How to Optimize Your Landing Page for SEO

Intro

Digital marketing is one of the undoubted leaders in marketing tactics in 2023. Marketers implement every trick in the book to develop clever digital marketing ideas to get their campaigns noticed. Of course, this includes landing pages.

(Source)

However, not all marketers are interested in optimizing a landing page SEO, which is not ideal. Marketing tactics are fantastic but can be a waste of time and resources when nobody sees your content and efforts. And this is where SEO comes into play, boosting your online business and, in the end, helping you reach your goals.

Why Landing Page SEO?

Let's start by defining SEO as a general term. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It's a system of procedures and actions that make your content visible, whether it's on your website or landing pages.

SEO aims to work with the algorithm of various search engines and produce organic results. This means that marketers who use SEO for landing pages could invest less in ads to get their point across.

However, as with anything, landing page SEO is a long game.

Now, let's answer the "Why landing page SEO" question. SEO-optimized landing pages can reach the right audience at the right time and send quality traffic to your website.

SEO enables search engines to crawl your landing page better and understand its content and purpose. That way, they'll understand how your landing page's content corresponds to each keyword. Of course, knowing how to create a landing page and how long you'll have to wait to see results from your SEO efforts is paramount. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. And it won't do your short-term marketing efforts any favors, especially if you're waiting for long-term results.

But let's see the steps you need to take to nail landing page SEO.

Competitor Research Is Important

Competitor research is sometimes overlooked by marketers in favor of keyword research and content optimization. And while this is understandable, not investing in competitor research can ruin your chances of working with your audience in a way your competitors can’t.

One of the core reasons why competitor research is so important is the fact that it can provide you with insights that you can utilize in every stage of your digital marketing game.

From creating email subject lines that look and feel like the landing page where your users subscribed to analyzing your landing page’s header and your Unique Value Proposition, competitor analysis will help you understand the SEO components of keyword targeting and content optimization, as well as the on-page SEO optimization techniques your competitors use.

This information will help you identify friction points and gaps in your own landing page SEO strategy and adjust it accordingly. For example, you may notice that there’s a keyword your competitors are targeting or content structures you haven’t implemented. Why not copy them and do it better?

If your competitors are using a specific marketing trend you haven’t thought of, you can conduct your analysis and understand how it’s working our for your target audience and niche.

That way, you’ll be able to reach an audience that already knows your niche and would happily try your product as well.

Expert Keyword Research

SEO is there to help you rank for specific keywords and bring your content in front of the right audience. In that case, targeted and detailed keyword research is the first thing to do.

You probably already know the keywords you want to pursue that fit your brand and its objectives. That's great, but it's not enough. Suppose your brand has developed a LinkedIn automation tool. In that case, you know that your main keyword is "LinkedIn automation." But so do your competitors. You must understand why your tool exists and utilize the information in a way your audience comprehends.

Also, you need to understand what sets you apart from the competition. Why would your audience choose your tool instead of an alternative? What is it that you have to offer that's better than what your competitors offer?

Use long-tail keywords for a more targeted search, and don't be repetitive. Here's an example:

As you can see, the "Yoga classes San Fransisco" term gives more keywords than just the aim and location. Utilize those in your efforts as well.

And here's another thing to keep in mind. Google's suggested terms are there for a reason: people are searching for those keywords in relation to your industry. So, make sure to bake those into your content as well.

Create a list of keywords and related search terms, and focus on one keyword cluster at a time. Your landing pages are specific, standalone pages that support a marketing goal. Refrain from stuffing them with information and confusing your audience.

Be SEO Friendly

Your content, images, and titles should follow some main SEO principles if you want your landing page to rank organically.

The first thing to do would be to create an SEO-friendly title that helps users understand what your page is about. Make sure it's not too long, but not too short and lacking in context either.

(Source)

According to that info, your titles should be 30-60 characters long, and you'll need to go with specific and relevant keywords. Like so:

If you click on this, you will be redirected to our landing page:

As you can see, the "Black Friday Deal" is our main keyword and is prominent in the landing page's copy. And the same goes for our URL as well.

Creating a super-relevant URL for your landing page has a double purpose. On the one hand, it is fantastic for link building, as it's easy to build relevant links with appropriate content and context.

On the other hand, a highly appropriate keyword helps users land right where they're supposed to be: on the landing page of a Black Friday SaaS deal.

Publishing the landing page on your website is the first step you should take, but you need to ensure that this URL is something search engines understand. That way, you're helping them realize the correlation between your landing page and your website.

Optimize Your Content

Let's start with the content of your landing page. The first thing to do should be to optimize your headings. Your headings should include your main keywords. Your subheadings should be placed in a way that makes sense, as they break down content into pieces more manageable by the search engines.

Of course, this is not the only thing search engines will look into when crawling your landing page and determining whether it's useful for the users.

The next thing in the landing page SEO is to optimize the body text of your landing page and make sure it outlines your offer in more detail. Make use of primary and secondary keywords. For example, if your main keyword is "Yoga classes," you could also use keywords like "exercise," "mindfulness," or "flexibility." Drop your secondary keywords into your body copy in a contextual manner, and ensure that you use elements like quizzes or GIFs for some extra interaction and context.

Super Pro Tip: An interactive and engaging page will have users spend more time on your page. This, in turn, will show search engines how valuable your content and landing pages are.

Also, remember to use alt-text in your images. Besides the accessibility factor, search engines cannot "see" images. You'll need to provide the alt text and a short and comprehensive description that includes your main keywords.

Lastly, use as much social proof as possible on your landing page. Remember that your biggest competitors are the review pages that are scattered across the internet. Reviews will likely have one of your keywords in them. However, even if they don't, the reviews are contextual and related to your product. This means you can grab a keyword or two you have not thought of, and search engines will understand why your content is valuable based on context.

SEO and Simplicity

A landing page serves one single purpose. This means that you need to keep the page as simple and comprehensive as possible.

Different industries use different numbers of fields to drive lead generation. There is no ideal number for this, but there is a general consensus: Don't ask for information you don't need:

(Source)

Landing pages serve a specific purpose, as we mentioned. This means that if your lead's phone number or full legal name doesn't align with that purpose, you have no reason to ask for them. Instead, nurture your leads and have them give you their information down the line.

In our day and age, people are pretty wary of giving away their information. Creating the T&Cs page is kind of like creating a contract, and users who click the "I agree" button could very well be bound to your terms. This is why the process should be short, comprehensive, and easy for them.

Use Frequent Updates

A landing page's objective might differ from a web page or a homepage. However, it still needs to be updated frequently, especially if you've already built links to your page.

Content that is not on par with your brand's objectives, outdated tips and tricks, and information that doesn't match your website will result in high bounce rates and a general lack of trust with your audience.

Since your landing page brings in more leads than you originally intended, it makes sense that you keep it up and running so long as it's updated, runs correctly, and serves your marketing plan as a whole.

Of course, this yields the question of how often a brand needs to change its landing pages. There is no one answer here. The general principle is that you need to update as often as needed. If you change a vital component that has to do with your brand, make sure your landing page stays up to date.

On Speed and Sharing

The speed with which your landing page loads might be one of the most crucial things to get right regarding landing page SEO.

One would've thought 7 seconds is no big deal, but it can cost you one-third of your visitors overall. So, make sure you have managed your data properly and haven't created a "heavy" page with large images and too many plugins.

Too many back button hits can show search engines that your landing page has nothing to show either way.

But of course, this is not all. You need more users to find your landing page and send more organic traffic to your website. So, don't hesitate to make your content shareable and give it more exposure by distributing your landing page to platforms and pages like LinkedIn groups and Facebook groups.

You can also create an event with relevant content and send users to sign up on your landing page. All in all, it helps to create shareable content that users can show their peers and get them that precious word-of-mouth conversion.

The Takeaway

The right form of landing page SEO can boost user experience and get your audience to take action. That way, search engines will understand just how valuable your product is.

Experiences begin with a keyword search, and keyword searches stem from a real need to find a solution to a problem. Page quality, shareability, and content that makes sense are the three key factors to a fantastic landing page SEO.