9 ways to create profitable thank-you pages – Inbound #8

To attract new prospects and convert them easily into leads, then into clients, you want to implement a user-focused strategy on your site.
Yes — but how do you get every necessary step of that strategy right, every time?
Here are a few tips to help you see things more clearly.

If the thank-you page is the last step a user sees in their journey, it is the first one you will create.

As a reminder, the classic flow, from the user's perspective, is: blog article > call-to-action button > landing page > thank-you page > downloadable offer.
The user lands on a blog article, discovers a call-to-action button offering a free resource that interests them, clicks it, arrives on a landing page where they must complete a form to download the resource, and ends up on the thank-you page where they can download said resource.

On your side, you will create each of these steps in reverse order, so that by the time you publish your blog article, the entire journey is already in place to welcome users and guide them through to the end.

To put things in context: you already have your offer (the file that users will download for free in exchange for information about themselves). So it is now time for the thank-you page, where the user will download that offer.

What is the purpose of a thank-you page?

At the end of the journey, the thank-you page (or Thank You page) does exactly what it says on the tin: it thanks the user. It appears after they have shared information about themselves (email address, company type, company size, challenges faced, etc.) via a form, in order to access one of your free offers (white paper, video, discount code, etc.).

The thank-you page matters because it is the last page a user sees in their inbound marketing journey (user-focused web communication). It will leave a lasting impression and provide their final impression of you. The thank-you page can also allow you to strike while the iron is hot and encourage the user to take further actions on your site.

9 points for creating profitable thank-you pages

We will list here 9 important, varied points for optimising your thank-you pages.
The first 3 points are essential — they define the very reason a thank-you page exists.
The next 5 points are possibilities. You can apply some or all of them, depending on your objectives.
The last point concerns SEO. Your thank-you pages will most likely be the only pages where you will not want to be indexed. We will explain why and how…

But let us take a closer look.

I. The essentials of profitable thank-you pages

1. Thank the user

This is the most obvious element of a thank-you page. Rather than leaving the user facing an ordinary page — as if you are trying to get rid of them — the thank-you page shows your consideration for them.

2. Confirm the end of the journey

This page also serves as a summary, a recap. It validates the conversion of a visitor into a lead, or a lead into a client. If they have not reached this page, they have not yet completed the journey.

3. Deliver the file for download

This is also the page where you deliver your file (ebook, video, discount code, etc.). The user does not have access to your free offer until this point.

Place the download button in a visible location, described as clearly as possible (without going overboard). For example: Download the ebook "ABC of inbound marketing."

II. Best practices for profitable thank-you pages

4. Tell the user what happens next

This section will vary depending on your strategy, what you want to do, and what you are able to do.

Are you planning to get in touch with your lead very soon? Let them know, and give them a timeframe you will stick to: "One of our advisers will contact you within 48 hours."

If you want to stay in touch by sending a newsletter, let them know the frequency: "If you have accepted this option, you will receive our newsletter once a month."

Are you only aiming to collect information for now? In that case, simply confirm that the download is available: You can download your file by clicking here. In such cases, the download button (mentioned in the previous section "Deliver the file for download") may be sufficient on its own.

5. Encourage further actions

The user, in the flow of the moment, may be more receptive to new actions.

Place a call-to-action button leading to a new free offer. This will give them an opportunity to fill in a new form and allow you to gather broader information about them (insofar as the form for this second free offer asks for different information from the first).

If you have not suggested signing up for a newsletter in the form, you can do so here, in a dedicated section.

6. Initiate contact

You can use the thank-you page as an opportunity to grow your community on social media. Place buttons leading to each of your active networks to encourage users to like your page.

Along the same lines, you can include a contact form at the bottom of the page. Anything that helps to initiate contact is worthwhile.

However, do not place a sharing button for the thank-you page. You would not want users to be able to access this page (and therefore your free downloadable file) directly, without first giving you their email address. For the same reason, do not optimise your thank-you pages for natural search engine rankings. Or rather, work on them — but in reverse: with the aim of preventing them from being indexed on Google.

7. Show information that might interest the user

The thank-you page can also be an opportunity to offer other content and information to your users. Place a preview of your blog, for example, to pique their curiosity.

Be careful not to overwhelm the user with information and options. You will need to judge which feels most relevant: additional information, encouraging further actions, or initiating contact. You may decide that just one of these three options will be more than sufficient, or conversely, that you can comfortably combine all three without losing your user's attention.

8. Gather feedback from your lead

Your lead has already provided some information about themselves to reach your thank-you page and download your free file. But you can learn even more about them.

You can ask for additional information that the lead is free to fill in or not. This is an excellent way to find out more about them without being pushy: they have already received the file they came for and will not feel compelled to say more if they do not wish to.

The thank-you page can also be an opportunity for a customer satisfaction survey — a perfect way to improve your user experience.

III. The importance of preventing your pages from being indexed

9. Block natural search engine indexation

This last point is somewhat separate. While the first three elements mentioned are indispensable, and the following five are options to use depending on what you want to put in place, this ninth point is something to be avoided at all costs.

Natural SEO makes your web page appear on search engines. Imagine that your thank-you page allows users to download an ebook on "How to sell more effectively." If you carry out SEO work on it, anyone searching Google for "how to sell more effectively" could find your page without going through the complete journey (i.e., article > call-to-action button > landing page > thank-you page) — and therefore without giving you their email address in exchange.

For your thank-you pages, therefore, take care to prevent indexation by search engines. By implementing a Noindex tag, you prevent your page from appearing in search engines and ensure that your users follow the defined journey to download your offers.

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We hope these 9 points will help you understand the workings and value of thank-you pages in inbound marketing (or user-focused web communication). For any questions or requests for further information, do not hesitate to get in touch with http5000, by email or in the comments.

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