What is a Squeeze Page?

What are Squeeze Pages?

A squeeze page is designed to squeeze a visitor’s email address from them by offering something valuable in return. You encourage visitors to opt-in to an email or subscriber list to collect more information about the product or service featured on the main squeeze page. (Note: Squeeze pages are not always pop-ups. Businesses can design squeeze pages a few ways. More information on this will be discussed later in the guide.)

A successful squeeze page doesn’t just ask for your visitor’s email address. Squeeze pages also provide a good reason visitors should provide their personal information in exchange for whatever valuable offer you have available. The offer should be irresistible to justify the need to ask for your visitor’s email address.

Syed Balkhi of OptinMonster starts a conversation with his blog visitors by offering them a toolkit for growing their online business in exchange for their email address:

Your squeeze page’s offer must also be exclusive. If you’re offering something that is available somewhere else (e.g. a video that’s also available for free on YouTube) not only will your visitors be irritated, but your credibility will never be the same.

Why are squeeze pages important?

Squeeze pages are important because they allow you to capture your visitor’s email address so you can eventually sell them on something later. When you’re able to capture their email address, you have the opportunity to push them further down your sales funnel and build a lasting relationship with them.

And this is where “good” marketing turns to “great” marketing — with lasting customer relationships.

What can you offer on your squeeze page? Some digital assets you can feature:

• Ebook
• Whitepaper
• Newsletter
• Video or webinar
• Free report
• Podcast
• Slide deck

Before you create your squeeze page, you must determine what digital asset is going to be the most valuable to your visitors. If your potential customers are beginners, they may find more value in an in-depth email course or an ebook rather than just a single infographic.

On the other hand, if your customers are busy and always on the go, they may find a podcast or an infographic more valuable because they can consume it quicker. There is no “right” or “wrong” offer to use, but be mindful of your visitors and what asset will be most enticing for them to submit their email address.

How are Squeeze Pages Different from Landing Pages?

A post-click landing page is a standalone page that is created to fulfill a single conversion goal. post-click landing page goals can vary; from ebook and whitepaper downloads, SaaS free trial sign-ups, etc.

A squeeze page has one goal: collect the visitor’s name and email address. The offer on the squeeze page can vary from an ebook to a podcast to a white paper, but the “ask” remains the same — collect the visitor’s name and email address. Some squeeze pages can be post-click landing pages, but not all post-click landing pages are squeeze pages because post-click landing pages can have varying goals.

The lead capture form on your post-click landing page can be detailed (depending on the product being promoted). However, the form on your squeeze page must be short and to the point because your squeeze page’s conversion goal remains constant.

Example: Squeeze Page vs. post-click landing page

Let’s compare a post-click landing page alongside a squeeze page to highlight the differences between these two types of pages.

Here is a post-click landing page for Square:

Square’s conversion goal is to get visitors to click-through to create their account. Because Square’s product involves payments and is relatively complicated; the post-click landing page is serving as an introduction and gateway to the main sign-up page.

The post-click landing page is fairly detailed because it explains how the product is used. It also provides a list of features for the product and concludes with some social proof at the bottom of the page.

As Square has a click-through post-click landing page, when you click on the CTA button this is where it takes you:

On the contrary, this is Marie Forleo’s squeeze page for her B-School online training program:

Here’s why it is an effective squeeze page:

• The page is short
• The copy clearly explains what she has to offer
• The page informs the visitor that registration is currently closed, but if you enter your name and email, you will be notified when the next enrollment period begins
• The lead capture form uses a color-contrasting CTA button with personalized text (“Tell Me More”)

Once you enter your information on the squeeze page, you are taken to a detailed Thank You page, shown below. The thank you page expresses sincere appreciation, but also presents a video testimonial of how the program has benefited others in the past:

The page also delivers what you were promised — more information on the training program. You also receive a prompt email from Marie Forleo, which you don’t always get when converting on a post-click landing page:

To sum up, the key differences between a post-click landing page and a squeeze page are:

Squeeze Page	post-click landing page
Has one conversion goal (capture email addresses)	Can have multiple conversion goals
Is mostly a short form page	Can be a long form or short form, depending on the offer
Includes a simple, short lead capture form	Can have a detailed form if the product/service is complicated
Not necessarily a standalone page (can be present on a homepage)	Always a standalone page
Is followed by welcome/thank you email	Isn’t always directly followed by a welcome email

How is a Squeeze Page Different from a Homepage?

Your homepage is usually the main page and is generally very “busy” because you present all of your products and services on a single page. Your homepage is designed for the purpose of educating your potential customers about everything that your product/service can do.

On the other hand, a squeeze page is designed with one specific goal in mind — to capture names and email addresses while building your subscriber list. Squeeze pages can, however, be utilized on homepages in the form of pop-ups or headers. post-click landing pages are never a part of the primary website, and this is the one foundational difference that separates these two kinds of pages from one another.

Featured below is the Copy Hackers website, of which you will see two different “squeeze variations” for Joanna Wiebe’s free “Persuasion Guide”:

The first squeeze variation is apparent as you scroll down the page. The second variation pops up when you click the button in the bottom left corner of the screen. Both are promoting the same guide in two different ways: The button in the bottom left is subtle, the other is more direct.

Here’s the first variation:

Here’s how the second variation looks when you click the button in the bottom left corner:

The pop-up variation is designed in a completely different way. It’s more colorful, more visually appealing, is the main focus of the page, and even has an additional form field than the other squeeze version. However, in the end, both pages are promoting the same offer and have the same goal.

What to Include on Your Squeeze Page

The elements below should be included on your squeeze page to maximize conversions:

• An engaging and relevant headline
• Brief copy that clearly explains the value of the offer
• An image of the offer that’s being promoted
• A form that has no friction points
• A CTA button that has personal copy and contrasts well with your page design

An example of a great squeeze page is Ramit Sethi’s page for his New York Times bestseller book, which asks for both the visitor’s name and email address:

Let’s analyze the elements and see what’s working:

• An engaging headline that everyone can relate to… who doesn’t want to live a rich life?
• A picture of what is being offered
• A picture of the author, Ramit Sethi
• Creates urgency: Short copy that explains this promotion is something he has never offered before, and is only making available for a limited time
• A simple form requesting name and email only
• A CTA button that includes personal copy and uses a contrasting color
• Disclaimer promising “100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam.”

Who Typically Uses Squeeze Pages?

Squeeze pages can be used in all business niches — from fashion and beauty websites to Saas companies. The pages are not industry specific because their primary purpose doesn’t relate to one industry but encapsulates all businesses irrespective of size or location.

Whether you run an online boutique or have a revolutionary project management software, building a lasting relationship with your potential customers helps you sustain long-term success. The first step of doing this is to collect their name and email address — the exact purpose of a squeeze page.

Squeeze page examples from different industries

Featured below is a squeeze page from Nutrition Secrets:

The page offers visitors a chance to attain a lean body by downloading a 3 day meal plan for free. The page is minimalistic, the pink call to action button is the most contrasting thing on the page.

OptinMonster, a leading Saas tool that converts website visitors into subscribers and customers through their revolutionary forms and analytics platform also uses a squeeze page:

The page appears as a pop-up on their homepage, as well as their blog. It offers visitors what seems like an ebook at least from the image. The offer promises to teach visitors “12 proven ways to convert abandoning visitors into subscribers” in exchange for their contact information.

The squeeze page has all the right ingredients i.e.

• An eye catching image
• Copy that explains the offer
• Optimized form
• Clear CTA
• A headline with a hook
• No navigation links

All these ingredients are also present in Marie Claire’s squeeze page:

Start-ups to multinational corporations can all utilize the power of squeeze pages. The offer behind the squeeze page can vary from an ebook download to a free makeup basket. The “ask” remains consistent: capture the visitor’s name and email address.

How Do I Generate Traffic to a Squeeze Page?

Squeeze pages can’t capture email addresses if nobody comes to the page in the first place. Instead of hoping your potential customers will magically find your squeeze page, it’s best you know how to promote them to achieve maximum exposure. You can do this through paid and unpaid (free) channels.

Paid squeeze page promotion

When it comes to paid promotion, some channels you may want to consider are:

1. Google Ads

Google Ads is the largest network when it comes to paid advertising with millions of businesses investing in the search engine to host their ads.

This is how Google Ads works:

To start advertising with Google Ads, brainstorm a list of keywords and keyword phrases your potential customers would use to locate your business on Google. Make sure these keywords are specific, use synonyms, and include alternate phrases that people may use to find you. These keywords are then organized into ad groups where advertisers can track the performance and modify settings.

After you’ve selected your keywords, you then set the CPC (cost-per-click) bid for each keyword, which is the highest price you’re willing to pay when a potential customer clicks on your ad. The higher you bid, the better chance your ad will have a high ranking on Google.

Keyword bids are not the only factor that determines ad rank. Your ad’s ranking also depends on quality score, which takes into account the relevancy of your keywords in the ad, the post-click landing page you attach to it, and how responsive the page is on different devices (desktop, mobile, tablet). It is important advertisers use message matching to achieve a high quality score and best user experience. The combination of both your quality score and ad rank determine the ad’s position on Google.

2. Yahoo and Bing Network ads

Yahoo and Bing Network ads operate in a very similar way to Google Ads: Advertisers insert keywords, select a maximum bid amount, write the ads, and connect the ads to the destination page (post-click landing page).

No matter your business type, Bing Ads can be a valuable tool for you to generate traffic. One distinct difference with Yahoo and Bing ads is there is no minimum budget required.

Another advantage of Bing Ads is the fact that you can easily import your Google Ads account into Bing ads — making the setup process that much easier and faster to start generating traffic to your squeeze page.

3. Facebook ads

Facebook ads are an additional powerful way to reach your target audience because the social network allows you to segment your ads to users based on location, age, gender, interests, and more.

Here is the process to advertising on Facebook:

In addition to the ads themselves, advertisers receive access to tools like ads exclusion targeting to better understand how their ads are performing as well as a host of analytics tools. Facebook offers these to advertisers so they can optimize their ad campaign and earn the highest ROI possible.

To start your Facebook ad campaign, advertisers establish a budget for their ads. Facebook uses an ads auction system where advertisers choose a bid amount to have their ad displayed to their specified segmented users. You then create your ads and connect those ads to your squeeze pages. Similar to Google and Bing ads, your Facebook ads should use message matching and use a relevant post-click landing page (in this case a squeeze page).

Facebook’s lead ads make lead generation easier for advertisers by automatically populating forms with users’ contact information (e.g. name and email address).

4. LinkedIn ads

LinkedIn ads are different from Facebook and Twitter ads mainly because LinkedIn boasts the world’s largest audience of active, influential business professionals. Like other advertising platforms; you can set your PPC budget and segment on a variety of user variables.

However, one of the most distinguishing factors is that LinkedIn does not operate based on keywords. Instead, ads are mainly displayed based on the PPC bid amount and variables chosen by the advertiser. If you’re not satisfied with your ads’ performance, you have the option to pause or stop campaigns.

Another feature that LinkedIn provides (that other networks don’t) is precision B2B targeting. You can target your ads by job title and function, by industry and company size — even by seniority level. This feature is especially helpful for advertisers who know their ideal customer’s job title and can target them accordingly.

LinkedIn ads also allows you to choose between text-only ads, text and image ads, and video ads:

5. Twitter ads

Twitter ads help advertisers reach an even larger audience using their “promoted tweets” system. You can reach a specific audience of users with Twitter’s targeting options that include keywords, interests, geography and more — driving the most qualified visitors to your post-click landing page (in this case squeeze page).

Targeting specific keywords on Twitter is best for maximum exposure in promoted tweets, which can also be included in trending topics (but only if they are relevant) to your product or service.

Here’s a snapshot of how Twitter ads work:

Businesses should focus on relevancy and accurate user targeting to maximize paid promotion. Learn about your potential customers’ behavior patterns. Do they search the internet using Google or Yahoo? Do they spend more time on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? Once you know this information, you can make a more informed decision with your ads.

Choose your advertising platform (or platforms), set your PPC budget to a level you’re comfortable with, and bid on keywords where appropriate. If you’re not satisfied with your paid advertising results, you can always adjust your strategy accordingly.

Free (unpaid) squeeze page promotion

Not all squeeze page traffic needs to be paid. There are many options to get free traffic, although we will only highlight the following:

• Twitter chats
• LinkedIn discussion groups
• Facebook contests

Engage with your potential customers on different platforms, participate in discussions, and provide links to your squeeze pages where they are relevant and helpful to the audience. This way they have a chance to learn more about you before entering their email address on your squeeze page.

You can also add a link to your squeeze page on your “About” page, like Sumo does:

Which directs visitors to this squeeze page:

Another popular way to feature your squeeze page is to make it the introduction to your main website — before your visitors even see your website. In the example below, the visitor lands on your squeeze page and from there they have a choice to either enter their email address or select “No Thanks” and proceed to the main site.

This is what Ben Settle does with his page:

How Do I Improve Squeeze Page Conversions?

Just like traditional post-click landing pages, the best way to optimize squeeze pages and improve conversions is through A/B testing.

A/B testing is the process of comparing two variations of a page to determine which variation performs best.

To run an A/B test, select an element you want to test on your squeeze page (examples below) and change it on one variation of the page. After you have received enough data on which version is performing better, you can devote your resources to the best version. Or, of course, you can continue to test different elements on the page.

Here is a list of items you can test on your squeeze pages to improve conversions:

• Length of headline
• CTA button size
• CTA button color
• CTA button copy
• Form position
• Page length
• Background image
• Bulleted list copy vs. paragraphs of copy

Visual Website Optimizer features a case study of an A/B test conducted on a squeeze page. In the case study, merely tweaking the design of the page resulted in a whopping 125% improvement in conversions.

Showcased below is one of the variations that was generated:

If you’re looking for a powerful tool to A/B test your pages, start a 14-day trial of Instapage.

Instapage’s A/B testing software allows you to track button clicks, form submissions, visitor behavior, compare conversion rates, and select the best-performing post-click landing page.

How Do I Create a Squeeze Page?

When it comes to creating your squeeze pages there are two primary methods you can take:

• Hire a fancy designer and developer to make the page for you
• Select a post-click landing page builder tool, like Instapage, to help you create it yourself

Hiring a designer to make the page could be extremely expensive and ultimately cause you to wait around for the page to be completed. If you choose to create the squeeze page yourself, there are solutions like Instapage that can help you create the page very quickly.

Instapage offers you 100+ pre-made post-click landing page templates you can customize using the design-friendly builder. Also, you can create your own page in a matter of minutes without any design or coding experience necessary:

Instapage also offers you many integrations with renowned email marketing, CRM, and optimization tools like Salesforce, MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, Autopilot, etc. These integrations help make your lead capture process seamless and more efficient.

Squeeze pages provide an additional opportunity for you to initiate and establish a relationship with your customers. To be successful with your squeeze pages; include the right elements on the page, A/B test the page frequently, and adjust the page’s elements as you see fit to score more conversions over time.

Design your squeeze pages today with Instapage by starting 14-day trial.