactic that enhances a touchdown web page’s authority by linking to it from numerous different pages on the identical web site. This clearly isn’t an choice in case you’re making a standalone web page since you don’t have every other pages.

Touchdown web page search engine optimization greatest practices: A step-by-step optimization information

Certain, touchdown web page search engine optimization is difficult.

However it’s not all dangerous information, as a result of there are many examples of standalone touchdown pages that punch approach above their weight within the search rankings.

As an example, at time of writing, this landing page about writer and enterprise knowledgeable Jay Baer’s favourite tequila manufacturers…

…was rating at #6 for the time period “tequila lists”, which will get a good 300 estimated searches a month.

That’s regardless of having fewer than 70 phrases on the entire web page. With a bit extra content material and a few smart SEO, we wager it may rank even increased.

Wish to do the identical? Use our touchdown web page search engine optimization suggestions and methods to spice up your search rankings and generate extra site visitors, leads, and gross sales.

(FYI these techniques will work simply as effectively for “common” touchdown pages which might be a part of a full web site. If something, they’ll be much more efficient, as a result of it’s typically simpler to rank with an internet site web page than a standalone touchdown web page.)

Establish low-difficulty goal key phrases

The final word objective of touchdown web page search engine optimization is to rank for related key phrases with first rate search quantity.

It is advisable to be lifelike right here.

Think about you and I needed to construct a standalone search engine optimization touchdown web page for our new yoga enterprise.

We’d wish to goal a broad time period like “yoga mat”, which will get an estimated 215,000 world searches a month.

However the high 10 search outcomes are stuffed with huge manufacturers, retailers, and publishers like Amazon, Goal, and the New York Occasions. There’s zero probability we’ll outrank any of them with a solitary touchdown web page. We’d be a small fish in an enormous pond.

As a substitute, our job is to discover a extra particular key phrase. Fewer folks will probably be trying to find it, so it’ll be far much less aggressive. We’re nonetheless a small fish — however the pond simply obtained lots smaller, too.

Realistically, to seek out these low-difficulty key phrase alternatives, you want to enroll in an search engine optimization analysis device like:

The primary two are very good, however they’re additionally fairly costly at $100+ per 30 days.

Ubersuggest doesn’t have as many options, nevertheless it’s an entire lot cheaper (beginning at $29/month), and it even provides you a restricted quantity of free performance. So we’re going to indicate you the best way to use it to trace down that low-hanging key phrase fruit.

First, it is advisable to enter a “seed” key phrase — a broad time period like “yoga mat” that we’ll use to seek out extra particular variants.

Now for the good things: select Associated phrases to broaden out our search, then use the search engine optimization Problem filter to exclude any key phrases with a rating over 30, as a result of these phrases may be too aggressive.

(Keep in mind that totally different instruments have other ways of rating key phrase issue. As an example, Ahrefs tends to offer decrease issue scores than Ubersuggest. So in case you’re utilizing Ahrefs, set a decrease most key phrase issue; 15 – 20 must be wonderful).

Hopefully, that’ll spit out a bunch of related outcomes.

Now, hit the Quantity filter so that you’ve obtained a listing of the lowest-competition key phrases with the very best variety of estimated month-to-month searches:

Then it’s only a case of reviewing the outcomes and selecting out any that catch the attention.

At first look, “dimensions of a yoga mat” appears fascinating. Certain, it doesn’t present a lot shopping for intent, nevertheless it has a ton of quantity (1,900 searches a month). We may deliver these searchers to our touchdown web page, clarify all of the totally different yoga mat dimensions, then advocate a bunch of mats in every dimension class.

Or there’s all the time “yoga mat for canine” (260 searches a month) if we fancy actually niche-ing down.

You might have to do some further analysis at this stage to determine the intent behind a key phrase and whether or not it’s value pursuing.

As an example, folks Googling “grounded yoga mat” (260 month-to-month searches) are searching for a mat that supposedly creates {an electrical} connection between the earth and the yogi utilizing it. If that’s one thing we promote in our imaginary yoga retailer, it’s an honest time period to focus on.

Select the very best of the bunch and make a remark of it; that’s your main key phrase.

Or if none of them works for you, begin over with a distinct seed key phrase.

👉 Do that: When you’ve discovered your main key phrase, Google it, then pick potential secondary key phrases within the “Folks additionally ask” and “Associated searches” sections. As an example, “what’s a regular yoga mat dimension” may make a helpful subheading on a touchdown web page focusing on the first time period “dimensions of a yoga mat”:

Construction your search engine optimization touchdown web page copy

Use the key phrases you discovered within the earlier step to construct a tough construction for the title and subheadings of your search engine optimization touchdown web page.

These titles and subheadings will type your heading tags. Often known as H tags and header tags, they’re a significant a part of your on-page search engine optimization, which has a huge impact on how effectively your web page will rank (extra on that within the subsequent part).

Heading tags run hierarchically from H1 – H6. Your touchdown web page ought to have a single H1 tag and as many H2s, H3s, and so forth as it is advisable to meet the search intent and outrank your rivals. The extra in-depth, the higher.

As an example, the heading tag construction of our yoga touchdown web page may seem like this:

• • What’s a regular yoga mat dimension?

    • <H3> 5 greatest commonplace yoga mats

  • What’s a big yoga mat dimension?

    • <H3> 5 greatest yoga mats for tall folks

👉 Do that: Construction your touchdown web page, then write your web page content material. Your objective is to write better content (i.e. extra in-depth) than the present #1 rating web page in your main key phrase — in any other case what’s the purpose?

Sort out different on-page search engine optimization parts

We’ve coated a key a part of on-page touchdown web page search engine optimization: heading tags.

However they’re solely one among a number of on-page parts that assist search engines like google perceive what your web page is about.

To offer your web page the very best probability of robust rankings, you additionally have to nail all these parts:

Title tag

Your title tag is the very first thing searchers see once they come throughout your touchdown web page on a search engine outcomes web page (SERP):

It must be quick — not more than 60 characters. And it ought to compel searchers to click on.

👉 Do that: Attempt to place your main key phrase initially of the web page title and put much less vital phrases final.

Meta description

The meta description seems beneath the title tag in SERPs:

It’s sort of like an commercial in your touchdown web page, briefly explaining what it’s about and why folks ought to click on. Google highlights the search time period — plus shut matches and different related info — in daring textual content, serving to the outline stand out and improving click-through rate.

👉 Do that: Write a meta description of as much as 160 characters in your touchdown web page, together with your main key phrase.

Visible parts

Including photographs and movies to your touchdown web page can persuade guests to stay round for longer.

This exhibits Google that individuals like your content material, which in flip can enhance your rankings.

However that’s not the one advantage of utilizing numerous visible parts.

Photographs may present up in search outcomes, supplying you with one other supply of site visitors. Plus they’re usually extra environment friendly than textual content for speaking details about your services or products.

As an example, Gaiam makes use of photographs to assist customers select the correct yoga mat:

In truth, there’s barely any seen copy on this touchdown web page, as a result of it’s largely contained inside collapsible parts:

This makes the web page fast and simple to scan.

There’s no “ideally suited ratio” of visible parts to textual content on a touchdown web page. Somewhat than forcing your self to incorporate an arbitrary picture or video each 100 phrases, concentrate on making the searcher’s life simpler, including as many as it is advisable to absolutely reply their question.

👉 Do that: Discover related imagery — and, ideally, a video too — so as to add to your touchdown web page. When you don’t have any of your individual property, use galleries like Pixabay and Unsplash. Additionally, you’ll want to compress photographs and movies utilizing instruments like TinyPNG and Freeconvert to assist your touchdown web page load sooner (extra on this later).

Alt textual content

Regardless that photographs present up in search outcomes, Google can’t really see them.

It is advisable to add descriptive alt textual content to your photographs to inform search engines like google what they’re about.

Alt textual content additionally improves the accessibility of your touchdown web page by enabling display screen readers to “describe” photographs to customers with visible impairments.

When writing alt textual content, attempt to spell out what’s within the picture and add key phrases naturally.

As an example, the highest picture end result for the time period “dimensions of a yoga mat”…

…has the alt textual content: “Illustration of yoga mat sizes.”

👉 Do that: Write as much as 125 characters of alt textual content for every picture in your touchdown web page. 

Touchdown web page URL

The URL is likely one of the most simply neglected parts of touchdown web page search engine optimization.

It helps search engines like google perceive what your touchdown web page is about and the way it pertains to different content material in your web site, so it ought to embody your main key phrase.

👉 Do that: Write a URL in your touchdown web page, together with the first key phrase you’re focusing on. Intention for a size of fifty – 60 characters. Learn extra about enhancing your URL with a site, subdomain, and web page path in our information: How do I customize my landing page URL?

Web page pace

Google has been utilizing web page pace as a think about search rankings for effectively over a decade now.

Why? As a result of slow-loading pages create a poor person expertise.

In truth, 45% of people have a unfavourable impression of internet sites that take too lengthy to load, and 32% say they’d seemingly by no means go to the location once more.

Google is aware of this, so it punishes slow-loading pages with decrease rankings.

We’ve already mentioned one key aspect of web page pace optimization: compressing photographs and movies.

However there are many different components, so that you’ll wish to undergo all of them to make sure a slick loading expertise.

👉 Do that: Use Google’s free PageSpeed Insights device to determine and proper points slowing down your touchdown web page.

Backlinks

Backlinks are hyperlinks pointing to your touchdown web page from exterior websites.

They’re a vital aspect of touchdown web page search engine optimization, as a result of when different web sites hyperlink to your web page, Google treats it as a sort of advice that you just’ve produced high-quality content material.

This has an enormous impression on rankings.

In truth, on common, the #1 search end result has 3.8X more backlinks than these in positions #2 – #10.

Some websites may hyperlink to your content material with none effort in your half, particularly in case you’re a high-profile title in your area of interest and/or a trusted supply of knowledge.

As an example, Wikipedia has tens of thousands and thousands of backlinks, they usually seemingly didn’t need to ask for a lot of of them.

However in case you’re not Wikipedia, you’ll most likely need to make a aware effort to construct these all-important backlinks your self.

👉 Do that: There are numerous faculties of thought on one of the best ways to construct backlinks. However one easy strategy is to:

• Discover the web page that at the moment ranks #1 in your main key phrase
• Use an SEO tool like Ahrefs or Semrush to seek out websites that at the moment hyperlink to that web page
• Ask these websites to hyperlink to you as an alternative!

Stage up your touchdown web page search engine optimization with AWeber

Earlier than you may leverage any of those touchdown web page search engine optimization greatest practices, you first have to construct your touchdown web page.

AWeber may also help.

Our touchdown web page builder makes it fast and simple to construct fast-loading, high-converting touchdown pages.

Constructed-in Canva entry helps you deliver your design concepts to life.

Or, in case you want a bit inspiration, begin with one among our 100+ mobile-responsive pre-built templates and customise to your coronary heart’s content material utilizing our easy drag-and-drop editor.

See for your self by signing up for a free AWeber account.
Get started here!