Show Me The Top 10 Landing Page Styles
Every four years, the best competitors from around the globe gather to determine who’s the fastest, the strongest, the most graceful. For the majority of them, the journey to Olympic gold starts when they’re young, with a dream. It advances with years of preparation, and more often than not, it ends in failure. Only a select few ever win a gold medal.
Similarly, only a select few marketers create high-converting landing pages. Data from WordStream shows that while the vast majority see conversion rates between 2.35% and 5.31%, there are a small amount of landing page builders who enjoy results that are 5x higher than average.
These are your “Unicorns” — or, in this blog post, your gold medalists.
In honor of this year’s Olympic games, we scanned the web to find landing pages that use strong examples of persuasive anatomy — and we pit them against each other to determine gold, silver, and bronze medalists. Without further ado, we present to you the Landing Page Olympics.
May the best landing pages win.
(Keep in mind, for shorter pages, we’ve shown the entire page. However, for longer pages, we only displayed above the fold. You may need to click through to the page to see some of the points we discuss. Additionally, some examples may be A/B testing their page with an alternate version than is displayed below.)
Lead capture category
The main purpose of a lead capture landing page is to get a visitor to part with their personal information so that they can be entered into a company’s marketing funnel. Fields like name, phone number, company, and location are commonly included in forms on these pages. Let’s have a look at our finalists:
Bronze: Progress Sitefinity
Winning ingredients:
Bulleted copy gives a preview of important insights found in the report.
An image in the header shows visitors what they’ll get by downloading.
Company logos from brands that trust Sitefinity, like NASA, Microsoft, SONY, and IBM boost authority on this landing page.
Paragraph two mentions that Sitefinity won a people’s choice award for “Favorite Content Management System.”
What’s holding this page back:
Several outbound links give visitors way too many opportunities to escape this landing page.
The CTA button color could definitely be more attention-grabbing.
The CTA “Download” is unremarkable, and not as tailored to the offer as it could be.
The headline “Digital Marketing Maturity: The Results Are In” is an ambiguous headline. What’s the benefit of downloading?
Silver: AARP Life Insurance
Winning ingredients:
The New York Life logo aligns AARP’s life insurance with a well-known industry brand.
The headline implies that AARP can offer more affordable life insurance than most.
Bulleted copy quickly conveys the benefits of converting.
The text “Apply online in minutes” and “Get instant quote” takes advantage of our desire for instant gratification.
The word “Free” is used on the form.
Contact information gives prospects who have questions a way to connect with customer service representatives.
What’s holding this page back:
Outbound links in the navigation menu allow prospects to leave the page at their leisure.
More white space would draw more attention to the bulleted copy, form, and pie chart.
Gold: iMeetLive
Winning ingredients:
The headline and subheadline convey multiple benefits.
The icons below the subheadline convey the advantages of using the software.
Numerous cooperative CTAs work to convert the prospect in numerous locations.
An interactive slider below the form shows visitors how they can put together a webinar in 6 simple steps.
The word “free” is mentioned in the CTA.
Several more icons below the fold communicate a number of additional benefits when using the software.
Company logos from brands like Levi’s, Mastercard, and GAP, boosts authority on this landing page.
Contact information allows visitors to get in touch with company representatives if they have any questions about the software.
What’s holding this page back:
Outbound links to social media pages and the company’s homepage make for easy escape routes off this landing page.
Click-through category
The goal of a click-through landing page is to warm up a visitor before directing them to another landing page that pushes them further down the marketing funnel. Let’s see how these three stack up:
Bronze: Zerys
Winning ingredients:
Bulleted copy conveys the benefits of using Zerys as a content marketing platform.
An award badge from HubSpot, a well-known name in marketing, adds to the company’s authority and credibility.
This money back guarantee makes prospects more comfortable with using Zerys.
The word “Free” is used in several places.
The copy “11,000 businesses trust Zerys” serves as social proof to make this landing page more compelling.
A minimalistic footer doesn’t distract users from the offer.
What’s holding this page back:
Competing calls to action work against each other by attempting to get users to do different things.
Silver: Falcon.io
Winning ingredients:
This logo isn’t linked to the homepage, meaning prospects can’t leave through it.
A featured image gives visitors a sneak peek into what the service looks like.
Three small chunks of copy make reading this page easy.
The headline and subheadline together convey a clear benefit.
Testimonials complete with name and credentials add credibility to Falcon’s services.
Logos of big-name businesses boost authority by aligning the brand with some well-known companies.
The copy “10,000+ marketers use Falcon.io” leverages the power of social proof.
The word Free capitalizes on our desire to get something for nothing.
Text below the form ensures the demo is free.
Statistics prove the effectiveness of the platform.
A minimalistic footer doesn’t distract prospects from converting with links to other pages or social accounts.
What’s holding this page back:
The CTA button could be more attention-grabbing.
Gold: Moz Keyword Explorer
Winning ingredients:
A benefit-oriented headline draws prospects in: Find the best keywords for your SEO strategy.
The text below the headline even offers access to a bonus toolkit.
The image next to the CTA gives prospects a sneak peek into what using the tool looks like.
The CTA button color is bright and bold, easily drawing user attention.
The call-to-action is written in first person, and it includes the word “free.”
The text “35,000 customers use Moz” leverages the power of social proof, essentially saying “Our software is the choice of 35,000 customers, so you should choose it, too.”
Company logos showcase the well-known brands that use Moz’s software.
A glowing testimonial complete with name, title, and photo, serves as a positive review for skeptical prospects.
A non-existent footer keeps prospects focused on converting.
What’s holding this page back:
The Moz logo is linked to the homepage, allowing prospects to escape through it.
Squeeze page category
Squeeze pages are designed to capture one of the most valuable pieces of user information: email address. Sometimes they request name too, but they’re always designed to help build an email list. Let’s take a look at these competitors.
Bronze: Marketing Experiments
Winning ingredients:
The headline takes advantage of people’s inherent desire to stay in the know.
These images give visitors a preview the content they’ll get after signing up.
Copy under the headline lets people know exactly what they’ll get when they convert on this squeeze page.
Text above the form tells visitors exactly what they need to do to subscribe.
What’s holding this page back:
Two required form fields make prospects hand over not only email, but name as well. While it probably won’t be a big deal to most visitors, keep in mind that the longer the form, the less likely it is to be filled out.
The call-to-action could do a better job of emphasizing the benefit of signing up. Why not something like “Send Me Expert Updates”
Silver: Content Marketing Institute
Winning ingredients:
This headline leverages social proof by drawing attention to the large subscriber base that Content Marketing Institute has, making people think “Well, if 150,000 of my peers find this newsletter useful, I probably will, too.”
Short copy quickly displays the benefits of signing up: You’ll get valuable daily articles and a free ebook delivered to your inbox. No work or payment needed on your part.
Text on the form emphasizes that the offer comes at no cost.
The CTA button color pops on the orange form.
This image serves as a visual representation of the ebook that converters will get in their inbox.
What’s holding this page back:
The CTA “Sign Up Now” could be changed to something more persuasive, like “Send my free workbook now!”
A two-field form makes this squeeze page one field longer than many. Remember that the more information you asks your prospects to share, the less likely they are to share it.
Gold: Smart Insights
Winning ingredients:
The headline offers up a valuable resource and emphasizes the word “Free.”
The offer, digital planning templates, is a resource that people can actually use rather than simply read, like an ebook or a white paper.
Company logos showcase the well-known brands that Smart Insights has worked with.
Bulleted copy quickly emphasizes the benefits of converting.
This image gives people a glimpse of what they’ll get after converting.
Text under the image calls attention to the vast number of people who already use Smart Insights, which makes people think “If 130,000 people already use them — their services must be valuable.”
Short testimonials prove that the offer is valuable.
A one-field form makes converting on this page easy.
What’s holding this page back:
This CTA button color has already been used on this squeeze page (on one of the templates), making it less attention-grabbing than it could be.
The call-to-action could be more tailored to the offer. Why not “Give Me The Templates”?
Splash page category
A great splash page presents a user with valuable offer before, or right when they hit a web page. Unlike traditional landing pages, these give users an easy way to opt out of the offer and continue on to the web page they were visiting. Keep that in mind as we take a look at these finalists:
Bronze: Price Intelligently
Winning ingredients:
The headline offers a clear benefit tied to a number. Specific ones like these are powerful because they imply that Single Grain has already either boosted their own revenue, or someone else’s by 11%. That means the course is probably going to share a case study that offers a replicable, step-by-step process to boost revenue.
The one-field form makes converting easy.
The “No Thanks” button doesn’t stand out nearly as much as the “Get the course” button.
What’s holding this page back:
The text below the headline claims that Single Grain has put the “best in SaaS” through their bootcamp. If that’s true, why not add their company logos to boost authority?
The CTA “Get the course” could be changed to communicate a stronger benefit tailored to the offer. How about “Boost My Revenue”?
Silver: Single Grain
Winning ingredients:
The words “Limited Time” convey scarcity by communicating that the offer won’t be available for long.
The word “Free” is boldly emphasized in the headline.
Copy below the headline describes exactly what the visitor needs to do to claim the offer, even if it’s fairly straightforward.
The call-to-action is written in first person.
A bright CTA button color that hasn’t been used anywhere else on the page draws prospects’ attention.
What’s holding this page back:
The call-to-action could be written in a more compelling way. Why not “Show Me The Secrets To Great SEO”?
A three-field form that includes “phone number” asks for more personal information than most splash pages do.
Gold: Jeff Bullas
Winning ingredients:
This headline offers a clear benefit: Double your traffic!
The copy below the headline offers tons of tactics (101+) that the author used to generate more than 5 million visitors per year.
The free nature of the offer is highlighted in the copy.
The yellow CTA button is brighter and more attention-grabbing than the gray “No thanks” button.
This form only requests first name and email address: information that most prospects are willing to part with.
What’s holding this page back:
The yellow text is a little tough to read on that faded background.
The CTA “Submit” could be replaced with something more compelling.
A “Jeff Bullas” logo could be added to this splash page to let users know this isn’t a third-party offer.
Sales page category
Sales pages are often among the most compelling landing pages on the web. Why? Because they’re after the most coveted conversion: The sale. Here are our finalists:
Bronze: AWAI
Winning ingredients:
The headline presents a dollar amount, capitalizing on our inherent desire for monetary gain.
The copy promises the reader will get expert techniques worth nearly $25,000
The page promises a quick and easy solution, a fast-track to learning skills that took this copywriter 18 years to develop.
Mentions of big brands like the New York Times, Citibank, Apple, Chrysler, and Reuters align this copywriter with big businesses.
Visual cues like underlines and italics create a hierarchy that helps the reader recognize the most important text.
Numerous CTAs work to convert the prospect in several different locations on the page.
A timer counts down to when the early bird, $400 discount is over.
Bulleted copy at the end of page summarizes the benefits of converting.
Testimonials serve as positive reviews of the product.
What’s holding this page back:
Links to the homepage and the “contact us” page allow prospects to escape.
The heavy reliance on copy to convert stretches the limits of our 8-second attention span.
Silver: Freelance To Win
Winning ingredients:
This case study headline is super-strong, offering visitors a step-by-step, replicable way that just might end up making them lots of money (more than $100k/year) in a short amount of time.
The subheadline adds to the persuasiveness of the headline by offering little-known secrets that will allow visitors to work for big brands and command high fees.
Countless testimonials describe the course as worth purchasing.
The copy stresses that you don’t need any experience to make six figures freelancing while anticipating and squashing visitor objections.
Images of the writer’s earnings prove that he makes upwards of $100/hr for projects.
Video testimonials from successful customers show that the course works.
Explanatory text below the fold lays out the contents of the course, while not giving away key concepts.
Free bonus content, like additional techniques to win clients and video case studies, make this offer even harder to resist claiming.
Numerous CTAs work together to convert visitors.
Copy below the CTA button justifies the high price of the course by reminding visitors that it pays for itself in just one to two jobs.
A payment plan option allows people who can’t afford the high price tag in one transaction.
A money-back guarantee makes prospects more comfortable with spending a lot of money on the course.
A minimalistic footer doesn’t distract users from converting.
What’s holding this page back:
This CTA button color could be more attention grabbing.
Gold: Beach Body Hard Corps
Winning ingredients:
The headline conveys a benefit: your extra poundage will seemingly fall off with each workout.
The CTA button color is bright and bold, making it stand out from the rest of the page
The call-to-action is written in first person.
Text below the CTA button offers a money-back guarantee
The background image shows people actually doing the workout.
The copy under the headline emphasizes that it only takes 22 minutes a day to see “outstanding results” after 8 weeks.
A click-to-call phone number makes contacting customer service from a mobile device easy.
Social counters and reviews at the top of the page display the high ratings, and number of people who subscribe, follow, and “like” the program on social media.
A message from the program instructor offers to make losing weight easy: “I’m Tony Horton. I’m going to make getting in shape and losing weight real simple.”
A short bio of the instructor reveals he’s been training military members, people known for their high level of fitness, for years.
A video below the fold helps to quickly explain the program in a visual, easy-to-comprehend way.
Three sets of before-and-after photos show the power of the program to transform its participants.
Two more sets of before-and-after photos, this time complete with testimonials from the participants, serve as mini case studies that prove the effectiveness of the workouts.
Several “Problem/Solution” subheadings anticipate and conquer potential buyer objections.
Content at the bottom of the page explains exactly what each converted customer will get with their order, and how exactly each of the 8 program workouts are structured.
Three bonus gifts at the bottom, including pre-workout warm-up techniques and 24/7 online support, makes this offer even more enticing.
A payment plan is available for those who feel that can’t afford the $40 up-front cost.
An upgrade to rush shipping is available for people who buy from that page specifically.
A Better Business Bureau badge boosts visitor trust.
What’s holding this page back:
The call-to-action could be written in a way that better emphasizes the benefit of using the program. Instead of “Yes! I’m Ready For My 22-Minute Boot Camp,” how about “Yes! I’m Ready To Drop Weight In Just 8 Weeks!”?
Outbound links in the header and footer allow visitors off the landing page.
Webinar landing page category
Webinar landing pages have one goal: get a user to register for an online seminar. The best ones humanize their presenters with images and tout their expertise with credentials, while explaining what a visitor will gain by attending. Here are our finalists:
Bronze: Cisco
Winning ingredients:
The headline emphasizes a strong benefit: Take back 9 hours of your work week.
Time, date, and duration details help visitors prepare their schedules for the webinar.
Bulleted copy presents the benefits of attending the webinar.
A blue button pops on the page’s white background.
What’s holding this page back:
Missing presenter credentials makes visitors wonder “Why should I take tips from Ivana Taylor?”
More than a dozen outbound links make this landing page one full of holes.
The stock photo at the top of the page adds no value.
Silver: Upwork
Winning ingredients:
A benefit-oriented headline, tied to a specific statistic, makes the offer compelling.
The date and time details help visitors plan for the webinar.
Photos humanize the presenters, and allow prospects to connect with them.
A short bio next to the presenters explain why each is qualified to teach on the topic of mobile performance.
A green CTA button pops off the white form, though a color that hasn’t been used elsewhere on the landing page would attract even more attention.
This page gets an A+ for message match, meaning the content of the ad that drives users to this landing page exactly matches the headline on it. Have a look:
What’s holding this page back:
Outbound links in the navigation and footer allow prospects to leave whenever they please.
The message below the form implies that those who convert will also get messages about Upwork’s other services, leaving visitors thinking “Will I get spammed?”
Gold: Authority Pub Academy
Winning ingredients:
This headline and subheadline combo promises a benefit: to teach bloggers how to turn their content mastery into double or triple their monthly income in just five steps.
Time/date details help visitors schedule time to attend the webinar.
A bright CTA button color grabs prospect attention.
The small triangle serves as a visual aid, pointing to the CTA button.
Questions below the call-to-action speak to the visitor directly.
Presenter bios, complete with name, title, and credentials, prove why people should attend this webinar to hear them speak.
Bulleted copy below the fold explains exactly what prospects stand to gain by attending the webinar.
A timer that counts down to the close of registration, along with words like “exclusive,” leverage scarcity and urgency.
Multiple CTAs work together to convert the prospect in more than one location on the page.
A minimalistic footer that displays only copyright information doesn’t distract the user from converting.
What’s holding this page back:
A logo linked to the homepage lets users navigate away from the page whenever they please. There should be no escape routes on your landing pages.
Video landing page category
Video landing pages are becoming more prevalent as marketers discover their persuasive power. Since we humans are visual learners, explainer videos are often used on landing pages to break down complicated products or concepts. Here’s how our finalists stack up:
Bronze: Needls
Winning ingredients:
The headline, while conveying a benefit, doesn’t do so as strongly as it could.
Bite-sized copy quickly conveys the benefit of signing up in an easy-to-read way.
Logos of big-name businesses boost authority by showcasing where Needls has been featured.
This explainer video quickly and very basically describes how the service works.
A $50 discount for first-time users is also offered to add to the persuasiveness of this page.
Multiple CTAs work together to convert the prospects in different locations on the page.
Testimonials serve as positive reviews of the software.
Screenshots of the inside of the software give prospects a sneak peek.
Mini case studies prove the effectiveness of the software.
A minimalistic footer doesn’t distract the user from the conversion task at hand.
What’s holding this page back:
Numerous outbound links give visitors way too many routes off the page.
More white space could help organize this slightly cluttered landing page, and draw attention to important elements.
Silver: Swagbucks
Winning ingredients:
The headline “Get Paid For Taking Surveys” conveys a clear benefit.
A badge that reads “Penny Hoarder Approved” aligns Swagbucks with a trustworthy brand.
Logos from the New York times, NBC, and MSN showcase where Swagbucks has been featured.
A counter that tallies the amount of money awarded to Swagbucks members makes it clear the program actually works
The Swagbucks logo isn’t linked to the homepage, meaning users can’t escape through it. .
A short form makes it easy for prospects to convert.
The “Log in with Facebook” button makes it even easier to join Swagbucks.
The CTA is written in first person.
The word “free” is used throughout the page to emphasize the no-cost solution.
The video is brief and to the point, explaining the benefits of using Swagbucks.
What’s holding this page back:
Testimonials with no name, title, and strictly photo, could very easily be fake.
A busy footer distracts prospects from converting to join Swagbucks.
A lot of white spacein each margin makes this page look a little off-balance.
Gold: Talkspace
Winning ingredients:
Multiple CTAs work together to convert the prospect.
The explainer video quickly shows how the service works in an easy-to-understand way.
The text under the headline leverages the power of social proof by mentioning the 300,000 people that use the service.
The animated arrow serves as a visual cue to the CTA button, which helps draw maximum attention to each button.
The CTA button color pops off the background of the page.
The image of the phone gives visitors an idea of what the using the app looks like.
The word “Now” in the CTA emphasizes the immediate benefit of converting.
Logos from big-name businesses align the brand with powerful companies.
The FAQ section anticipates and answers prospect objections ahead of time.
The “Talkspace” logo isn’t hyperlinked, making it impossible for users to reach the home page through it.
A minimalistic footer doesn’t distract from the offer.
What’s holding this page back:
The headline tells people what Talkspace is but doesn’t elicit emotion, encourage visitors to read the rest of the page, or inspire action.
A CTA button tint that hasn’t already been used on the page (see the video thumbnail) would draw even more attention to the call-to-action.
How does your landing page measure up?
Where would you stand on our podium? How do you stack up against the competition in this blog post?
Link to your landing page in the comments and we’ll let you know. Then, get started improving yours to “Gold Medal” status with Instapage’s designer-friendly platform.
Show Me The Top 10 Landing Page Styles