10 Causes for Low Opt-In Rates on Landing Pages

by Brett Farmiloe August 26th, 2021
10 Causes for Low Opt-In Rates on Landing Pages

What is one possible cause for a low opt-in rate on a landing page?

To help small businesses raise opt-in rates on their landing pages, we asked other small business owners and marketing experts this question for their best insights. From being mindful of too much information to communicating the product clearly, there are several strategies to adjust for higher opt-in rates on your website to grow your business. 

Here are 10 reasons you may have low opt-in rates on landing pages:

  1. You’re Not Attracting Your Target Market
  2. Loading Times Aren’t Optimized
  3. Communication Isn’t Clear
  4. Lack of Transparency
  5. Customer Needs Are Not Addressed
  6. Your CTA Blends In
  7. SEO Efforts Need an Adjustment
  8. Opt-In Is Too Complex
  9. Possible Information Overload 
  10. There Is No Sense of Urgency

You’re Not Attracting Your Target Market

It's important to know who your target market is to create content and build a website that attracts the people you want. With customer personas prepared, your web copy and overall user experience should improve to raise your conversion rates. We track the success of our landing pages with Google Analytics by analyzing customer behavior patterns. As a company that provides eyelash extension supplies and training, our website is targeted to eyelash extension professionals with clear, actionable copy that speaks their lash boss language. 

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

Loading Times Are Not Optimized

One thing that could be causing the low opt-in rate is your website’s loading times. When it comes to the user experience, you want to make sure that your webpage is loading quickly enough. If it takes too long, people might click away. To really stick the landing on your landing page, make sure that your content is optimized for desktop and mobile users to have the quickest load time possible to keep them scrolling on your page. 

Randall Smalley II, Cruise America

Communication Isn’t Clear 

One reason for a low opt-in rate on a landing page is that people may not understand your product or what it is you’re offering. While it's nice to incentivize people to subscribe to emails or text messaging alerts, they should thoroughly understand what your service or product is beforehand. Having too many pop-ups or a cluttered first page may make it hard for customers to even begin to understand why they should be opting in. Try to reduce “noise” and visualize your product in a clear way. At Lightkey, we use a GIF image showing Lightkey’s text prediction software in action, allowing our visitors to quickly understand what our product offers and leading to a great opt-in rate.

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Lack of Transparency

One commonly overlooked reason for a low opt-in rate on a landing page is a lack of transparency around what happens once a user opts in. For example, if a user lands on a page that’s meant to convert that user into an email newsletter subscriber, the page must be extremely specific about what the user will receive once the user finishes opting in. Will the user receive one email or five? Will the user receive promotional emails? I find that it’s important to articulate what users will get once they complete their opt-in, or else there will be two likely outcomes: (1) a low opt-in rate or (2) an okay opt-in rate but a high drop-off rate.

Mike Krau, Markitors

Customer Needs Are Not Addressed

Your product's features may be incredible, but your landing page should put your visitor's needs first. Tap into their pain points. Explain what your product or service can do and what problem it will solve for them 一 and write with clarity. Technical jargon and savvy sales pitches may sound impressive. Still, they may also detract from your product's benefits and confuse your audience. By focusing on the solution you're offering, your prospects will become your customers quicker.

Shaunak Amin, SnackMagic

Your CTA Blends In

A call to action (CTA) that is not visible and straightforward will leave your visitor wondering why they came to your page in the first place. Create a striking CTA button that stands out on your landing page. Typically, contrasting colors with large text work best. And ensure your CTA clearly states what action you want the user to take next in your sales process. Whether it's "Start Your Free Trial Now" or "Subscribe and Save Today," the direction for what to do next should be large, legible, and transparent. A well-designed call to action will help your prospect progress in your conversion funnel. 

Harris Rabin, R3SET

SEO Efforts Need an Adjustment

One possible cause of a low opt-in rate on a landing page is that many people are landing on your page through inaccurate SEO techniques. Perhaps you need to dial down your keywords and adjust your strategy. Getting the right people to your landing page is critical for effective SEO and SERP results.

Chris Gadek, AdQuick

Opt-In Is Too Complex

A complicated opt-in process can deter visitors from submitting their information. When you require users to do additional activities before submitting their data, it can discourage them. Make your opt-in landing page direct and to the point. It is best only to require their name and contact information to expedite the submission. Otherwise, a relatively longer process might annoy them and make them exit the page without submitting anything.

Stephen Light, Nolah Mattress

Possible Information Overload

I have experimented with landing pages for a while and have found there is a fine line between giving too much and too little information. This doesn't mean removing information they need to see, but make sure the way you express it is as clear and concise as possible. If you can get the same point across in fewer words, then that should be your goal. People don't like to read long lines of text. So if you can't shorten it, design the page so that the lines of the text break before they lose interest in the sentence they are reading.

Phil Bryson, Easy AZ Home Buyer

There Is No Sense of Urgency 

Visitors might not be too quick to convert on a landing page because there is not enough reason for them to do so. Humans need a reason for everything they do. It's essential to make it clear on the landing page why opting in is important to the visitor and why it's important right now. Create a sense of urgency, list your audience's pain points, and offer clear solutions to those specific problems they might have. Customers need incentives to move into action. Give them those incentives through clear messages on your landing page.

Natalya Bucuy, LiveHelpNow


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