B2B landing page guide: How to build a great first impression that converts

If you run a B2B business, your landing page should be a priority. Getting it right is crucial. The average conversion rate for a landing page is just 4.3% – but can shoot to over 10% if the page is optimised well.

But it can be hard to keep up as things are evolving rapidly. Google’s March 2024 Core Algorithm Update, for example, has upended search engine optimisation (SEO) best practices. The update means that Google will be further reducing unhelpful content in search results, focusing instead on higher-quality original content. This will have an enormous impact on what pages bring in traffic and its crucial pages align SEO strategies with the update. Key will be the landing pages that prioritise the user experience.

AI is also having a marked impact on how landing pages are built and function. They can expedite the website building process with automated elements, but conversely these can also impact quality.

So how do you optimise a landing page to stand out from the crowd? What are the steps to ensure that visitors are not only finding your page, but staying on it and converting into customers?

We help clients answer this question daily and to give you an insight into how we do it, we’ve put together a useful B2B landing page guide.

Great landing pages do the work so visitors don’t have to

Let’s start with the basics. Your B2B landing page should begin with a descriptive, benefit-focused headline. It should clearly communicate what the service offering is and its primary benefit. Avoid vague taglines that could apply to any company and aim to be specific to facilitate understanding in seconds. Focus explicitly on what your company does and for whom. Brand messaging is an essential part of running a business but it doesn’t always belong here, so use this space to make an immediate statement and claim visitor attention.

While B2B landing pages should prioritise drawing full attention to your company’s offering, having some lightweight navigation allows for helpful wayfinding and permits further site exploration. Including every site link risks distraction but a pared-down nav or sidebar menu strikes an optimal balance for on-site usability.

Your landing page should be SEO optimised. You should target key commercial search terms by researching high-volume, commercial-intent keywords that potential customers are already searching for. Then, strategically (but organically) incorporate these into headings, body content, page titles, metadata and so on to attract those actively looking for relevant solutions. This is something Archetype specialises in so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more.

What you say isn’t all – how you show it is just as important

Following this, your page should establish credibility visually. You can very quickly convey trust and credibility through elements like customer logos, badges for security/awards, trust certifications and partnerships displayed prominently near the top of the page. These serve as third-party proof points validating quality.

Consider your formatting, too, and how you add variety to it. Chunk content into small paragraphs, use lists where appropriate and strategically bold/italicise key points. This enables visitors to digest information rapidly. Anticipate and directly respond to frequently asked questions, concerns and objections within the page content. This provides reassurance and builds confidence in the solutions you offer.

Finally, include short form fields and social proof. Form fields are the text input spaces in online forms and the shorter an individual’s answers need to be, the better. Ensure your forms have a maximum of three key inputs to reduce friction and user overwhelm. More fields, cluttered layouts and buried forms introduce risk of abandonment. When it comes to social proof, sprinkle in direct customer quotes, reviews and examples that offer authentic proof that other companies have successfully leveraged your services. Video testimonials can be especially useful here.

For some great examples on how to nail this, check out how Shopify and Zoho do it:

Next, let’s dive a little into what your landing page should actually be saying – the copy you use and how you present it, plus how you ensure a potential customer becomes one across their journey on your site.

How to truly guide a customer once they’ve landed on your page – the specifics

Your copy and content should communicate your offering clearly. Spell out your services, products and their functionality plainly within introductory content high on the page and avoid industry jargon and hyperbole, mindful that the viewer may not have even heard of your company until seconds ago. Be concise and bring clarity to what you sell. Also, focus on problem identification. Use stats, data, examples and visuals to underscore key customer pain points and issues your offerings aim to alleviate.

This is where you can introduce brand ethos and values. Bring your mission, values and voice into the page experience through messaging tone, visual branding, images and more, helping build connections beyond transactions. Here, you can also rely on third party social proof. Sprinkling in logos, badges and testimonials lends authenticity, which is far more powerful than touting one’s own merits alone.

Finally, provide a clear overview of the services you provide without getting too caught up on the finer details, yet. Stick to higher-level what/why messaging around offerings and avoid in-depth specifics prematurely that distract from primary awareness goals. At the bottom of the page, collect contact info by offering access to more content – capture net new names/companies through concise forms, giving access to next-level detailed documents, demos or contacts. Check out how Gusto does it:

It’s time to guide consideration into action

If a prospective customer is considering your business at this point, great – now is the time to really grab their attention.

Make sure your page provides specifics on services and pricing. Get into detailed outlines and packages around service/pricing tiers now that visitor awareness and intent is higher. Break down all facets and provide tools/calculators to estimate value. These should enable prospects to input data relevant to their situation to output projected savings/ROI from your offerings.

Focus acutely on calls and testimonials from customers here too. Move beyond logo references into benefit-focused quotes and video interviews describing specific transformations obtained since adoption. Also, don’t shy away from drawing comparisons with competitors. Illustrate how exactly your approach differs from alternatives across factors like methodology, configurations, level of support and maintenance.

You could also experiment in more detail with content offerings and gated assets here. Consider providing registered access to research documents, product catalogues/brochures and implementation guides in exchange for contact details for lead scoring/nurturing. This will enable you to collect key details for automated nurture tracks pushing stage-appropriate content that progresses visitors into the sales cycle. Scoro does a great job of making testimonials relevant to the visitor:

The last hurdle – converting visitors into customers

We can split this section in two – a lead gen/contact focus and a webshop focus. Ultimately, this is the section of your page where you drill down on actually converting; we’ve broken it down for you below.

Lead gen/contact focus

Ensure that your lead capture forms are prominently placed. Put email signup boxes, contact request forms and consultation bookings front and centre to motivate engagement. Also, consider enabling click-to-call functionality and make phone numbers and scheduling links obvious to encourage direct contact.

Remember what we said about testimonials? This is a great chance to showcase the customer service testimonials you’ve received. Focus on the ones that are direct customer endorsements citing satisfaction with reps and ease of processes to provide confidence in outreach. You could also show response expectations and Service Level Agreements here. Display historical response times, support availability and fulfilment speed to set clear service standards.

Webshop focus

Prominently show transactional elements. Buttons to add items to cart, select purchase packages, checkout flows and forms to finalise deals must be front and centre. Ensure that this section of the page creates minimal distractions. Strictly limit peripheral content or links and keep pages clean visually to maintain user focus on desired actions.

Again, testimonials can make the difference. Spotlight specific customer endorsements describing ease, reliability and satisfaction with transaction/checkout processes for reassurance. Also, offer security assurances and trust signals. Reiterate encryption, protection of data and other trust markers near purchase components reinforcing safety of transactions.

Show pricing/payment details transparently. Eliminate ambiguity on exact costs, payment options, subscription vs one-time purchases and fulfilment/delivery particulars. Retarget pixels for abandonment, too. Consider installing Facebook/Google tracking elements enabling the creation of refreshed audiences for those who previously visited checkout/pricing pages but didn’t convert. Check out how Chargebee displays its pricing options:

Let’s talk

We hope this guide helps a little on your journey to becoming a B2B powerhouse. If you’d like to learn more, or are curious about how we can help build a landing page like this for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our digital marketing experts.