How to Create a Squeeze Page [Template Included]
Find Keyword Ideas in Seconds

Boost SEO results with powerful keyword research

Free Keyword Research Tool

How to Create a Squeeze Page [Template Included]

Brian Dean

Written by Brian Dean

How to Create a Squeeze Page

In this post I’m going to show you EXACTLY how to make a squeeze page.

(Step-by-step)

In fact, high-converting squeeze pages are one of the main reasons that I’ve built my list to 141,996 total email subscribers:

Subscriber count

Let’s dive right in.

What Is a Squeeze Page?

A Squeeze Page (also known as a “landing page” or “lead page”) is a webpage designed specifically to collect email addresses from visitors. The “squeeze” name stems from the fact that the page provides limited options, which can “squeeze” an email address out of potential subscribers.

With that, here’s how to create a squeeze page:

Step #1: Write Your Headline

Your Squeeze Page headline is REALLY important.

And I have great news:

Writing a Squeeze Page headline is super simple.

All you need to do is state a clear outcome that people will get from signing up.

That’s it.

For example, the headline in my Squeeze Page is, “Proven SEO Tips Straight to Your Inbox”:

Backlinko newsletter squeeze page with "Proven SEO Tips Straight to Your Inbox" headline

Here are a few other headlines you can use:

Learn How to ____ In _____ Minutes

New Case Study: How I Lost/Ganed ____

Learn How _____ Makes ____ Per Month

Get ____ With Less ____

Free Newsletter: Insider _____ Tips From Experts

Step #2: Make a Compelling Offer

OK so you’ve hooked someone with your headline.

Now it’s time to let them know EXACTLY what they’re going to get.

For example, on this page from my site I offer people a detailed SEO case study:

SEO case study offer on the Backlinko homepage

And on my other Squeeze Page I pitch exclusive tips that I only send to newsletter subscribers:

Emphasis of "exclusive tips" in the copy above the form on the Newsletter page

Here are a few other lead magnets that you can offer on your Squeeze Page:

  • Ebooks
  • Reports
  • 7-Day Email Courses
  • Videos
  • Templates
  • Whitepapers

The question is:

What should YOU offer on your Squeeze Page?

Here are a few ways to find something that your audience wants so badly that they’re willing to hand over their email to get it.:

#1: Look for questions that people ask on forums and online communities (like Reddit).

If you see the same question or problem pop up again and again, you know you have a winning topic on your hands.

For example, the Paleo subreddit it PACKED with keto recipes:

Keto recipes in the Paleo subreddit

So a cookbook or one-week keto meal plan would be an amazing lead magnet.

#2: Something on a topic you can cover better than ANYONE else.

In other words:

Create a lead magnet on a topic that you can hit out of the park.

Why?

This will make your lead magnet instantly stand out.

Most lead magnets are the same “10 ways to X” nonsense.

But when you offer something unique, people are MUCH more likely to sign up.

For example, one of my Squeeze Pages offers people a step-by-step case study that they can’t find anywhere else.

A Backlinko squeeze page offering a step-by-step case study that they can’t find anywhere else

And that Squeeze Page converts at 21.7%.

#3: Check out courses in your niche on Udemy.

For example, let’s say that you run a blog that helps people learn Excel.

First, find a best-selling course on Excel.

An example of an Excel course on Udemy

Then, take a look at the course outline:

Excel course online

Then, create a lead magnet on one of the topics that you find.

Why? Think about it:

This is information that people are paying for.

So when you offer content on this topic for free on a Squeeze Page, people will be happy to hand over their email address.

Step #3: Use Multiple Opt-in Forms

Here’s a big mistake a lot of people make with Squeeze Pages:

They only use ONE optin-form.

And it KILLS their conversion rates.

Instead, I recommend using 2, 3 or even 4 forms.

For example, I use two opt-in forms on my squeeze page.

One above the fold:

The first, above-the-fold opt-in on the Newsletter squeeze page

And another at the bottom of the page:

The second opt-in at the bottom of the Newsletter squeeze page

That way, I give visitors two opportunities to subscribe.

Bottom line? Include several opt-in forms on your Squeeze Page (at least 2).

Pro Tip: Limit the number of form fields someone needs to fill out. If you make people give you their name, phone number, and life goals, they’re NOT going to sign up.

So only use those fields if you’re 1000% going to use them.

For example, HubSpot asks for a ton of info.

HubSpot's form asking for lots of info

They’re not just looking to get email subscribers. They want leads that they can turn into customers. So collecting all this info makes sense for them.

But if your goal is to get subscribers, limit your fields to just email or name + email.

Step #4: Add a Call to Action

Your next step is to include a strong, clear call to action (CTA) on your page.

In other words:

Tell people EXACTLY what to do next.

For most Squeeze Pages, your CTA will be something like: “Join My Newsletter”.

In my case, I go with the straightforward “Sign Up”.

Button with the CTA "Sign-up"

That said, the best CTA for you depends a lot on what you’re offering.

For example, if you’re giving away an ebook, you probably want to use a CTA like “Get the Ebook”.

And on this page where I’m pitching a case study, my CTA is: “Click to Access The Case Study”.

Button with the CTA "Click to access the case study"

Don’t overthink this step.

As long as your CTA is crystal clear, you’re good to go.

Step #5: Use Social Proof

Social proof is one of the BEST ways to get more conversions on your Squeeze Page.

Why?

These days, people are SUPER reluctant to hand over their email address.

(Even if you’re offering an awesome checklist, case study or ebook)

Enter: social proof.

Social proof tells potential subscribers: “Relax. Lots of people have already signed up. And they love the newsletter. Go ahead and sign up.”

What kind of social proof should you use?

Well, most people show off how many subscribers they have.

(Or how many people downloaded their lead magnet so far)

Yaro showing how many people have downloaded their lead magnet

In my case, I show off logos of places that I’ve been featured:

Logos of places that have featured Backlinko

I was also fortunate enough to have Forbes talk specifically about my digital marketing newsletter:

Forbes feature on Backlinko

So I feature that mention at the bottom of my Squeeze Page.

Forbes quote on squeeze page

The question is:

How can you use social proof if you don’t have 150k subscribers or a feature in a major news site?

It’s easy:

Use testimonials.

(Just like you would with a product or service.)

In other words: show off a quote from someone that LOVES your newsletter or lead magnet.

For example, Noah Kagan’s Squeeze Page has a quote from a happy subscriber.

Specifically, what they learned from his newsletter:

Noah Kagan's "What others are saying" quote

Nice.

The big takeaway is this: the more social proof you generate, the better your page will convert.

Step #6: Remove Distractions

When I first started building Squeeze Pages I’d keep my normal site navigation at the top of the page:

Backlinko navigation

And it was a HUGE mistake.

The “big idea” behind a Squeeze Page is that you give people ONE option on the page.

(Sign up)

And if your page has a sidebar, navigation and links to other pages on your site, your conversions are gonna tank.

That’s why today I strip out my navigation so the focus is on my offer:

Backlinko no navigation

And I recommend you do the same.

Step #7: Build Your Squeeze Page

OK so now you have your Squeeze Page content ready to go.

Now it’s time to actually build your page.

And when it comes to creating your Squeeze Page you have three main options:

Option #1: Use a WordPress Plugin, Theme or Page Builder

Here’s where you install a plugin or theme on your site that lets you create a custom-designed Squeeze Page.

There are a million of these. But some of the most popular include:

Honestly, if your site runs on WordPress you can’t go wrong with any of these options.

Plus, you can literally get your Squeeze Page live in a matter of minutes.

The downside is that you may not get your page to look exactly the way you want.

But most of these WordPress plugins and themes have nice out of the box templates that you can easily customize to meet your needs:

Thrive themes

Option #2: DIY Page

In other words:

A page that you custom build and code from scratch.

This might be your bet bet if your site doesn’t run on WordPress (for example, you use Shopify or Wix).

But you may want to go this route even if you DO use WordPress.

In fact, our Squeeze Page is custom-built even though Backlinko runs on WordPress:

Backlinko newsletter squeeze page with "Proven SEO Tips Straight to Your Inbox" headline

So:

Why would you want to go through the hassle of a custom page if you use WordPress?

It’s simple:

You can make your page design look EXACTLY the way you want it to.

Plus, it won’t have that “template look” that can turn off a lot of people.

For example, something like this simply wouldn’t be possible with a template:

Impossible template section

If you go with DIY, I recommend hiring a pro designer on a site like 99Designs.

Then, get a coder to code it up as a WordPress page.

This sounds complicated and expensive. But you can usually get this entire process done for a couple hundred bucks.

Option #3: Landing Page Builders

I’m talking about tools like Leadpages and ClickFunnels.

Landing page builder tools side-by-side

These are similar to WordPress-specific page builders.

But the big difference is that they integrate with tons of different Content Management Systems.

Plus, you can customize them like crazy.

And because this software exists to make Squeeze Pages, they tend to convert pretty well.

In fact, we used a Leadpages template for our Squeeze Page for YEARS:

Backlinko old LeadPages squeeze page template

And it converted for us.

But as you can see, the page doesn’t look great. And that was after LOTS of customization.

So I ended up working with a designer to make a page that fit our brand.

Step #8: Use an Exit Intent Popup

Your last step is to use an Exit Intent Popup on your Squeeze Page.

Here’s an example from my website:

Honestly, this won’t make or break your conversion rate. It’s like throwing up a hail mary.

But you have nothing to lose. So you might as well use it.

In fact, our popup adds a solid 1% to our Squeeze Page’s conversion rate.

(So instead of 14% it converts at 15%).

My one recommendation is to offer something different in your popup.

Otherwise, you’re pitching the same thing twice.

For example, my Squeeze Page pitches my email newsletter.

Backlinko newsletter squeeze page with "Proven SEO Tips Straight to Your Inbox" headline

And our popup offers people a PDF guide.

Free guide popup

Putting this all together, here’s a Squeeze Page template you can use:

Squeeze page template

Step #9: Optimize For Search Engines

Is your Squeeze Page going to rank for competitive keywords?

Nope!

You need amazing content and backlinks for that.

But that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore your Squeeze Page’s SEO.

So I recommend including a super low-competition long tail keyword in your page’s title tag.

For example, the keyword “digital banking ebook” only gets 90 searches per month (according to Semrush).

Keyword Overview – Digital banking eBook – Search volume

But it also has a competition level of 16.

Keyword Overview – Digital banking eBook – Keyword difficulty

This means a landing page has a real chance of ranking for that term.

Now I’d Like to Hear From You

Now I’d like to hear what you have to say:

What’s your experience with Squeeze Pages been like?

Have they helped you build your email list?

Or maybe you think they’re overrated.

Either way, let me know by leaving a quick comment below right now.

83 Comments

  1. Brian, WOW! What a superb post, truly.

    I am big fan of your work and going to have to put some thought into how to make this work for my SEO clients most of them are medical practices. Thanks for sharing so much detail. I will share this with all my clients this week for sure.

    Take care,

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Matthew. Appreciate it. Depending on their specialty, I’d create a page that offers health information. For example, if you had a client that was a podiatrist, you could create an page that offers something about foot health.

  2. Awesome article once again, Brian! There’s always a big smile on my face whenever I see Backlinko’s name on my RSS feed. And I honestly can’t help but read it thoroughly… many times, over and over again. Thanks for sharing!

    The conversion rate is definitely one of the first things people need to focus on before moving to the other aspects. More traffic won’t help you if you’re wasting it with a crappy landing page that doesn’t convert.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Gent. I always try to deliver the goods.

      You’re right: conversions are HUGE. Conversions were something I used to put on the back burner…and it hurt me. Now that I invest time and effort into conversions that I used to put into more traffic, my email subscribers have significantly increased.

  3. Damn Brian this is so timely I’ve been getting my traffic up on my site but have been so disappointed with my optin rate I was thinking about adding pop up optins, gateway page to content plus a ton of other pattern interrupt stuff that would have the potential to really piss of my visitors, after reading your article I going to add my very own social squeeze page I feel like this will add a lot more value to my users experience and get me a more qualified leads thanks for the article

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      I aim to please, Mark.

      Popups and welcome gates definitely work too.

  4. Anisul Avatar Anisulsays:

    Brian, Killer article as usual:) One thing I would really appreciate if you can show some live case study (other than IM world) about list building. I didn’t find any such article that goes into details about listing building from scratch. Hope It can be a great idea for your next blog post ! 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Anisul. Thanks for the suggestion.

  5. Clarissa Delprat Avatar Clarissa Delpratsays:

    Thanks Dean for sharing some ‘GoldenNuggets’ from the layout to the way you show us how to “HOOK” fresh up beat headline to get visitor acquisition. I got value from this.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No problem, Clarissa.

  6. Love your posts Brian but i find them a little difficult to read. Just the way you have things spaced out can be a little difficult on the eye. It may just be the way the post formats on my mac. I’d send you a pic as it’d be quicker to explain what i’m banging on about. Appreciate that you test everything and it may convert better.

  7. Mark Avatar Marksays:

    WOW! Nice post Brian its actually quite obvious now you have pointed it out. It also has given me some wicked ideas on how I can build up a following for my new venture.

    Keep up the good work!

    Mark

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Mark.

  8. Awesome post, Brian, you’ve done it again. You’re keeping the headline simple, to the point and wildly effective. Finally (and most importantly) you deliver on your promise with flying colors.

    Elvis

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Elvis. I appreciate that.

  9. Aaron Avatar Aaronsays:

    This is awesome Brian, very timely for a project I am working on.. Definitely going to employ this tactics, cheers! Aaron

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Aaron! Let me know how it goes.

  10. Great job Brian. Your thoroughness is mind-boggling. It blows me away every time I read one of your great posts. Thank you!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Harry. I put 20-hours into every post that I publish so it’s good to hear that hard work is worthwhile.

  11. Thanks for this Brian. It’s so useful to be able to actually see these things put into practice rather than being lectured about the things we should and should not be doing. The proof is in the pudding and all that!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Cheers Blaise. I hear you on that. One of the reasons I created Backlinko in the first place was to create a blog that showed people stuff that was actually working…without lecturing them.

  12. The best possible ratio that I have ever achieved was 48/1 respectively visitors/sales. My corrent project section that actually convert 150/1 which is also quite good.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      That’s solid Kaloyan.

  13. As a professional copywriter for over 10 years it’s rare for me to enjoy that “I learned something!” feeling, but this looks promising.

    I shall certainly experiment with this format, as I see no reason at all that it wouldn’t work and plenty why it should.

    Thank you.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Alan. Let me know if you have any questions along the way.

  14. Filip Doneski Avatar Filip Doneskisays:

    Amazing post Bryan. I`m following Backlinko from day one – flawless content. Time to do some conversions!

    Keep up the great work!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Awesome, Filip, you’re welcome.

  15. Hi Brian,
    Very helpful post. I’m trying to get the and of linkbuilding for my dog community site, and your posts are a big help as I’m fairly new to this whole SEO thing. There’s a lot to take in when you just start out!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Klaus, happy to help.

  16. Thanks Brian 🙂 I love your blog and your articles 🙂 thx again 😀

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome Mahmoud.

  17. Dean Avatar Deansays:

    As always I’m absolutely blown away the article and videos here.

    I’ve been wondering, how would you go around laying out a home page to capture leads in the perfect world.

    There seems to be two approaches that I think could work and would love to know your thoughts.

    There’s the feature box with blog (like you and Derek Halpern do) or there’s the landing page still (think think traffic and paid to exist did/do)

    Have you ever thought/experimented with it?

    Once again – Awesome post Brian! I’ll be implementing this, this month 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Dean.

      I prefer to make my homepage basically a Squeeze Page.

  18. Mark Avatar Marksays:

    Great and Very Helpful post !
    Thanks Brian

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome Mark.

  19. Brian,

    Fabulous work and awesome article. This post opened my eyes up to new doors. Thanks for taking all the you take, putting into content creation. Maybe I should start leaving my articles alone and coming back to them at a later time, in order to CONTINUE working with and adding more content to them. Great idea Brian…

    Greg Smith

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Greg. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing over the last few months: working on the stuff I already have on my site so it gets more traffic and converts better.

  20. Hi Brian,

    Thanks for this awesome and mind-blowing post. It did proved helpful to me.

    I just wanted to design awesome and professional-looking page for my website that converts well, but I failed it. But, thanks to your post, it did helped me.

    Thanks,
    Sid

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Sid. This should definitely help you out.

  21. Hi Brian,

    awesome info! It is so easy to get sucked into the landing page template delusion, and forget about the compelling reason people are going to need to have burning them with desire, in order for them to opt-in. Thanks for the reminder.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Greg. That’s a good point. Templates have their place — but unless you know WHY they work — it’s impossible to improve upon them.

  22. utsav Avatar utsavsays:

    Brian you again rocks…
    Awesome strategy… you have present this very well
    thanks for making it so easy for me to understand this strategy.. surely it will help me to increase my subscribers list.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Utsav. Let me know how it goes.

  23. Great information, Brian.
    Thank you!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No problem. Let me know how it works out for you 🙂

  24. satinder Avatar satindersays:

    Great post Brian. Loved it. If you could write something on video scripting, it would be great.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad you liked it, Satinder, and thanks for the suggestion.

  25. Dean Avatar Deansays:

    So Brian, when’s your course on creating remarkable content coming man?

    I said it above, but I seriously can’t stop thinking how great your stuff is!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Dean.

      I actually have a premium training course called SEO That Works that covers exactly that.

  26. Andrew E. Moffatt Avatar Andrew E. Moffattsays:

    Amazing! You are publishing really great contents on this blog, Brian Dean. I love your SEO and Backlink related resources most, keep your focus on that, please! 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Andrew. SEO is and will always be our focus here. But it never hurts to branch out to related topics once and a while.

  27. Rob Broley Avatar Rob Broleysays:

    Appreciate the effort that has gone into writing this Brian. Some very useful areas of interest that will definitely come in handy. Thanks

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No worries, Rob. Glad you found it helpful.

  28. Another amazing post, Brian! I am very selective about who I give my email to. That being said, I always look forward to seeing your emails in my inbox.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Dan. I work hard to provide tons of value to Backlinko subscribers like you.

  29. Hi Brian
    Thank you passing on your advice for squeeze pages. I have one question and that is… Do you have to use this technique every time you create new content, ie blog post or a news item etc etc. So in other words, how many squeeze pages should you have??

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Great question, James. Fortunately, you really only need one or two on your entire site. Once you have that it’s a matter if funneling traffic to your Squeeze Pages.

  30. This is an amazing article, I got a lot of good tips from it and I will be implementing lots of ideas I got from here. Brian, this is a really valuable work. Thank you.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Happy to help, James.

  31. Nathan Avatar Nathansays:

    Amazing post, extremely fluid. 99% of posts, I never comment. However, this one deserves that exception. Opting into this newsletter for sure.

    Keep the value rolling!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Nathan. Glad you liked the post.

  32. Daren Cox Avatar Daren Coxsays:

    Hey Brian, I love what you publish, but I’m puzzled – do you have any paid products / services on offer? I’ve hunted around your website and if you do, they are really well hidden! Don’t get me wrong, if you have a magic way of making money from all this FREE content, then more power to you – and I look forward to a future post from you on how the business model works! Keep it up 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Daren, Backlinko is an SEO training company. We offer several premium marketing courses.

  33. Just curious Brian, do all the opt in go to the campaign? Or all different campaign? If goes to same one will autoresponder says ” you have already opted in” ?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      I do some segmenting but not a ton.

  34. This іѕ awesome Brian! Thanks fоr sharing thе information. І got whаt I wаѕ searching fоr.
    I rеаllу appreciate уоur help іn providing ѕuсh a nісе information.
    Regards
    Tony

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Tony, you’re welcome.

  35. Benny Molinas Avatar Benny Molinassays:

    I accidentally click your blog and did I discover some nuggets here. This is great information Brian and will help me a lot. Trying to build my list and for this is something I’ve been looking for. Thanks.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Benny

  36. San Kumar Avatar San Kumarsays:

    Are you or any of your students available on hire to do SEO for my site? This is all very good info but may not be for everyone so just wondering since I couldn’t find anything on your home page?

  37. Brian not only are your articles an awesome read but you take the time to answer everyone. That my friend is a rare quality that everyone can learn from you. I am going to take your advice about building a squeeze page and the sky looks like it is the limit with your advice.

  38. Sanjay Avatar Sanjaysays:

    Great article as always, Brian!

    One question (I’m a total newbie, so please forgive me if it sounds too elementary):
    If I’m creating several squeeze pages (on a single WordPress website–or do you suggest something else?) to promote different affiliate products, how do I make sure the other squeeze pages can’t be even accidentally accessed by visitors?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thank you. I guess you could just not link them together. And add a noindex tag so search engines won’t index them.

  39. Today is it necessary to collect visitors email by using Squeeze Page?

  40. Ben Avatar Bensays:

    Thanks for the great article, Brian! If I already have a product page that needs to created by default for a product I want to sell on Woocommerce, and if I created a squeeze page for the same product separately, then I need to add a canonical tag to the product page or squeeze page? meaning do I need to try to rank the product page or the squeeze page?

    And from the home page, I need to add a link to the product page or a squeeze page?

    Looking forward to your advice!
    Many thanks!

  41. Hey thanks for this information very helpful and timely. Trying my first squeeze page and will be using many of the tips here!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Sounds good, Adrian. Let me know how it goes.

  42. Hey Brian,

    I appreciate your efforts and thanks for another amazing post <3 I am going to take your advice to create squeeze pages for my business. Looking forward to seeing more posts from you.

    Best Regards,
    Rabbi Hossain Khan

  43. Wow I I did not know that much thought wnt into making a squeeze page. I now know why my squeeze pages never worked. Thank you very much for this eye awakening lesson. It will help me a grat deal.

  44. Fantastic guide as usual Brian, thanks a lot! Am continually envious of how beautifully designed your guides are, they’ve really evolved into something special

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Marcus.

  45. Hi Brian, thanks for this super useful overview! I was just wondering how you get people to visit the squeeze pages if the focus is not SEO? Do you link to it from other pages of your site?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Exactly.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *