What is a Landing Page?
Upon clicking on a search result, one can see a single web page that almost feels like a welcome greeting into the website. This is the landing page.
Combining cloud services to a landing page, it creates a 24/7 connected interface perfect for online marketing. There are four scenarios where a landing page can be visible. These are the following:
- Search Engine Optimized (SEO) search result
- Marketing Promotions
- Marketing Emails
- Online Advertisements
Typically, the main goal of a landing page is to turn website visitors into sales or leads. This can be determined by evaluating the actions done by a visitor upon reaching the landing page.
Why a Landing Page is Crucial?
At first, one might think that the only purpose of the landing page is to capture leads. However, this isn’t always the case. In reality, there are eight ways a landing page can be used.
To act as a proxy website
While it’s true that having a website professionally designed can be expensive, the absence of such can impose a problem in capturing leads. This is because they have nowhere to strongly convince visitors and direct them toward what a business can offer.
By using a landing page as a stand-in website, visitors can conveniently know more about a business’s services while the business itself generates income.
To create a dupe for a business’s online advertisement
Known as ad congruence, it is used to describe a website that looks like the advertisement it is being marketed from. Knowing that creating and revamping a website from time to time can be pricey, opt to redesign the landing page instead. That way, redirected visitors can feel that they are in the right place after clicking the advertisement.
To engage in social media advertisements
Aside from having a landing page to cater to Google Ads, linking a landing page to a business’s social media accounts can increase conversions.
To increase Pay-per-Click (PPC) revenue
To maximize a business’s PPC revenue, it’s important to have something that directs them upon clicking an ad. Instead of using the home page, opt for a landing page instead. This makes its visitors’ online experience less cluttered and overwhelming. While a home page can have too many options and content, a landing page has the right enough content for new audiences.
To boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
With the internet at its peak in the 21st century, search result rankings are becoming more competitive than ever. By having a compact and neatly-designed landing page, a business can have an increased ranking in search engine results like Google and Yahoo.
To collect contact information like emails from potential clients
With collecting online information like emails as one of the main purposes of a landing page, a landing page can serve as a gateway for email campaigns. This makes having a landing page ideal for newly-established businesses with little to no connections or online presence.
To promote special deals such as free trials
What makes landing pages is their huge potential for customization. For instance, a business might have a different landing page per special offer. Aside from an easier user-interface, it has all the space it needed to explain its mechanics and perks.
To relay additional information
There’s only so much detail one can put in an online advertisement before it gets boring. Don’t let that happen by using a landing page to relay more information instead.
What Are Key Features of a Good Landing Page?
Although landing page designs may vary depending on the nature of the business being marketed, all of them are usually made of five key elements. These are the above-the-fold content, call-to-action, benefit-driven features, testimonials, and the closing/reinforcing argument.
Above-the-Fold Content
Originally used in the newspaper industry, this is the first content a visitor sees upon landing on the webpage.
For the above-the-fold content to be more compelling, it can be divided into three parts – the headline, the supporting headline, and the hero.
The Headline
Similar to newspaper articles, a landing page’s headline must pique the interest of its visitors. In writing a compelling headline, it must answer three key questions:
- Who is the audience?
- Why are they here?
- What issue are they trying to solve?
To create a faux-personal connection with its visitors, it is ideal to keep a conversational tone in writing the headline.
The Supporting Headline
Knowing that the headline alone won’t be enough to explain everything, additional details can be added to the supporting headline.
Although having a supporting headline isn’t a requirement for all landing pages, it can be essential for a problem-centered headline. With a more positive sub-headline, the business can be marketed as the best solution available.
The Hero
Despite being a part of the above-the-fold content, this element leans more into the creative side. This goes to show the importance of choosing the right background and web design for a lead-generating landing page.
Call-to-Action
Since the main goal of a landing page is to have people complete the suggested call-to-action, it must have the right balance between being assertive and being sympathetic. While being too assertive can make it look like the business is too pushy or stuffy, being overly sympathetic can leave the impression that the business is amateurish or unprofessional.
For starters, here are three tips to apply in formulating and designing a convincing call-to-action:
Keep it short and simple
In writing a call-to-action, it’s easy to get too carried away and write too much. To make the call-to-action more compelling, use action-oriented words in the present tense.
To make it easier to understand, it is also ideal to keep it to one sentence with commonly-used words.
Use colors and proper sizing for a distinctive call-to-action button
While it is a general rule to use a brand’s color palette in designing its website, the call-to-action must be of a contrasting color.
To make the call-to-action even more noticeable, its button must be decently bigger. That way, the button will stand out more – subconsciously suggesting its visitors to click.
Learn the art of locating and guiding a visitor to the right places
Based on research, users view a website following an “F” shape with a dot. With that, they start from the upper left to the lower right of a webpage – the same way one writes the said letter and punctuation mark.
With this in mind, it is advisable to put the call-to-action on the lower right side of the webpage.
Aside from proper location, it is also important to use directional cues like a face’s eye direction and arrows. This prevents its visitors from getting lost in the landing page.
Benefit-driven Features
When a business immediately lays its perks on the table, people are more likely to pay attention to their services. It’s a common human instinct to like something that benefits them. This makes them an ideal piece in a successful landing page.
This is in contrast with the tendency of many businesses to keep talking about business on their websites. The truth is, most people don’t care. They’re more after how these businesses and their services can make their lives easier.
Testimonials
Undoubtedly, the internet can be a scary place. This is why providing social proof is a good way to prove a business’s credibility. To make compelling testimonials, it’s important to follow these four tips below:
Use embedded content
In today’s automated digital age, testimonials that look raw and authentic are bound to be more effective. The only question is where to find such content. It’s easy: use embedded content from social media sites like Twitter and Instagram.
Knowing that tweets, Facebook posts, and similar content can’t be skewed to perfection, they give the impression that they came from an actual, living person.
The more details, the more credible
By details, they mean user information like name, job title, location, and the like. This can also be essential for potential clients who want to conduct a quick background check based on the brand’s testimonials.
High authority sources
If recognizable businesses approve of another business, it means that the latter must be exceptional. This makes the approval of well-established brands can be a highly effective testimonial.
Include pictures and videos as testimonials
To increase the authenticity of a business’s testimonials, adding pictures and videos can be good starters. This is because such forms of social proof showcase raw body language – hence making them more believable.
Closing/Reinforcing Argument
Like any other type of written content, a landing page’s closing argument serves the same – to summarize everything and suggest the next step to do.
While many people won’t read the closing statement, it can still make or break the deal for those who happened to reach the end of the landing page.
What are the Types of Landing Page?
There are only two types of landing pages commonly used today. These are the references and transactional landing pages. More information on these two is shown below:
Reference Landing Page
The main goal of a reference landing page is to provide related information to its website visitors. This can come in the form of images, relevant links, texts, and other graphic visualizations.
Transactional Landing Page
From the word itself, a transactional landing page aims to keep in touch with its website visitors. It works by displaying a form that can be filled out by its visitors. Included information in the form is various contact information like phone numbers and email addresses.
Upon obtaining all key information, the website owner then starts to conduct an email campaign based on its visitors’ responses.
Ultimately, the transactional landing page seeks to turn visitors into clients. This makes it ideal for online-based businesses and professional services.
Who Needs a Landing Page?
Ideally, anyone who owns a business must have a landing page. That is if it wants to venture into the online market. Although it costs businesses $92 to get a lead on average, only 4% of their website visitors are ready to avail of their services.
The question is – how can they convince the remaining 96% to set a partnership with them? This can be done by having a convincing landing page.
Knowing that all businesses are after more customers, all of them equally need their landing pages.
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