Landing pages are web pages that are commonly used for advertising purposes and to attract leads. Users often land on a landing page after clicking on an advertisement or hyperlink. These pages can be customized to entice users to take specific actions (such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form). Landing pages can be a practical component of your marketing strategy. Learn how to use landing pages effectively with this guide.
In today’s technologically advanced world, an online presence is critical to commercial success. By using a website and social media presence, companies can expand consumer interest, increase sales, and reach their products or services.
A landing page is an online tool that is often used to attract new users to a product or service. Landing pages were used for the first time by Microsoft technicians. Because it was difficult for the company to sell a new version of Windows in 2003, their IT department suggested creating a separate Windows-only site instead of posting offers on Microsoft.com. Thanks to this innovation, their Windows sales rose 30% overnight.
What is a landing page?
By definition, a landing page is a part of a website that a user “visits” by clicking a hyperlink to another page. Typically, this is a separate page on a website created for a specific purpose (for example, a product review, demo, or commercial proposal). Landing pages are designed to interest the visitor in a certain way, prompting him to take some action.
It is important to note that landing pages do not replace the website’s home page, which visitors can view by clicking on the navigation and sub-navigation buttons and menus. Visitors usually come to the landing page after clicking through advertisements, sponsored links, or search results.
Landing Page Type
Landing page for top generation
There are different types of landing pages that are used for different purposes. Some people focus more on generating leads, while others want to sell a product or service directly.
Lead capture page
The lead capture page is used to gather potential leads (visitors interested in a product or service). This landing page usually has a contact form that visitors must fill out with their name, email address, and/or other information. The text on the page should clearly state what is being given and persuade the visitor to fill in their details.
Lead capture pages often provide free promotional materials (such as white papers, discount codes, newspapers, etc.) to fill in contact details. They are often used to identify visitors who are already interested in a product so that that future promotional contacts will turn those visitors into sales.
Squeeze page
A squeeze page is a more aggressive type of landing page used to collect contact information from visitors. Compressed pages prevent visitors from visiting the site if they do not provide their email address.
The copy and design of the squeeze page should be simple and straightforward. This should highlight the offer of a product or service (for example, a free white paper, consultation, or other promotional items) while “forcing” visitors to enter their contact information. This strategy is commonly used to help marketers grow their mailing lists.
Sales-oriented landing page
Click through page
The click-through page contains information that informs the visitor about the offer and encourages them to proceed to a specific product or service using the Call to Action (CTA) button.
This landing page consists of pictures and text focused on the benefits of a product or service to convince visitors to purchase or move to the next page (which is usually the sales page).
Presentation page
A presentation page is explicitly created to promote a product, not to attract leads. This landing page is simple, listing the benefits of a product or service with a bulleted list to attract visitor attention.
Presentation pages may contain action that prompts the visitor to make a purchase or continue the search. They are generally compelling yet straightforward in design and text.
Sales page
A sales page is a stand-alone page dedicated to selling a product or service. This type of landing page should be very compelling so that visitors can shop immediately.
Depending on the offer, the sales page may be shorter or longer. More complex or expensive sentences may require a longer format with additional explanations and two CTA buttons (one at the top and one at the bottom of the page).
Visible or hidden landing pages
Landing pages can be integrated into a website by adding them entirely to headers, footers, or other menus. “Visible” landing pages can be used as lead sales or lead generation pages.
Alternatively, landing pages may also be “hidden” from regular website visitors, making them accessible only through specific advertisements or links designed to direct visitors to the research path. They can also be accessed via links added on blog posts, social media accounts, and other content pages.
The type of landing page a company uses depends on its primary purpose. Reliable or sophisticated products and services may have multiple hidden landing pages to direct visitors to different paths.
Why do you need a landing page?
People usually go online because they need something – be it a product, service, information source, or entertainment. As globalization continues and consumer choice continues to grow, visitors can use all the options readily available.
Several studies have shown that currently, the average person’s attention is 8 seconds. This is why it is becoming more and more important for businesses to have customized solutions to quickly attract and engage consumers, especially in the online world.
To drive more visitors to your business, you have to adapt your offerings to meet your target audience’s unique needs, and this is where the landing page comes from.
How to develop landing pages: what should be on them?
The four critical elements of a useful landing page are: visuals, text, call to action (CTA), and SEO features.
Visual impact
By nature, humans are visible beings. Good visuals can help sell your products and services, keep longer. Also, visuals can help potential customers understand what you are offering. The types of visuals you use will vary from page to page. You can use one type of visualization in some cases, and in others, you can use many different types. Create a stream that broadcasts your message.
Copy
Copy refers to the words used in your marketing materials. Copying helps your message reach your readers and improve the ranking of a web page in search engines, making it higher in search results. Every web page needs a copy. Make your copy to help potential customers understand what you are selling. Scroll down to learn how to write a copy of your landing page.
CTA
Simplify your landing page visitors’ conversion using CTA’s that clearly state what you want your visitors to do. For example, consider the following CTAs:
- Contact us for consultation
- A free trial schedule
- Download our e-book
- See all products
- write a review
- Add to cart
- Submit your offer
- Join Now
To increase conversions, always include an action that people can watch without scrolling. If your content exceeds 600 words, add another call to each page’s bottom by closing your content. The CTA can take the form of a clickable button or web form to collect contact information. One of the most common CTAs for eCommerce businesses is the Buy Now button, which directly redirects the user to the eCommerce store.
SEO Attributes
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ensures your website’s success by improving your page ranking in search engines. The higher your web page rank, the higher the search results. You can improve your SEO by adding the following features on each page:
Title tag: This is the text that appears on search engine result pages and each page’s browser tab.
Customized URL: Strategically structure your URL to include keywords. A right URL is a shortened version of your title tag for readability.
Meta Description: It is a text that briefly describes each page. It can appear on search results pages.
Keyword: These are strategic words or phrases to include on your website. Users search for keywords and phrases on search engines like Google, so the more you can naturally include them in your copy, the more likely you are to “rank” them. Use one primary keyword per page. The content of the page must match the keyword. For example, if you want to rank “dog food,” your page should include information about dog food, how to choose dog food, which is best for dogs, etc.
Alt tag: These are descriptions applied to images to help search engines determine what each image is about.
Link: Hyperlinks on internal and external pages, if applicable.
How long should the landing page be?
When considering how long your landing pages should be, remember to pay more attention to the content’s quality than the length. Google searches for length when it ranks pages, typically 600 words or more, but keep in mind that landing pages’ goal is to attract potential customers that you sell eventually.
If creating long landing pages does not make sense or does not work when evaluating results, then reduce their length. You may find that many companies have concise landing pages of less than 300 words. Writing is essential for people, not search engines, and page testing is one way to measure your results. You can always create long-term content in blog posts that link to landing pages to boost your ranking.
How to write a copy of your landing page?
To increase your landing page conversions, there are four suggestions to consider:
1. Get to know your audience.
When you know your audience, you can create speaking texts for them, for example, by answering their questions directly or making bold statements about the problems with your products and services.
2. Use words that your audience understands.
Consider the education level and location of your target audience. For example, if your target audience is in the UK, you can use the word friend instead of a friend. And if you want to sell your financial planning services to recent college graduates, you can define terms like 401 (k) and Roth IRA and explain the difference.
3. Tell your readers directly what to do.
Visitors to your landing page should be prompted to take action, but you need to make sure that they know what you want them to do. CTAs should be short, declarative, and guided. Try using words like this:
- Purchase
- Call
- Email address
- View
- Submit
- Contact
- Schedule
4. Answer the significant questions.
Make sure your landing page matches four Ws and an H: who, what, where, why, and how. By answering these questions, you can reduce objections and give readers a good idea of why they need your product or service.
Putting it All Together: Landing Page Formatting
To create an attractive, organized, and understandable landing page, use this standard format:
- Start with a title.
- Imagine what you are offering.
- If possible, include additional information such as testimonials.
- Close with a call to action.
On all pages, be sure to break down your content into several short paragraphs and use lists if possible. Small pieces of content are easy to read. Also, add visuals and subheadings where appropriate. Sub-titles are the titles that follow the main title. Subheadings help SEO to make content more crawlable and helpful. Traditionally, the subheading is used on pages over 600 words.
Landing Page Metrics to Track
Once you have created your landing pages, it is time to evaluate their performance. Tracking your landing page metrics can help you find out how your landing pages are performing and what opportunities you have for improvement. Free Google Analytics service gives you access to valuable data. The landing metrics you track will vary depending on your business goals. However, most companies would be useful for tracking these standard metrics:
Page view: By tracking the number of views on your landing pages, you can see which pages are the most popular and do not get the traffic you expect, and adjust accordingly.
Session: This metric is classified as the total number of sessions within the active date range, and the user’s length interacted with each page. It is often confused with page-order due to the way it is presented in Google Analytics. This example retrieves data from the same date range, but the data varies significantly between page views and sessions.
New Users: This metric shows how many people first visited your site during a specific date range. If your goal is to attract new customers, then tracking this metric is particularly important.
Bounce rate: The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. Every website has some bounce rate, but a high bounce rate can indicate something wrong with your landing pages.
Top Pages by page: Most popular This metric shows the most visited web pages on your site. If you are running ads that drive traffic to specific pages, it is useful to know how those pages perform compared to other pages.
Average session duration: The more time people spend on your site, the lower will be your bounce rate. Longer sessions usually mean that users are more engaged with your content, resulting in higher conversion rates. This metric represents the average amount of time users spend on your site.
Revenue: As a marketer, you want to measure your digital marketing ROI, and tracking revenue is one of the key metrics. You can compare revenue with marketing spend to calculate the overall ROI for your marketing budget.