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You hear a lot of talk about how to get to the top in search engine rankings, sponsored links, and click-through ratios on advertising and email. You might think this is the Holy Grail of web marketing and once achieved, success would be yours. Unfortunately, this is only one step in the ultimate goal of converting your visitors into buyers.

When a visitor lands on your web site, there are many things you can do to convert that visitor into a buyer. But this is where many web pages fail. Simply getting visitors is not enough. You need to keep them from clicking the dreaded "Back" button and disappearing forever. By creating good landing pages, you can convert those visitors into buyers.

Here are 20 tips that will help you create successful landing pages:

1.  Information will help you sell.

When a visitor arrives at your web page, you want him to take an action such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. He will have doubts and questions about your offer. You need to provide answers to those questions and remove any doubts that cause him to resist taking action. Be sure to provide the information your visitor is seeking. Anticipate any questions he has and answer them. Develop a sense of trust so your visitor will feel comfortable making a purchase.

2.  Focus on the product.

Nothing else really matters but the product. Every word, every image should focus on your product. Anything else is wasting your visitor's time.

3.  Show your product.

Your web site isn't a brick and mortar store where a visitor can come in and handle your product. You must do everything you can to present that product in a way that will make your customer feel comfortable with it. Show pictures of it. Show how it is used. Make the visitor handle that product in his mind.

If you have an intangible product such as software or an ebook, you must still show your product so it seems as real as possible. Create a three-dimensional package it could go inside and show that to your visitor. It must look real before he will buy it.

4.  Put your product in action.

It isn't enough just to show your product. The visitor needs to see it in use. Show the product's possibilites and how it will function. Leave nothing to your visitor's imagination.

If your product is intangible, show screen shots of it in use. If it's an ebook, show samples of its contents.

5.  Use pictures and graphics to support your messages.

Visual clues reinforce your written messages. Visitors can see immediately what your landing page is about. If it is what they are looking for, they will spend the time to read the written material. Repeated visuals and text messages also help users remember and understand what you are presenting.

6.  Include an offer to win them over.

Including something extra gives your offer more value and increases the likelihood your visitor will accept it. Give him a reason to buy now. He will act if he feels he'll miss out on something if he doesn't respond immediately. The better the offer, the better the response.

7.  Increase the perceived value.

Cadillac and Chevrolet are both GM products using many of the same parts. So why do Cadillacs cost more than Chevys? The perceived value of a Cadillac is much higher. You can do the same with your product. Testimonials, warrantees, free shipping and additional free products can increase the perceived value of your product.

8.  Repeat Yourself

Repeat the most important messages on your page. We learn best with repetition. If you want your message to be remembered, repeat your message several times on the page.

9.  Motivate with Benefits

Your visitor is more interested in what he wants than with what you want. To convince him to buy your product or sign up for your newsletter, you will have to show him how it will benefit him. Let him know how it will make his life better, more exciting and easier. Make an emotional connection from your product to what he wants and you'll make the sale. And let him know what he will miss if he doesn't.

10.  Answer the Objections

As you try to convince your visitor to accept your offer, your visitor is thinking of reasons to reject your offer. List all the reasons your visitor might give to refuse. Answer as many of these objections as you can. Take away the reasons to refuse your offer and you will see sales increase.

11.  Gain Credibility

Nothing you say will do any good if your visitor doesn't believe you. Tell him why you should be believed. Offer evidence from other sources such as scientific works and the news media. The more reasons you provide, the more credible you become.

12.  Reinforce Your Credibility

Refer to press releases and reviews. If you don't have any, write press releases and ask for reviews. Also use official-looking graphic symbols on your page that relate to your offer including those like the MasterCard and Visa logos.

13.  Testimonials Sell

Your visitor is reassured when he hears what others have to say about your product. Highlight the benefits of using your product. You can also include quotes in your text to reinforce the points you are making.

14.  Don't make them choose

If you require your visitor to choose between two or more options, he may not be able to decide which is best. Don't lose sales to indecision. Make it easy.

15.  Repeat What You Want Your Visitor to Do

Make sure your visitor knows what you want him to do. If you want him to "buy it now," say so and give him a reason to do it. Repeat your instructions in various ways throughout the page.

16.  Talk Face to Face

Speak directly to your visitor. Think of what you would say if you were meeting face to face. Give the impression that you care about him as an individual.

17.  Make It Look Good

Make sure your content has no mistakes or you will lose your credibility.

• Your text must not contain any spelling or grammar errors. Make sure you use the correct words. "Their" and "They're" will pass your spell-check but only one of them is correct for your sentence.
• White space is as important as text. Use short paragraphs and sub-heads or graphics every three or four paragraphs. You probably would not have read this article if it had not been broken up into small, digestible chunks.
• Make sure your copy is clear and understandable. Reading aloud can help you spot problem areas.
• All your links should work properly.
• Buttons and links should be clear as to their destination.
• Test your page with several browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Opera. A broken page makes you look bad.

18.  Show How It Will Solve a Problem

Give examples of problems your visitor might face and show how your product will solve that problem.

19.  Eliminate Risks

The less risk the buyer faces when making a purchase, the easier it is to get them to buy. Offer a warranty such as "Your money refunded within 30 days if you are not completely satisfied." Also include a note about privacy so they know their personal information will not be shared.

20.  Test, Test, and Test Again

This is the method advertising agencies use to create their most effective advertising. You can use it, too, to make your web page is the most effective page it can be.

• Create two pages that differ in some way. You might try different headlines or perhaps a different call to action.
• Put the first page online until it receives maybe 500 visitors.
• Analyze the results. What was your conversion ratio? (This is a percentage created by the number of sales divided by the number of visitors times 100.)
• Replace the first page with the second page until it reaches the same number of visitors.
• Analyze the results and compare it with the first page. Which had the highest conversion ratio? Use that page.
• Create a third page that is a little different. How does it compare? Better or worse?
• Keep creating pages until you have found the "perfect page."

Use as many of these techniques as you can and you will find greater success in turning your visitors into buyers.