A question I get asked all the time is “What are these ‘landing pages’ that you keep referring to.” I figured it was time to put the question to bed. Or at least until I talk to someone who hasn’t read this yet.
What is a Landing Page?
Put simply, a “Landing Page” is a destination. It is the page that you link to from an ad, an email, or some sort of promotional message. It has one sole purpose and all of the content on that page is focused on that purpose. To convince the site visitor to take the next step and provide them the opportunity to start this process, right on the page. This next step could be to register, to make a purchase, to contact you, or just about any action that can be triggered from a web page.
What is on a Landing Page?
In a perfect world, this is a stand-alone page on your domain that isn’t found through the natural act of navigating your site. The audience that is already on your site through other means isn’t the target audience for this page. This page is the follow-through of the set-up and tease that began in an ad, email, or other promotional message. You measure traffic to this page and its conversion rate separate from the rest of the site.
Since the journey to the landing page began with a promotional message, the landing page is the fulfilment of the promise made/implied in that message – find out more, learn why/how, etc. It is important that this page contain the fulfillment of that promise. If the reader believes they are being led on or will have to jump through too many hoops to get the answer, they will bounce. Be direct. Provide the answer and enough of a tease that when you specifically ask them to take the next step, they are willing to do so.
Ok, so the reader is here, now what?
Once you have hooked them on your ability to deliver value it’s time to directly lead and ask the visitor to take the next step. Whatever that may be. It could be anything from registering for a mailing list to purchasing a product. But whatever that next step is, the next step needs to begin on the page and by begin I don’t mean linking to another page where they might reconsider the action. If you want them to register, put the registration form on the page. If you want them to purchase something make sure they can add it to their cart right there. Now isn’t the time to try to add other things on reach too far. You will have an opportunity to do that as they proceed through check-out. Stay focused on your true goal for that page. Don’t confuse the visitor with too many options on how to proceed.
What isn’t on the page
What isn’t on the page is almost as important as what is on the page. The normal site navigation menu, your footer links,… these are all items that can distract the visitor from your intended goal. If they decide to navigate off of the page and poke around and try to learn more, each click away from the next step is another opportunity to loose them. Keep your branding, but don’t clutter the page with other unnecessary bells and whistles. Stay on target.
What if they aren’t ready to convert?
No landing page will convert 100% of the time, that’s just an unrealistic expectation. There may be questions that remain unanswered or scenarios you didn’t address on the landing page. Offer the visitor a way to contact your for more information. Live Chat is a wonderful way to maintain the sense of urgency if someone is actually available. But, if not, a simple contact form will do. Just make sure to put this on the page AFTER the call to action for the primary purpose of the page. But still within sight.
If you need help constructing a landing page for a promotions, contact MS Digital Solutions today. We will be more than happy to help in any way we can.