What is a squeeze page?
A squeeze page is a landing page that is specifically designed to collect email addresses from visitors and potential customers. Squeeze pages are designed to use incentives, scarcity and other psychological tactics in order to “squeeze” a visitor into providing their email.
Why companies use squeeze pages
Despite the many digital marketing channels that exist today, email is still one of the most effective channels for online marketing. As such, many companies work hard to collect email addresses from prospects, as part of the sales lead generation funnel, so that they can market to them later.
Squeeze pages are an extreme form of lead capture that are designed solely to collect emails. Squeeze pages often employ multiple persuasion techniques as well as a simple design with a primary CTA focused on getting customers to opt-in to email marketing.
Once the email is collected, it is typically added to an email list in which marketing automation can be used to send targeted, autoresponder emails to the prospect, aimed at eventually converting them into a customer. Unscrupulous marketers may also sell lists of their email subscribers or use the lists that they acquire through squeeze pages to market affiliate products.
Basic elements of squeeze page design
Marketers generally keep the content – and the distractions – on a squeeze page to a minimum. Unlike a typical homepage or directory page, a squeeze page usually does not include a search box, navigational links or any other way to browse additional information.
The webpage is designed to keep the user focused on the singular goal of handing over their email address.
Many squeeze pages offer free giveaways such as free ebooks, white papers, videos, case studies, and reports as a way to incentivize users to provide their email address.
In addition to text, some squeeze pages also utilize informative ‘teaser’ content such as videos that help promote whatever the squeeze page promises to deliver.
Squeeze pages vary by industry and content type, but all include some combination of the following:
- Catchy headline
- Company logo
- Supporting copy in paragraph or bulleted format
- Teaser video
- Colorful graphics or photos
- Customer logos, testimonials and/or success stories
- Privacy policy and/or terms of service to build trust
- Call-to-action button
- Graphical elements (such as arrows) directing attention to the call-to-action button
- Scarcity (limited time offer or expiration date)
- Social Proof
How to improve your squeeze page
Marketers employ a number of strategies for improving conversions on a squeeze page. Many of these are borrowed from direct response marketing, such as the use of eye-catching design, actionable headlines and clearly stated benefits for signing up.
Minimizing visual distractions is a commonly used technique – keeping the imagery simple and keeping the page clear of navigational or any other kind of links.
The only action that should be visible is the action you want the user to take.
Another effective strategy for improving the conversion rate of a squeeze page is to incorporate visual elements like arrows that direct the user’s eyes to the call-to-action button.
For certain products, a photo of an engaging person on a landing page boosts conversions significantly. For others, a photo of a beautiful landscape or vista may have the same effect.
One way to improve conversions is to communicate actual benefits in the call to action button instead of just a command. Rather than using the typical ‘Submit’ or ‘Subscribe,’ marketers can increase conversions with ‘Send Me My Free Tips’ or ‘Save $99 Now!’
Other common elements that marketers often include on squeeze pages are countdown timers, which convey a sense of urgency, or testimonials that convey a sense of trust.
Exit pop-ups, which appear when users try to navigate away from the page, are another tactic that marketers often use to keep users on the squeeze page. The exit pop-up often presents an even more lucrative, time-sensitive offer in order to get users to provide their email address.
Finally, strong SEO to help customers find your landing page and minimizing form fields to reduce barriers to conversion are key digital marketing tactics for a high-converting squeeze page.
Using A/B testing to optimize squeeze pages
For optimal results, you can use Optimizely to A/B test a variety of strategies and creative variations of your squeeze page.
Variations in page format, headlines, designs and calls-to-action will resonate differently with different audiences. You can develop any number of hypotheses about how to boost conversion to make a great squeeze page.
Once you have a clear set of ideas and hypotheses to test, Optimizely allows you to run tests on your site visitors, using actual user behavior to inform your squeeze page design.
