Instapage Review 2024: Features, Benefits & Downsides

If you’re looking for a platform to launch your ad campaign with highly customized landing pages, Instapage is what you need.

It is a landing page builder that will keep your audience engaged and convert more leads on your website.

In this Instapage review, we will discuss all the good and bads of this landing page generation tool.

Key Takeaways

Here are the major takeaways before we begin the detailed Instapage review.

• Drag and drop editor: Design and customize your landing pages easily with different colors, fonts, and designs
• Use friendly interface: The landing pages you create are user-friendly and attractive
• A large number of templates: There are several useful templates for different types of industries
• Conversion optimization features: There are heatmaps and A/B testing to help you convert more leads
• Integration capabilities: Instapage integrates with other marketing platforms to let you have a smooth workflow
• Team collaboration: You can collaborate with your teammates easily

These are just some of the main features of Instapage. When you work on it, you’ll realize that it has almost every feature you can think about as a digital marketer.

Research Methodology

I used Instapage thoroughly before writing this review. I work on the Customized plan and have tested several functionalities of the platform.

For this review, I used a 14-day trial plan. Based on my findings, I am writing this review and I hope it will help you decide if Instapage is right for you.

When to Use Instapage

If you’re a digital marketer who’s looking for new ways to expand your reach and attract more customers, Instapage will be a great addition to your toolset for marketing automation.

It is the best solution for creating compelling and high-converting landing pages.

You’ll love the user-friendly interface of Instapage, especially if you’re not a coding expert. The drag-and-drop editor will let you design and customize pages with ease.

Use Instapage when you want to create attractive landing pages without spending too much time on them. There are multiple templates for several industries.

Finding industry-specific templates makes your job even easier.

Are you planning to have a lead generation campaign? Or a product launch? Instapage offers conversion optimization tools such as heatmaps and A/B split testing to help you fine-tune your strategies and deliver the maximum impact.

Another noteworthy feature here is the integration ability of the platform. It’s easy to connect with other marketing tools and have a seamless all-encompassing marketing campaign.

All your marketing campaigns will be streamlined and you’ll be able to collaborate easily with your team. This will reduce overhead delays and ensure a cohesive design. Also, Instapage is highly scalable and can evolve as your business grows.

In short, use Instapage when you want to reach out to more leads, convert them, and keep them engaged.

When Not to Use Instapage

While Instapage is an amazing tool for creating landing pages, it might not be a good choice for everyone.

Of course, it is the most popular choice out there with its user-friendly interface and adaptable features. But there are some cases where it might not be the best option for you.

Let’s discuss those instances.

If you’re a digital marketer on a tight budget, it wouldn’t be the right choice for you. You might be looking for a low-cost option like some of the other tools in the market.

Even though Instapage is loaded with features, it’s rather expensive, especially for entrepreneurs and new marketers.

Another reason not to use Instapage is if you’re looking for something highly industry-specific. If you’re unable to find finely tailored landing page templates for your business, you might want to hire a programming team for your project so they can focus specifically on your niche.

Apart from these scenarios, I don’t seem to find any other reason not to use Instapage. It’s easy to use, loaded with features, and conversion-optimized.

Instapage Pros and Cons

Now let’s discuss some pros and cons of Instapage.

Pricing

Instapage has updated its pricing plans for 2024, which now include the following options:

• Create: Launch on-brand landing pages quickly without development involvement at $119 per month, or $79 per month with annual billing, saving 33%.
• Optimize: Enhance conversions with experimentation and lead generation at $239 per month, or $159 per month with annual billing, also saving 33%.
• Scale: Build landing pages at scale for $359 per month, or $239 per month with annual billing, saving 33%.
• Convert: Offers a customized solution for higher conversions and lower CPC, pricing based on specific needs.

Each plan offers a 14-day trial and is designed to meet different levels of marketing needs, from basic landing page creation to comprehensive optimization and scaling efforts.

Using Instapage

I created a new Instapage account for this review. Here’s what your dashboard will look like.

Let’s create a landing page by clicking on Create New Page from the Quick Actions tab.

Check out the layout options.

I selected Product Launch and picked a template.

It will ask for some basic details.

Now lets create the page.

A basic layout is done. Now I add my conversion goals and integrations etc. and I’m ready. The basics are pretty simple. But that’s not all. Instapage comes with several options.

Let’s begin experimenting with the trial page I published.

I entered a hypothesis.

Now I can add variations.

The variations could be

Variation A: Current button color

Variation B: Some other button color

You can also add more variations. This is how easy it is to conduct A/B split testing. Of course the screenshots I have shown are of an example page. When you create your page, you can create your own versions of A/B testing.

As I have shown in the example, all you need is a hypothesis and variations. Another hypothesis example can be:

Hypothesis: Using a more relatable or attention-grabbing image will increase user interest.

Variation A: Current image

Variation B: Image featuring a different scenario or person

As you can see, it lets you experiment with various elements on the page and see how each variation is performing.

There are several options offered by Instapage.

Let me show you some integration options available with Instapage.

These are just some of the integrations available to you. There are page integrations including Autopilot, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, AWeber, etc.

Connecting a domain is also super simple. You’ll find the Domains option on the left toolbar. Click on it and it will show your connected domains.

Since I haven’t connected any domains in the test account, it shows a blank page. There’s a button on the top right that will let you connect your domain to your landing pages.

Using Instapage is super simple. But if you’re a new marketer, you might be new to things such as A/B split testing. For that, there will be a small learning curve, but it’s not all that difficult.

How to make your landing pages in sync with your main website

In the left panel, under Assets, you’ll find Styles. Let’s see what that does.

As you can see, it lets you select the primary colors for your landing pages. You can base these colors based on the primary colors of your website.

You can also change the fonts and add a favicon to create a uniform look that reflects across your website and landing pages.

Many options on the dashboard are limited to the Connect plan. If you feel you want to use those features, you can upgrade your plan.

How to use heatmaps

If you have heatmaps on your plan, here is how to use them:

Click on Landing pages from the left panel. From the options, select the landing page on which you want to run a heatmap. Here you’ll find it on the top of the page.

However, you’ll be able to run a heatmap only if you’re on the higher pricing plan.

Now that we have discussed the basics of using Instapage, let’s move to a detailed review. It’s a good platform for experienced marketers, specifically the ones that use PPC. Let’s discuss the solutions by channel.

Search Engine Ads

Instapage can help you optimize your Google and Bing ads to help customers land on the right pages to increase conversions.

The average conversion rate for most Google Ads across several industries is 4%. According to Instapage, customers using their platform achieve a conversion rate of up to 16%!

What Instapage can do for your Google Ads campaign:

Raise quality score

With fast-loading pages built according to your keywords, your quality score goes high, which helps your brand gain visibility among customers.

Increase relevancy

With relevant landing pages, you can drive more conversions. Also, with a separate landing page for each keyword, your audience gets exactly what they’re looking for.

Reduce acquisition cost

With highly focused pages and better reach, you get more conversions for less money. You get a higher conversion rate for each dollar you spend.

Social Ads

Get accurate landing pages that match your social media campaigns. Each customer visits the landing page specific to their needs and this increases conversion rates.

About 31% of marketers lose leads because they have a generic landing page and all their social media traffic goes to their homepage or a non-specific social media page.

Here’s what Instapage can do for your social media campaign:

Scale your campaigns

With Instablocks, you can create or update your pages within a few minutes. These are the elements that can be updated with just a single click.

Conversion optimization

Instapage lets you run A/B tests to compare the conversion from two landing pages. This will let you find more efficient pages and thus improve your page performance.

Reduced acquisition costs

With a lower CPA and increased conversions, you spend less money for each lead you convert. By creating a specific landing page for each keyword, you give your customers exactly what they’re looking for.

Display Ads

Increase the return on investment on your display ads with a unique landing page for each customer’s requirements. Create ad groups and lead your customers to the right page accordingly.

When the ad captures a customer’s attention, there’s more than a 30% chance they’ll click. You can convert them by making them land on the right page.

When the customer finds exactly what they’re looking for, they will promptly convert. A generic landing page will not give the desired result.

Here’s how you can use Instapage to get the maximum output from display ads.

Relevant landing pages

With a separate page for each keyword, you’ll be able to drive more traffic and convert more leads. No matter where your customers come from, they’ll be able to find exactly what they were looking for.

Optimized performance

With fast-loading pages, your customers don’t have to wait before they are taken to the right place. This will increase your quality score and deliver better performance.

Lower acquisition cost

With a low CPA, you spend fewer dollars for each customer you acquire. As your conversions grow and your business grows, your acquisition costs get lower.

Can Instapage Help eCommerce Merchants?

Instapage is a wonderful tool for eCommerce merchants. It helps you create mobile responsive, conversion-optimized, and niche-specific pages. It lets you create AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for mobile-driven campaigns.

While you can always redirect customers to your product pages but studies have shown that converting a visitor is almost twice as likely if they visit a landing page rather than a product page.

Also, customers spend twice as much time on your website if they visit a landing page rather than a product page.

Instapage easily integrates with several eCommerce platforms. This lets you seamlessly connect your online store to your landing pages. This streamlines the customer journey and makes the checkout process much easier.

The landing pages you generate using Instapage can be tailored to your specific needs so they match your brand identity. This ensures a consistent and cohesive experience for your customers.

Instapage also helps you cater to local customers. For example, you can display different content to different visitors, depending on their geographic location.

This will offer them a more personalized experience and the conversion rates will become higher.

You can also collaborate with your team members to share insights and feedback. This makes sure that your marketing teams have a cohesive approach.

What is the A/B Testing Functionality?

I loved the A/B testing feature of Instapage. While it sounds too technical, it’s pretty easy to execute. And it helped me see exactly what is liked and not-so-liked by the audience.

With testing, you can find out how well your landing pages are performing, and thus make changes to them accordingly.

It lets you create several versions of a landing page. You can test various elements such as images, headlines, and calls to action (CTA).

You can see which version is the best liked by your audience. As you perform testing, you get real-time data so you can see how your audience is behaving for each version.

It takes out the guesswork from creating landing page designs. You can see precise user interaction and where they drop off.

This helps in making informed decisions. And of course, when you create something that your audience loves, it boosts your conversion rates.

I tried it and loved it. If you too want to have the maximum conversion rate, I suggest using this feature. It helps you find out exactly what your audience wants and thus make exceptional landing pages.

You can also try the heatmaps feature to learn more about user behavior. I’ll discuss it later.

What is Dynamic Text Replacement (DTR) in Instapage?

Imagine having text that changes automatically depending on what the user searched for. Let’s say you run a hoodie store and let’s say a customer searched for the phrase “blue warm hoodie.”

With DTR, that user will be taken to a landing page that will replace the generic terms with that specific keyphrase the user is looking for.

The user will love it because it’s exactly what they’re looking for. That’s the magic of DTR. You cannot create a specific landing page for each type of search query but you can use DTR to make sure the user gets the exact query match.

How to have DTR

You can use DTR based on several factors. Let’s discuss some of them here.

Keyword specificity

As I discussed earlier, you can have text that changes depending on the user’s keywords. This can help you run a Google Ads campaign more successfully.

Each user who clicks on your link lands on a page that caters to their specific needs.

Geographic targeting

This lets you advertise your products or services based on a geographic location. The system reads the user’s IP address and gives location-specific information.

For example, if you have a real estate company, your landing page will show the information related to a particular location.

Ad copy alignment

When you run an ad campaign with specific messaging, you can ensure that the ad copy stays consistent with the landing page. For example, if you’re running a limited time offer, the landing page can show the time left for that sale. This creates a sense of urgency and leads convert faster.

Device specific personalization

If you sell software, it’s a good idea to have a landing page that caters to a platform-specific audience. For example, if a user comes from a Windows PC, the landing page could show the download link or offers for Windows devices.

Multilingual Support

You can make the landing page reflect a different language based on the geographic location of the user. For example, a person from the US would see content in English but a user from France would see French content.

There are several other users of DTR in Instapage. It’s a versatile feature that can help you personalize your content so that each visitor sees a message that’s tailored to their specific needs.

What are Heatmaps in Instapage?

Instapage has heatmaps that show how users interact with your landing pages. This option is available in the Convert plan.

As a marketer, I feel it’s a very important tool as it lets me understand how visitors engage with various elements on my pages.

With heatmaps, you can see where the visitors spend their time and where they click and move their mouse. This provides important information that will help you design your page and add content.

There are four main types of heatmaps:

Click heatmaps

This heatmap shows the areas where the users click the most. It will let you identify the elements that attract the most attention.

Scroll maps

These maps record the scrolling behavior and help you see where visitors scroll on your page. This is ideally for long-form pages to see if visitors scrolled through the entire page. And if they didn’t, it shows where most users bounced off.

Mouse tracking heatmaps

This heatmap tracks where the users’ mouse pointers were placed. However, these are not very accurate because if a person keeps the pointer at a certain line of text for 10 minutes, it doesn’t mean they’re reading it for that time.

When you understand these heatmaps, you’ll be able to make data-driven decisions and optimize your landing pages accordingly.

For example, if a lot of people click on a specific section on your page, it could indicate an area of interest and it would be a good idea to place a call to action there.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Instapage is a versatile and powerful tool for landing page creation. It’s definitely among the best landing page builders out there.

The platform offers several useful features to novice users as well as seasoned marketers.

With its drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates, it gives highly optimized pages that are also visually appealing.

If you’re looking for a landing page solution that drives more traffic and converts more leads, Instapage could be a good option for you.

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