Landing pages – How they can help your company

What is a landing page?  

Sometimes known as a lead capture page it is used for online marketing.  It is a web page a visitor reaches after clicking an online ad or link.  It is a way to convert web clicks into clients.  The page will contain detailed content of the product or service mentioned. 

There are two types of landing pages:

Organic or “reference” landing page:

An organic or reference landing page presents information that is relevant to the visitor and used for advertising or campaigns and usually not part of the main site but geared toward a specific source of traffic.  These can display text, images and links to direct to the main site.  

Transactional landing page:

A transactional landing page’s goal is to persuade the visitor to complete a transaction and buy the product or service by filling out a form or being involved with the advertisement on the page.  

Five must have components for your landing page:

1. Strategy – create an interesting headline, since that is the first thing the visitors read.  Create a Unique Value Proposition that will describe the market and the difference between your competitors and your own business 
2. Lead – must be interesting enough to capture your visitor’s attention and make them want to keep reading
3. Benefits – this is your chance to really sell your product.  List the benefits of your product and what it has to offer your visitors
4. Offer – this asks your visitors to purchase, sign up or opt-in
5. Look and feel – make sure the page has critical elements that builds trust and worthiness to the visitor

Five practices to keep in mind:

1. Content counts – Make sure everything the visitor reads is valuable and useful information that will capture their attention
2. Keep it simple – everything must be clearly explained and specific.  Make sure to edit!
3. Beyond the page – make it an experience and be creative – not just a page
4. Testing, testing, testing – conduct tests to see what’s effective and what’s not
5. Analysis – what do users use most?  What drives them away?

Finally, make sure none of the links are broken.  Landing pages are a great way to provide your customers with all the information they need in one convenient location and can drastically improve your marketing efforts.