A landing page is a critical tool in any digital marketer’s toolbox. But what exactly is a landing page, and why are they so important? In this blog post, we’ll answer those questions and more, giving you everything you need to know about landing pages and how to use them effectively.
What are Landing Pages?
A landing page is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on an online advertisement. Unlike your home page, which is designed to give visitors an overview of your company and what you do, a landing page is focused on a single offer or call to action (CTA). The purpose of a landing page is to collect contact information from potential customers so that you can follow up with them and convert them into leads or customers.
For example, let’s say you own an e-commerce store that sells dress shirts. Your home page might feature several different shirt styles and information about your company. But if you’re running a promotion on dress shirts for men, your landing page would feature only that product with information about the sale and a CTA to buy now.
Why are Landing Pages Important?
Landing pages are important because they provide a level of clarity and focus that other pages on your website can’t match. By design, they’re geared towards conversion, which means that every element on the page—from the headline to the images to the form—is meant to drive visitors toward becoming a lead or customer.
There are several reasons why every small business should have at least one landing page. First, landing pages allow you to track your marketing campaigns and see which ones generate the most leads or customers. This information is valuable because it will enable you to adjust your marketing budget accordingly and focus your resources on the campaigns yielding the best results.
Second, landing pages help you build credibility with potential customers. When potential customers see that you have a professional-looking website with valuable content, they’ll be more likely to do business with you.
Finally, landing pages allow you to upsell potential customers on additional products or services. For example, suppose someone visits your landing page and submits their contact information. In that case, you can follow up with them and offer them a discount on your product or service if they purchase within a specific period of time.
When used correctly, landing pages can be highly effective at generating leads and converting sales. Companies see an average 55% increase in leads when they increase their number of landing pages from 10 to 15. That’s why it’s important to ensure that your landing pages are well-designed and effective at doing their job.
How to Create a Landing Page in 5 Simple Steps
Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons why landing pages are important let’s take a look at how you can create one for your small business in five simple steps.
- Choose Your Platform: The first step is to choose the platform you want to build your landing page. If you already have a website, the easiest way to create a landing page is by using a drag-and-drop editor like WordPress or Wix.
- Select a Template: Once you’ve chosen your platform, it’s time to select a template for your landing page. Ideally, you should choose a clean and uncluttered template so potential customers can easily find the information they’re looking for.
- Add Your Content: The next step is to add content to your landing page. This includes things like headlines, images, videos, testimonials, etc. Your landing page’s content should be geared toward converting visitors into leads or customers.
- Include a Call-to-Action: Every good landing page has a call-to-action (CTA), which is an invitation for visitors to take action (e.g., sign up for your newsletter, download your ebook, etc.). Your CTA should be clear and concise so that visitors know precisely what you want them to do when they reach your landing page.
- Publish Your Page: The final step is to publish your page so that it’s live on the internet for people to see. Once your page is live, promote it through social media, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, etc., so that people visit it!
How to Make Your Landing Pages Effective
Creating a landing page may seem daunting, but it’s pretty simple and only requires a few minutes of your time. Now that we know what landing pages are and why they’re important let’s look at how you can create effective ones for your business. Here are four tips:
1. Keep It Simple
A landing page’s whole point is to simplify visitors’ conversion process by removing distractions and giving them one clear path to follow. That means your page should be free of links to other pages on your website (like your home page or product pages), as well as any other elements that could pull visitors away from conversion (like pop-ups or sidebars).
2. Use Persuasive Copy
Your landing page copy should be concise and persuasive, with a clear value proposition that speaks directly to your target audience. Remember, you only have a few seconds to make a good impression—make them count!
3. Include Visual Elements
People are visual creatures, so incorporating images or videos into your landing page can help increase conversions. Make sure that any visuals you use support your value proposition and CTA rather than distract from them.
4. Use Forms Sparingly
Asking browsers for too much information upfront can kill conversions in their tracks. So only include essential form fields (like name, email address, etc.) and save anything else for later down the funnel.
What Makes a Good Landing Page?
There are three essential elements of a good landing page: relevance, a value proposition, and a call-to-action.
Relevance is vital because you want to make sure that the content on your landing page is relevant to the ad or link that brought the visitor there in the first place. If not, you risk losing their attention—and their business.
Your value proposition should be clear and concise. It should explain what you’re offering and why it’s valuable or unique. Consider what makes your product or service different from others in your industry, and ensure that comes across on your landing page.
Finally, every good landing page has a call-to-action. A call-to-action is a statement or button that tells visitors what they need to do next to take advantage of whatever offer you’re promoting. Your CTA should be big, bold, and impossible to miss. And it should be relevant to the offer itself. For example, if you’re promoting a free e-book, your CTA could say “Download Now” or “Get Your Free Copy.”
Ideally, a good landing page will be relevant to the ad or link that brought the visitor there, contain a clear and concise value proposition, and have a prominent and effective call-to-action. Suppose you’re running ads or optimizing your website for organic search traffic. In that case, you need to make sure you’re creating effective landing pages that will help you achieve your desired results. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time and money.
A well-designed landing page can be highly effective in driving conversions—but only if done right. Make sure your landing pages are relevant to the ads or links that bring visitors there, contain a clear and concise value proposition, and have a compelling call-to-action. If you can do all those things, you’ll be well on achieving your desired results.