A landing page is essentially a standalone page designed to either drive traffic to your website proper or to advertise some sort of targeted promotion. Not meant to be as all-encompassing as a traditional home page, your landing page is much more direct, generally a bit punchier, and with a greater sense of urgency.
So while you’ve created this amazing website, complete with all the bells and whistles, why, you might ask, do we need a landing page as well? When would such a page come in handy? Here’s the skinny on landing pages: an insider’s guide to why in the world you might need one.
Targeted Promotional Messages
Often you will have those users who subscribe to your email list or inquire about a product and/or service, and then simply vanish, never to be seen or heard from again. Maybe you want to create a separate landing page targeting those people who obviously had some interest at one point. Or perhaps you want to create a page that is intended to reaffirm relationships with existing customers. The beauty of the landing page is its flexibility. Because it is not necessarily a direct incarnation of your actual website, you have increased versatility when it comes to your landing page content. You can target different segments of the internet using population and tailor your message accordingly.
Matching Messages
This is a critical one in terms of maximizing your ad spend. Perhaps your current PPC ad is promoting a 25% discount on select items. Intrigued, a user stumbling upon this particular ad, then clicks on the link which takes them to your site. Lo and behold, the home page offers little to no information on this promotion. Frustrated user hastily clicks off thinking that maybe they have been “played.” What the landing page does is give you an opportunity to address this promotion directly. In fact, the whole page can just focus on this particular sale. Now the user, enticed by your ad, feels more confident in your overall credibility and sales language. They subsequently click through—Score one for the landing page!
Where is Everyone Coming from?
Understanding your traffic sources and consequently, how to approach these segments can make a huge difference in overall conversion rates. For instance, users coming from Facebook may have different needs and interests motivating them than those from say a Google Adwords ad. The landing page at which they arrive, should address each segment’s unique needs. Also, this goes a long way toward being able to more effectively message match, as well as helping you to track analytical data.
Making it Easier to Buy
Again, lets return to the idea of that all inclusive home page, the gateway to a comprehensive website. A user arrives at the home page. Already knowing what they want, they begin to scroll through your site trying to pinpoint that desired object. Alas, 3 pages in and they still haven’t quite found what they’re looking for. Or, maybe they found it but just can’t figure out where to go next in order to complete the transaction. Landing page to the rescue. A particularly hot seller for instance, could be the star of its own page! You know people are searching for Product A, and so why not make it super easy to get to and even easier to just click and buy. Navigation simplified, path to purchase made exceedingly clear.
Measure your Marketing Initiatives
Our marketing efforts are constantly evolving (at least they should be). We are wont to try new things, tap into new channels, offer a variety of promotions. But how do we know when something works? How do we know when we’ve struck marketing gold? This is where a landing page can certainly offer the insight you need. Track how effective your strategy is via how many visitors and leads are converting through your landing page. Test one marketing technique against another. Landing pages are great tools for improving your overall marketing prowess.
So how do you go about creating the ideal landing page?
You definitely want to make sure that you have accounted for all of the vital landing page elements, and not only that, you also want to ensure that every single component is perfect. Catchy headlines and sales driven content make up the backbone of any good landing page. A talented freelance copywriter may be just what the doctor ordered in terms of coming up with creative and fine-tuned content designed to convert.
Graphics and images should never be ignored when creating your landing page masterpiece. The sharper and bolder, the better. You have to be able, within the span of the one page, to really grab a user’s attention and make a solid impact on their perception of your company and product offering. This is why enlisting the services of a highly skilled graphic design professional can be invaluable.
And of course, never forget the SEO component of your landing page. Keywords are critical. Making sure that the right format, tags and links are included, even more so. Not necessarily a job for a novice, ensuring that your landing page is optimized is perhaps best left up to a freelance SEO expert.
So where exactly do you find these talented professionals to help you create a stunning and productive landing page for your business…Start with Freelancer.com. Featuring global talent, we can help you find that writer, artist or marketing expert that can take your landing page to the next level.
Post your project and let’s get working!
