If you’ve ever clicked on an advert and been taken to a web page all about the product or service described – congratulations! You’ve interacted with a landing page.
Landing pages are an essential part of the online experience, particularly when it comes to buying things online. But when it comes to creating them, many brands come a bit unstuck. So today we’re going to look into what a landing page does, how it does it, and how to create a landing page for your business.
What Is A Landing Page?
This is where things get a little confusing because any web page a user can visit is technically a ‘landing page’. But in the marketing world, a landing page is a very specific term for a standalone web page that customers land on when they click through from an email, advert or other location online. It provides the user with information specific to the advert or email they clicked on, and are usually used to either encourage a sale or request information in exchange for a free download.
They are highly targeted to a specific audience and designed to serve a specific purpose in the marketing cycle. These pages often aren’t visible in the main navigation of your website, but they are still there. Users can only find them if they click on the right link – kind of like a treasure hunt.
What Are Landing Pages Used For?
The main use for landing pages is advertising, whether through Google ads, Facebook, YouTube or even offline adverts. Having a landing page that links specifically to the campaign you’re promoting means your customers don’t have to wade through your website trying to find information, and they’re much more likely to convert as a result.
They can be used for promoting specific products, offers, giveaways or just providing information on a certain topic. Anything, where you want the user to click straight through to the relevant information, should have a landing page of its own. They can be built on your website, your eCommerce store or even on a separate platform like Mailchimp if you prefer, though we always recommend keeping it on your own platform where possible.
Tips For Creating Amazing Landing Pages
Keep it Clean
The look, feel and overall structure of your landing page will arguably have the biggest impact on the effectiveness of your landing page. Too much information can be confusing and overwhelming for your readers – too little and they don’t know enough to buy.
A good landing page provides the information a customer needs to make a decision, without going into too much detail. Big blocks of text are split up by headings and subheadings to help users skim the page and find the answers they need. Images are scattered throughout to grab attention, and all of it is well balanced, rather than randomly arranged.
Include Calls to Action
Conversion 101 – you need a call to action. Calls to action tell your prospects what you want them to do, and give them a way to do it. Putting calls to action on your landing page is a great way to move people further into your site and closer to hitting the ‘buy’ button – by getting them to subscribe, sign up or enter their email.
For these calls to action, keep them simple, specific and completely irresistible. Pay attention to where you put them as well – positioning is everything. Breaking up your copy into smaller blocks, using headings and bullet points broken up by clear calls to action makes them much more effective – and requires no effort on your part.
Cut Back on the Links
Links are generally a good thing on Google – but like most good things, you can go too far. If you’re using lots and lots of links on your landing pages, you need to cut down on them right now. Because while internal linking should be a part of your SEO strategy, it has absolutely no place on a landing page. This is because any link leading off the page will cause a distraction, which can dramatically reduce your chances of converting your hard-earned leads into customers.
For marketers, the purpose of using a landing page is to generate a lead via email, phone or contact form. If you have links to other interesting articles, sites or pages, you encourage users to navigate away instead of convert. Your dedicated landing page is designed for one purpose only: to convert.
Include a Testimonial
Testimonials are a fantastic tool that, in our opinion, are hugely underutilised by most businesses. Seeing is believing, and customers are more likely to believe kind words from your customers than persuasive ones of yours So when you’re putting your campaign together, look to include a few customer testimonials that show the value your existing customers see in your product or service. This can make a real difference when it comes to converting, and it’s often the first thing people will look for when deciding if they should buy from you. You could even use a quote from the review as a headline, and include the positive rating the customer gave your product.
Focus on the Offer
A landing page isn’t like general web copy. It has a very specific purpose and goal. Whether that’s to request a whitepaper, get a lead to sign up for a free trial or convert directly into a sale – you want the people who reach that page to do something. Keep that goal in mind when you’re writing your landing pages, and make that the focus of the content.
For a landing page to invite more traffic there is a need for clear, relevant and compelling offers. Users should clearly understand what you are selling. Try mentioning a few features about your offer that compel users to take an immediate decision and yield results quickly. Make sure your content matches the offer.
Be Consistent
When it comes to winning over customers, consistency is key. This means ensuring there isn’t any mismatch between what the ad promises and what the landing page delivers. So if your ad talks about a specific shoe style, our landing page should be all about that shoe style – rather than taking the user to a generic page about all the shoes you sell. This is why we recommend unique landing pages for each of your campaigns instead of relying on what you have in place already. It allows you to fully control the message and sends the right messages to Google.At Lion Spirit Media we work with businesses to develop their unique ‘roar’ and amplify it throughout the business jungle. A big part of that is developing awareness and sales campaigns, using unique landing pages to ensure the right people see the right message at the right time. If you would like to know more about how landing pages fit into the digital marketing cycle, or you need some support with yours, just get in touch with the team today.
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