Creating informative and persuasive landing pages is a vital technique for any current digital marketing campaign. Marketers, on the other hand, frequently struggle to understand the distinction between the homepage and landing pages, or generic web pages vs. landing pages, and the considerations that must be addressed while building each.
Landing pages must be extensively tailored in order to increase conversion rates and lower customer acquisition costs. Continue reading to learn why landing pages are necessary, what sorts of landing pages are most effective, and how to optimise your landing pages to boost conversions.
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a standalone web page designed expressly for a marketing or advertising campaign in digital marketing. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking on a link in an email or an ad from Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or another comparable website.
Unlike web pages, which often have multiple aims and promote research, landing pages have a single emphasis or goal, known as a call to action (or CTA, for short).
Because of this focus, landing pages are the ideal option for raising the conversion rates of your marketing initiatives and minimising the cost of generating a lead or sale.
Why Do You Need Landing Pages?
If you aren’t using landing pages in your campaigns, you’re missing out on significant opportunities.
These include, but aren’t limited to |
Meeting user expectations | A landing page is required for every digital campaign in order to convert visitors into buyers. Visitors who click on your adverts and are brought to pages that are irrelevant to the promotion may become confused and less likely to purchase or convert. In order to meet user expectations, each landing page must reflect the accompanying campaign messaging.
Promoting action |
Landing pages enable you to focus on a particular action that you want visitors to take. Whether you want prospects to download gated content, sign up for a newsletter, or buy on-sale items, focusing on one goal on each page encourages your visitors to take action. This can help you rank among the top 10% of landing pages that convert at an 11.45% rate or higher.
Boosting site performance |
Search engines such as Google and Bing can also determine how well your site anticipates the demands of users. Vague messaging on your landing pages will have a significant impact on your ad rank, cost-per-click, and position in the ad auction. With relevant keywords in headers, URLs, alt text, and content, your landing pages can assist algorithms to understand the importance of your landing page and increase your SEO.
Lead generation |
Landing pages are useful for gathering important contact information. In exchange for gated materials such as webinars or ebooks, you can demand visitors to give their names, work emails, and job titles on contact forms. Companies with lengthier sales cycles can now deploy email marketing later.
Different Types of Landing Pages
In general, establishing landing pages allows you to finish a post-click sequence with a dedicated page that shows the user they have landed in the correct place. Busy homepages or product pages can muddy the waters, whereas landing pages make it extremely clear what the visitor’s click-through will result in. Making a landing page refines and improves visitor engagement, increasing the odds of conversion. You also gain more out of your PPC investment because you’ve already paid for this click, and a landing page helps you make it worthwhile. You can enhance your chances of conversion even more by using the correct type of landing page.
Let’s take a look at the type of landing pages and what they are used for.
Landing Page vs. Website Homepage
To begin with, some may wonder why they should bother with landing pages when their primary goal is to attract traffic to their homepage. The truth is that, while traffic to your home page is beneficial, it is less likely to result in a conversion than traffic to a landing page. Home pages are dense with information and urge viewers to travel to a variety of sites. If a visitor arrives at your homepage with a certain objective in mind, they may be turned off if they must first browse various additional services and product possibilities. The primary goal of the homepage is to connect users to other pages where they can get the information they seek. Landing pages avoid the intervening step by being the page the user wants – and making that clear.
A landing page is focused and specific, whereas your homepage is broad. While the homepage lures users deeper into your website by providing all of your company’s alternatives, a landing page provides one straightforward and clear call to action.
Lead Generation Landing Page
A lead-generation or lead-capture landing page is designed to acquire leads via a data capture form. These pages are quite versatile, but they are most commonly utilised in the middle of the sales funnel when buyers are analysing your offerings and are on the verge of deciding whether to convert or walk away. It displays both a request and a reward at the same time. The incentive is the unique offer you are pushing to generate leads, and the request is the information you want in your form. The request and the reward should be equally weighted. Whatever you are marketing must be worth the buyer providing their contact information and adding them to your mailing list.
Click-Through Landing Page
In contrast to the lead-generation page, which relies on a form, a click-through page does not require any form at all. It serves as a simple intermediary between your advertisement and the page to which you finally want to route your customers. It is frequently used to connect an ad to a shopping cart, for example. Also, simply takes a brief explanation of what the visitor has discovered by clicking through, as well as a bold and obvious call to action with a link to the end destination.
Squeeze Page
A squeeze page, like a lead-generation page, is used to collect data. Unlike a lead-generation page, it is typically used near the top of the sales funnel and its sole purpose is to collect email addresses in order to add potential leads to a general mailing list. They are simple landing pages with big headlines and little information. A clear call to action informs the reader exactly what to expect from the click-through. In addition to the brief form, there should be a link to the next step and an exit option if the visitor does not want to proceed.
Sales Page
A sales page is frequently the most challenging to create. You are no longer simply prospecting for leads with this page. It’s one you’d use near the bottom of the funnel, and it has to persuade people to buy, which is a whole different proposition than a simple request and reward combination. The production of the page, from the language to the design, necessitates tact and a thorough awareness of your client’s demands and where they are in the sales cycle. You may either sell too aggressively at this moment and close the deal, or you could undersell and lose the sale anyhow. This is where traditional salesmanship must be included in your design and communication strategies.
The length of the page is determined by your product and how much information you need to provide to your clients to describe its value. Whatever the length, there must be a detailed pitch that displays this value in order for them to click the button and complete the buy.
Infomercial
You may believe that infomercials are a relic of late-night television advertising from the 1990s, yet many firms effectively adapt their sales approaches into their digital operations, particularly in the form of specific landing pages. In direct contrast to squeeze or lead-generation pages, infomercial landing pages tell your viewers a long, detailed story, using content that resembles the passionate and excitable mannerisms of the late-night sales experts. The goal is to keep readers scrolling and persuade them to make a purchase.
Splash Page
Splash pages are the most basic sort of landing page and maybe utilised at any stage in your sales funnel. They usually include very little writing, one or two large graphics, and extremely short information, such as an announcement or a simple “yes” or “no” request. They may request that your reader verify their age or select a language preference before advancing to your website. Also, they are not designed to collect data or generate leads, but rather simply present users with essential information before they join your website.
Viral Landing Pages
The primary goal of viral landing pages is to raise brand exposure. While they will typically include connections to a company website or other online page, these will be provided quietly and unobtrusively. The main focus here is on the content, which should be useful and/or entertaining enough to entice a reader to share the page, as well as the ability to share the page via social media. The material could be written copy, videos, photos, or even games.
Microsites
A microsite is a dedicated, small website, as the name implies. It is designed for a specific campaign or with a specific sales goal in mind. It is more than a single page, yet it is still referred to as a landing page because it is dedicated to one area of sales and promotional operations. Microsites are fuelled by web adverts or function in tandem with TV ad programmes.
Why Use Landing Pages?
You’ve done an excellent job developing your brand and establishing a website that reflects it. Now you must ensure that all of your efforts result in sales. Landing pages are unquestionably the most powerful lead conversion technique available.
A landing page is an excellent approach to increase visitors, improve SEO, and promote your brand. It can also be used as part of a successful PPC strategy. Landing pages are used by about 68 percent of B2B firms to generate leads for subsequent conversion. Fortunately for you, 44 percent of these clicks are routed to home pages, which, as we will see, is a bad tactic. Customers are directed to a specific product, service, or offer via landing pages, which push them to act. This is your chance to generate conversions and expand your consumer base.
Why isn’t every firm adopting landing pages if they’re so important? There is a common misperception that they are difficult to build and maintain. Fortunately, that is not the case. Building a great landing page is about getting the consumer what they want rather than about being flashy.
What Makes a Good Landing Page?
First and foremost, your home page should not serve as your landing page. You must direct prospective clients to a page where they may take advantage of whatever exceptional offer you have promised them. Your landing pages have a better possibility of attracting attention for a longer amount of time because they are linked to something specific. A good landing page accomplishes multiple tasks:
- They zero in on the offer, not the company. Your future customers are clicking for a reason and duping them by not giving them what you’ve promised is not going to form a good first impression. Now is not the time to give a detailed history of your company. This isn’t to say that the landing page should not be tied to your company brand. Just the opposite. They should serve a separate function yet should still be an extension of your brand.
- They are completely concentrated and free of distractions. Your landing page’s content should have the end objective of offering the user what they want while also completing the registration process.
- The forms are not difficult to complete. Long forms might be intimidating to visitors and may lead them to leave rather than take advantage of the opportunity you are providing. If you just cannot shorten your form, divide it into steps and show the user where they are in the process. Listing their name and address, for example, could be step one of four.
- They address a specific audience. By segmenting your customer base, you may target certain consumers with tailored marketing. If you have a following that is drawn to a certain offer, such as an eBook or a discount, your landing page can serve as a built-in segmentation mechanism, allowing you to nurture these leads successfully in the future.
- They gather specific information about your potential clients. Speaking of targeted audiences, even if you attract the correct people, they won’t convert unless you acquire the right information. Demographic data should include more than just a name and an email address. It should also offer you a notion of why someone clicked and what their long-term relationship with your organisation may be.
- They give your special offers a place to live. Your online special deals will not help your business unless they are linked to landing pages. Creating landing pages provides a home for your offers.
- They offer a thank you. A thank you page should always accompany your landing page. This is not only polite, but it also assures the consumer that the registration procedure has been completed.
- They provide users with access to other marketing channels. A customer is pleased with what you’ve just presented. You can now include links to other deals, your social media profiles, or a sign-up for an email list.
There is no mistake about it: we live in a digitally connected world. Taking a risk with a digital marketing campaign might easily be one of the best investments you make for your company. Including landing pages in your digital marketing toolbox is a wise decision that will benefit both you and your clients.
Landing Pages Best Practices
A landing page that captures the customer’s attention and makes a good first impression typically incorporates various landing page best practices that have been honed over time. There are certain changes between desktop and mobile best practices, but in general, landing pages with particular characteristics result in higher conversion rates. We go over a few of these best practices for landing pages.
Keep the headlines, the main message, and call-to-action above the fold
Above the fold is a newspaper idea in which the most significant headlines and news are presented at the top half of the first page. In digital marketing, this is the portion of the screen that the viewer can see without scrolling down.
When a user arrives at the landing page, they are likely to scan the entire screen but not scroll down to read further. For a better probability of conversion, keep the headlines, primary message, and call-to-action (CTA) above the fold. The title must be clear, succinct, and feature the core term for SEO purposes.
Use only one call-to-action (CTA)
Every landing page should be designed with a specific aim in mind. It could be a special offer, a free trial, a contest entry, a webinar registration, or the ability to download an eBook. Too many CTAs or links to other pages divert the viewer’s attention away from the main goal, therefore keep only one CTA button above the fold.
Repeat the call-to-action (CTA) where relevant
When a desktop or mobile visitor has to scroll down to read the landing page material, they don’t want to have to scroll up again to get the CTA. Place a replica of the CTA on the lower half of the page to keep the potential consumer.
CTA button design
The design of the call to action (CTA) button must entice the viewer to take action. It should be a contrasting colour and size to the landing page background. When a CTA is repeated on a landing page, it must be a carbon copy of the CTA above the fold.
Design for mobile
According to research, mobile phones account for 56.89 percent of global internet traffic, so developing landing pages for mobile use is critical. As the elder age and many B2B organisations utilise computers to conduct business, there are still many reasons to design desktops. Your analytics data should serve as a guide for your audience’s device preferences.
Traffic source optimization
Create a landing page for each source of traffic you receive. Short, copy-oriented landing pages convert at a lower percentage than SEO-optimized pages. Keep paid traffic landing pages brief and direct, with clear messages and activities.
Provide social proof
Fear of missing out is a powerful motivator. To increase landing page conversions, utilise testimonials and reviews from other users. When users discover that other customers and businesses appreciate your product, it increases brand trust and credibility.
Summing-up
If you would like to learn more about the importance of landing pages or want to get in touch with an expert who can improve your landing page and SEO strategy, we’d love to chat with you right now! Our SEO experts can change the game around for your marketing and help you achieve the desired results. Get in touch with Shergroup’s business solutions advisors today to know more.
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