5 Tips for Building a Killer Custom Install Page

Posted by Conduit Staff | on June 30, 2011
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Here, at the Conduit Marketing Department, we work hard to make landing pages that convert well.  After all, we spend quite a bit of money on advertising, and we need to make sure we get the most bang for our buck.  One way we do that is by designing pages that convert best for their specific target audience.  We would like to share this knowledge with you to help make your own install pages the best they can be.

Every Community Toolbar publisher gets his/her own generic install page.  You can find yours at [YOUR_TOOLBAR_NAME].ourtoolbar.com.  These pages have been thoroughly tested to provide an optimal conversion rate (the rate at which a visitor actually installs your toolbar).  However, they are still generic pages offered to every single publisher by default.  By customizing and building YOUR OWN installation page that more closely reflects the look and feel of your website, you can significantly improve your conversion rates.

For example take a look at the generic version of a toolbar installation page:

It offers an image of your toolbar, and generally describes why users should install it.

Now here is an example of a customized toolbar installation page:

You can clearly see the difference in the layout and design.  These differences have a major impact on the number of users who will install your toolbar.

Here are some tips to help you build that Killer Install Page.

  1. Stick to the same layout as the rest of your website – Consistency is very important.  You want your custom install page to have the same look as the rest of your website.  You want your visitors to think they’re accessing your toolbar and info directly from your site.
  2. Avoid 3rd party advertisements  We see this mistake happen all the time, and know that this will only hurt your conversion rates.  Your custom install page should have only one purpose – to convert!  Placing 3rd party advertising (such as adsense) on your install page will inevitably cause some users to click on those adverts and navigate away from your page.  Furthermore ad-serving platforms have gotten very intelligent as far as their targeting is concerned, and will display very relevant ads on your landing pages.  In some cases they may even show ads from your competitors!
  3. Make a clear Call to Action – A ‘Call to Action’ (or CTA) is the button or image that users must click to initiate the toolbar installation process.  This button should be the most defined image on the page and should stand out from the rest of the design.  It should say ‘INSTALL NOW’ or ‘FREE DOWNLOAD’ (or any other text you think will get your users to click on it).  It’s important to make sure the CTA entices the user to click on it as much as possible.  Take a look at this guide for best practices on CTA buttons.
  4. Simple Message – You want your landing page to have a very simple and clearly defined message to the user: “Install my fantastic toolbar!” Avoid unnecessary design elements such as navigation, widgets and other distractions.  Also, include only text that highlights the toolbar’s benefits and advantages for your users.
  5. Use the right tools – There are literally thousands of tools out there to help you optimize your install page.  We can’t possibly go into each one’s details here (that’s for another post).  But there are two very important tools we DO wish to mention, which are available for free from Google: Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer.  They may not have all the bells and whistles some of the other tools out there have, but they get the job done. Google Analytics will help you track your visitors all the way to your custom install page and will give you an indication of how its performing.  Google Website Optimizer will allow you to test two or more versions of your custom install page to see which elements work best.

These steps should definitely help you in creating a custom install page that will convert more and ultimately help you succeed. Remember, the secret to getting more out of your install page is to always try to improve your conversion rate using continual testing and trying new things.

Play around with it, analyze it, and you’ll soon know exactly what works for your target audience!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at Conduit Community.