Spend much time in online ads, and you’ll start to see the word “landing page” everywhere. But what precisely is a landing page? What makes it unique from every other page? Why are landing pages so essential? To be realistic, while online marketers like to toss this word around, we’ve done a pretty lousy job of describing it. In this post, we’ll take a look at what a landing page is, what goes into a successful landing page and some landing page techniques you can use to build your landing pages.
This article is a fairly detailed guide to landing pages, so it’s not the fastest read. But, by the time you’ve completed your way through this material, you should have a strong understanding of landing pages and how to use them to boost your online marketing.
What is a Website Landing Page?
A landing page is a unique web page that a person lands on when first clicking through to your site. When they’re on your landing page, users are advised to take the initiative, such as entering your list or purchasing your goods. If the user accepts the specific desired step, then the landing page has succeeded in getting them to switch.
Usually, landing pages only allow their users to take one such action, like to fill out the personalised sign-up form on the website. Why?
It’s because of what psychologists call the “paradox of choice.” In simplistic words, that means that the more choices you give people, the more challenging it is for everyone to make a decision and respond. Assume you’re giving away a free eBook. But on your landing page, you also invite your visitors to click your blog and make a purchase and check out your social media platforms. With each ask, the odds of your users downloading your latest eBook grow thinner because you’ve diverted their focus away from your main goal.
On the other end, too many options will overwhelm your users, leading them to stall and take no action at all. This is why it’s essential to concentrate on a single call to action (CTA) rather than 3 or 4.
This is why a landing page should have a simple visual hierarchy and value proposition and should be checked for the best conversion optimisation.
Why are Landing Pages so Important?
If your website aims to sell goods, generate leads, generate phone calls, or something else, using and improving landing pages can eventually lead to higher conversion rates and, therefore, more sales for you. One of the central myths about websites is that all traffic should be sent to the homepage. Imagine what would have happened if all of London’s traffic, no matter where each vehicle wanted to go, had to pass through Oxford street, the “homepage” of London. Upon seeing the mess, most drivers wouldn’t go at all. For those that did, the rest would give up before ever approaching their destination. Although a ludicrous example, this is no different than traffic going to your website.
Here’s why landing pages are essential? We’ve detailed a few factors you should remember:
Maximising Leads
At its heart, a landing page has three goals. Landing pages are essential to generating leads, enticing customers to enquire, and educating visitors about your brand quickly and effectively.
Studies show that advertisers collect leads at a higher rate by sending them to specialised landing pages rather than sending traffic to the home page. The landing page is the easiest, most efficient way to create more leads for your sales team.
It possibly makes sense to look into this in more depth. Many of the businesses that come to us for assistance are pushing traffic to their home page. Their reasoning makes sense; send them to our front door and let them walk the hallways as they so wish, but that is faulty thinking.
People want to be led to the knowledge they need quickly and efficiently. They don’t want to shop anywhere. They want what they came for, and then they like to be on their way, just to come right back as required or if the value is there.
Test and Optimise
Much as landing page data can be monitored and analysed for your benefit, the landing pages themselves can also be checked and optimised.
You can conduct tests on almost every feature on the landing page. You can test pictures, headlines, copy, and form fields to see what’s getting people to convert and preventing them from switching.
Let’s highlight a few examples of tests you can run. These are all examples from real experiments of actual Square 2 clients. You can test headlines. Often the H1 is too fancy, and the H2 is direct. One test we usually run is to merely swap titles or styles to see what is most effective.
You can also alter the format of your content. For example, people can handle bulleted text easier than in large paragraphs. You can also try different imager, button colours and CTAs to optimise your digital marketing performance.
Verdict
Landing pages help you turn visitors into leads, and ultimately, into paying customers. They allow you to meet your target audience and give them something of interest.
Keeping the landing pages clear of anything even remotely irritating is a must. You don’t want something that could discourage people from clicking the call-to-action button or filling out the sign-up form. It’s for the better to keep them uncluttered and planned in a straightforward yet captivating manner. Most importantly, they need to fulfil the standards your visitors have when they first see your ad. Stick to these simple concepts and your landing page will undoubtedly start converting better.
For more information about the services we offer or to find out more about the digital marketing world contact us today. We’ll help you optimise your site and increase conversions.