SEO crew, please prepare the website for landing pages. 

Much like aviation, landing pages are simple to understand but tough to master in order to make it effective for your website. 

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What is a landing page?

A landing page is a well-know digital marketing strategy that is intended to funnel a visitor into becoming a conversion. Landing pages are intended to get visitors to engage with a call to action and convert into a lead, this can be done by sending an email inquiry, calling a contact number, signing up to pre-order the company’s products, or anything that requires the customer to engage with the company.

Measuring the success of a landing page is mostly done by measuring the number of people who visit the page versus the percentage of conversions. Landing pages should be minimalistic and clean, the focus should be on design to funnel the visitor down the page and towards the call to action.

The length of a landing page varies depending on the explanation of the product or service the company offers, additionally it may require more content to encourage conversions. 

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The difference between a Landing page and a Homepage

Below is an example of a landing page and a home page laid out side by side. The homepage has a significant number of links while the landing page only has one. This is typical on a landing page.

The homepage has links to different pages of the website which can be seen as potential distractions, while the landing page is super focused. Having a handful of links on a landing page has the potential to increase conversions, as visitors feel less pressured to click on every link but will rather make their way to the call to action.

Although a homepage looks amazing, it is mostly used to show off the brand, allow visitors to explore the brand’s products or services, and offer additional company information. On the homepage, a visitor can go anywhere, such as review the terms of services, read blog posts or even apply for a job. The key difference is that visitors will not necessarily make a purchase on a homepage. 

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What is the purpose of Landing Pages?

Creating a website is step one to getting people to notice your brand. A landing page is step two as it assists in getting sales. According to MarketingSherpa, 68% of business to business companies use landing pages in order to generate leads for future conversions. The key purpose of a landing page is to target specific search intent and deliver the focused page that will drive the visitor to convert. 

Here is an example of how to use a landing page:

If your business was a dance school that offered dance lessons to children, you might create a landing page that targets keywords such as “children’s dance lessons.” This landing page would then be connected to the relevant pay-per-click advertisement. The results would be someone searching for “children’s dance lessons” will then be able to visit and engage with the dedicated landing page for the service your business offers. This is more convenient for the visitor compared to visiting your homepage and trying to find the relevant information on children’s dance lessons. 

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Tips on creating an effective landing page 

• Use testimonials: Companies should not have to sell their products or services but rather customers should be selling it for the company. According to Vendasta, 92% of people read an online review before purchasing, and 88% of those people trust peer reviews more than brand-sponsored messages. Featuring testimonials on the front and center of your landing page is a great way to drive conversion. 

• Use high-quality images: People gravitate towards visually appealing images, which is why the design of a website is what drives our first impressions by at least 94% of the time. The reason for this is because as consumers we subconsciously decide whether we want to stick around a website or not due to its visual appeal. Companies are encouraged to use high-quality images on their landing pages as it is one of the easiest ways to keep people glued to the site. However, using stock images will not do as users want authentic images. According to VWO, a landing page with an authentic real person pulled in over 161% more clicks and an increase in signups by 38%. 

• Limit choices: People are constantly being overworked and running between meetings daily which stresses them out. Landing pages should make their life easier instead of more making it more difficult than it already is. Simplifying landing pages will almost always increase conversions.

• Limit scrolling length: Most visitors spend over 68% of their time scrolling down a website to see what more the company has to offer. However, this does not mean a landing page should be overloaded. Long-form sales pages can work extremely well in some cases, yet they can backfire depending on what the landing page is asking the visitor to do. Simple landing pages with a simple opt-in might be all it takes to have returning customers. 

• Short forms: Have you noticed a theme yet? People like and want things to be nice and easy! It will differ if the company is selling high-priced products or services that require a lot of information for a consumer to make a purchase. Other than that, short forms tend to get filled out more than long forms. When creating forms, companies should always consider asking for only what the company needs and to make sure the ‘ask’ is appropriate with what the company has to offer. 

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Conclusion

Companies should make use of landing pages, yet creating high-performing landing pages can be considered both an art and a science. Each scenario is different which is why some techniques might work while others may backfire. There is no one-size-fits-all that will always work all the time. However, landing pages are almost always going to increase traffic and increase visitor conversions when used in conjunction with websites. Make sure to read about the importance of having a business website.