This is the third part of my series looking at CXL’s minidegree for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
For the past week, I have been studying landing page optimization with Momoko Price. My honest review is the module is worth the course fee alone.
However, the test at the end leaves a lot to be desired (More on that soon...).
But first, rather than tell you what I’ve learned, I’d rather show you.
How to improve your home page (and get more conversions)
Your home page is arguably the single most important page on your website.
But many do such a poor job of utilizing the most important section: above-the-fold content.
Why does this matter?
"Users do scroll, but only if what’s above the fold is promising enough. What is visible on the page without requiring any action is what encourages us to scroll.” - Source CXL.
The main call-to-action (CTA) usually lives above the fold. So if users aren't scrolling or clicking then solving this problem is paramount for your business.
In this article, I'm going to be tearing down two different home page's above-the-fold content.
You'll be able to see (and swipe) their touch downs and avoid the fumbles.
But before we get to that...
What should go above-the-fold anyway?
The key elements that should go above-the-fold on your landing page are:
- Site Navigation
- Unique value proposition
- Calls to Action (CTAs)
This is because the two main aims of your home page are:
1. To convert your prospect ASAP
2. To navigate them to important parts of the site
It's worth reiterating...if your home page doesn't do this, things needs to change.
Start the relationship on the right foot
If your product or service is high-ticket or not straight forward, it's likely your visitor will need more information to convert.
Getting a prospect to commit is like asking them to marry you.
This usually doesn't happen right away. Instead, you get to know each other, build up trust, and make a series of increasing commitments.
Applying this to home pages, if you're not going to marry me (buy something)...Maybe you just need to get to know me (read more content)...And see me more often (sign up to my email list where I'll chip away and ask you to marry me every week!).
To increase your chances of success, never lose sight of the real question:
What do you really offer, anyway?!
The Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
The UVP has a raft of alternative names but I like to think of it as WIIFM.
What’s In It For Me?!
CXL quantifies the UVP using the following formula:
The outcome/result your customer wants + the unique quality of your product
If you look at hundreds of websites, you’ll find that either the value proposition is completely missing, or it completely misses what the prospect really cares about (WIIFM).
And the best way to show you this, is by comparing two different home pages.
reMarkable
Remarkable has a great product, a great brand name, and in my opinion - a great home page.
The above-the-fold content is simple yet it does many things well.
Let’s start with the UVP.
“Replace your notebooks and printed documents with the only tablet that feels like paper”.
This one sentence hits three different persuasion elements.
1) It taps into the prospect’s motivation - cut down on paper.
2) It promotes its uniqueness - “...the only tablet”
3) It answers a big objection - “...it feels like paper"
A reMarkable Visual Hierarchy
reMarkable's visual hierarchy is really on-point. They have used colours, contrast and blank spaces to great effect.
This makes the product stand-out and they double down on its uniqueness with the text “World’s Thinnest Tablet”.
The arrow and the “scroll to learn more” micro-copy helps negate the effect of having a “false bottom” above-the-fold.
But they make a common SEO mistake...
It’s a shame that the design and copywriting is not matched by their SEO. reMarkable make a really common SEO mistake that I see almost every day...
Can you see what it is...?
Having the title as just “Home” is not optimal for SEO and a missed opportunity.
They could have gone with something like...
The World’s Thinnest Paper Tablet | Remarkable
I think this makes the search result stand out better and also hits their main keyword.
Sorry! It’s really hard to take off my SEO hat...
SEO faux pas aside, reMarkable’s home page is a great example to keep in mind as we move on...
The Wim Hof Method
Wim Hof is world-famous, but does his website live up to his name?
Sadly, I don’t think it does him justice…
For me, the main reason is the visual hierarchy.
Like reMarkable's CTAs, the “Join Free Mini Class” is orange and stands out in isolation.
Unfortunately, the rather unnecessary divider line, the privacy pop up, and parts of the logo are also orange. This (in my view) lessens the impact of the CTAs.
And then there’s the strange positioning of Wim himself....
Our eyes are drawn to him as he sits meditating on the ice. But our eyes go to the right and we look past the CTA buttons. There’s also a big “T” on Win’s head, too!
It would have been much better to have him perched directly above (or even pointing to) the CTA buttons.
If we compare this home page to reMarkable’s, it just doesn’t look as clean.
Wim's Unique Value Proposition
I think Wim’s UVP could do with some work, too.
Remember the formula that CXL uses:
The outcome/result your customer wants + the unique quality of your product
Now let’s read Wim’s above-the-fold headline and sub-headline:
“Learn Everything You Need to Know About The Wim Hof Method
Our mission is to help you become happy, strong, and healthy"
Notice the “healthy” kind of gets lost against the ice there...
Is this unique? It’s hard to tell…
Is it specific? Again, not really…
I think it assumes that most people landing on this page are “product aware” - they know who Wim Hof is enough to want to learn more.
However, I think “Learn Everything…” would work better as a CTA.
The mission statement is kinda cool - who wouldn’t want to be happy, strong and healthy?
I think that part could be tweaked...or at least replace the current headline.
An Alternative UVP
Here’s a quick stab at an alternative UVP:
“Discover Wim Hof’s secret to becoming happier, stronger and healthier”
Is it an outcome our audience wants? Yes.
Is it unique?
Perhaps it could do with some work....but combining “a secret” with an image of Wim Hof doing something unique (like meditating in snow in his boxer shorts) could well be enough.
I would certainly want to test it against the current home page!
Hiding the hamburger
At the outset of this article I discussed how a home page has two functions:
1. To convert your prospect ASAP
2. To navigate them to important parts of the site
Wim’s home page hides his navigation behind a “hamburger” menu.
This is great for mobile devices, but it’s not a great user experience on desktops.
That’s because it adds an extra click every time you want to navigate the site. And users could be missing out on some unexpected content that’s hidden.
If your landing page has the real estate and the prospect is not product aware (i.e they need more information) it makes sense to have the navigation visible.
This is a great UX article on the subject which adds more weight to the anti-hamburger argument: 52% of people over 45 don’t even know what the hamburger icon means…
Bringing it all together...
If you want to improve your home page and increase your conversions, pay special attention to these three key ingredients:
1. The visual hierarchy
2. The site navigation
3. The Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
This article focused on the above-the fold elements. In future, I will be sharing some complete landing page tear downs.
But if you keep reading the reMarkable home page, you'll find it does as good a job below-the-fold as it does above.
One Final Resource
I just discovered this landing page optimization resource from Meclabs.
There are links to around 40 articles and case studies. Just what my study schedule didn’t need...
Until next week!
Simon.
Want a fresh pair of eyes on your homepage?
You can book me for a 15-minute video audit here.