What Is A Landing Page? Learn How to Build One That Converts

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Have you ever wondered how to get more conversions on your advertisements?

Or how to collect emails in the most efficient way possible without a popup on your site? Meet the landing page.

If you want to drive conversions, add one or several of these into your digital marketing strategy.

So…What is a landing page? How do you use it to convert visitors to leads?

What are the best strategies when building a landing page? And what are its benefits? Let’s start with the basics.

10 Uses of a Landing Page

1. To capture emails

First and foremost, they can be used to capture emails.

If you are in the early stages of building your customer base, gathering emails is the perfect place to start.

You can then directly market to these leads with email marketing or you can use this email list to better target customers with social media ads.

2. To collect customer information

We have already talked about how it can act as sources for data collection.

If you want to collect additional information from your leads, consider using a landing page and a form to do so.

You can then use this information to build relationships with them, turning leads into lifelong customers.

3. SEO

Yes, you can use it to boost your SEO. Take this opportunity to get your landing page organically ranking in Google search.

Unlike PPC and running ads on social media, optimizing your page is free.

Want to start ranking? Our team will put together a completely customized strategy for your business.

Contact us today to speak with an SEO specialist.

We got $302,375.59 in revenue generated from organic traffic.

4. PPC

Running ads on Google? Use landing pages! Typically PPC ads direct users to a landing page rather than the companies home page.

This is because they have higher conversion rates.

You will be able to target specific products or promotions so that when…

…someone clicks your ad they are immediately directed to a page that is set up for conversion success.

We were able to generate 74 conversions and almost 8,000 clicks!

 

 

5. To connect with social media ads

Just like building a landing page for Google Ads, building one to link to your social media ads can maximize conversions.

Give users a distraction free page where they can quickly and easily convert or purchase your product.

We used remarketing ad campaigns to target users who had recently visited their website but not yet purchased.

6. As a stand-in website

While you are having your website built by a professional, consider first building a landing page to act as a stand-in website so that…

…you can still capture leads.

Why would you want to do this?

Well, what is it again? It’s where customers land. If you don’t have a website yet where are you supposed to direct customers?

Build a simple landing page to capture leads or provide information in the interim.

Need help building a beautifully designed website? We’ve got you covered!

7. For additional information

Don’t have enough room to say all you need to say on your Facebook ad? Use a landing page to go in to more detail.

Facebook ads can be used to direct users to a landing page that has additional information.

This is where you need to be creative, enticing and maybe even a little witty.

Don’t overwhelm but make sure you are writing copy that will convert your potential leads into customers.

If you get them to the landing page, it’s just one more click until they convert.

8. For special promotions

You can create a new landing page for every ad you are running. Or you can create one for special coupons or promotions.

You could build out a page on your website for a promotion, but don’t you want to track conversions?

A landing page is direct, goal-oriented, and only contains the information that is essential for conversions.

9. For your free trial

Offering a free trial of your product? Use a landing page to make it easier to capture conversions.

Users will only have one option available to them – to start your free trial.

You could have this same page on your website but as a landing page this information is free of distractions like a navigation bar.

It has a clean direct design and it’s easy to measure your conversions.

10. For Ad Congruence

Ad congruence means that your ad looks like the page that it links to.

Instead of completely altering one of your website pages to match your ad, create a landing page that looks just like it.

You can use the same image, style, colors and content of your ad.

It’s important that your ads look similar to their landing pages so that users get the sense that they are in the right place.

It also makes the transition from ad to web page smooth.

This transition is an indication of what the user might experience as a customer to your business, so you want it to be hassle-free.

What is a Landing Page?

So what are landing pages, exactly? In order for us to answer this question we’ll begin with what it’s not. A landing page is not a home page for your site.

Home pages welcome customers to your website and encourage them to look around and browse whatever products or services you offer.

Home pages also have navigation bars, links to other pages on your site and can have several call to action buttons.

A landing page has one purpose – which is to make a sale or capture a lead.

It is a single page used in digital advertising so that potential customers have a page to land on after they click an ad or post.

Landing pages don’t link to other pages on your site and typically do not include a navigation bar.

You do not want to distract potential customers with additional links because your goal is to make sure they convert.

And you want them to convert on that landing page right then and there.

There are two types of landing pages: reference landing pages and transactional landing pages.

Reference landing pages provide information to the potential customer. They might include a summary of the product or service.

If you are using a transactional landing page, you want users to provide contact information and make a purchase.

Typically with these pages, you would withhold information until the user provides their email or other information beneficial to you.

For example, once a customer completes this form they will receive a free ebook (something valuable to them).

The goal of this page is to gather information about these customers and get them to complete the action of downloading the ebook.

These pages can aid advertisements by providing additional information you couldn’t provide in the ad.

Collect data on your potential customers, generate leads and more!

Strong first impressions are key.

Components of a Landing Page & How to Build One

There are sites that offer landing page templates but more often than not you will want this page to stand out and look professional.

What is a landing page template? It is essentially a basic page skeleton for you to edit.

If you want to be unique and stand out, then consider building a custom page with personal touches.

Or you can have one of our professionals build it for you.

A high-quality landing page that will convert leads has several major components that are similar to what you would see on a web page.

• Headlines

You should start with a headline that grabs your user’s attention.

This is perhaps the most important part of your landing page as it sets the stage for the rest of the content. Without a headline your page will fall flat.

It should be the biggest font on your page so that it stands out from the rest of your content.

Make sure your font is not all the same size. It’s so important to have hierarchy within any web page, especially a landing page.

The headline here is “Get access to 85% of my best business hacks.” As you can see it’s the largest text on the page.

It leads the reader in to entering their email and then some additional text that explains what information you will have access to once you provide your email.

Another excellent component of this landing page is that they have included a testimonial.

Not only does this give some insight into what kind of person Noah is but it also gives the potential lead an extra push.

The majority of the time a customer makes a decision before they even get to your site by reading reviews and testimonials.

• Sub Text

Some landing pages have text under their headline that acts as a second hook to grab the user.

It further explains the headline and encourages users to convert.

Noah’s sub text is on point. Users will learn “exactly” how he started 2 multi-million dollar businesses.

He even includes humor by saying users will learn where to find the best tacos in the world.

His sub text is short, to the point and doesn’t give away too much information.

This is key. If he told users how he started his business or even gave a hint, people may be less likely to convert.

• Copy

Your copy should be relatively short but it should fully explain the benefits of your product or service.

You can write out a bulleted list or a summary of your benefits.

Shopify does a great job keeping it simple.

They have three benefits that are short and to the point but also have additional information if the user wants to read more about what they have to offer.

Notice that these are three strong benefits of Shopify. You can customize your site for a low price and the company is trusted by people worldwide.

When writing out your benefits, choose the most marketable ones.

You want a potential lead to read your benefits and believe that they can’t live without your product or service.

• Forms

Some landing pages just have a place for users to enter their emails but some have longer forms for users to fill out.

If you are wanting to gather additional information you will need to make sure you are not overwhelming people with questions.

If your form is too long, you risk losing conversions.

Think about what information is essential and what you can do without.

If you do need to gather a bunch of information consider a shorter form and then following up with an email asking additional questions.

This way you capture your lead and then have their information to follow up.

• Image or Video

What is a landing page if it doesn’t include some type of visual? Probably not very successful.

Humans are visual and giving them a photo of your product, service or just an eye catching image might keep them on the page long enough to pique their curiosity.

Check out this landing page from Slack. They have a witty headline that’s complemented by a video so that potential leads can see how Slack works.

The trick here is you have to have a professional video that showcases your product or service.

High-quality content builds trust with potential customers. Ensure all of your content is created professionally by hiring a team of experts.

• Social links

Never miss an opportunity to promote your social media channels. Put them everywhere you can, seriously.

Maybe that potential customer doesn’t convert but ends up following you on Facebook or Instagram and then converting later.

Although your goal here is to get conversions, your landing page can double as a way to gain followers as well!

• Call To Action

Your call to action should be bold and catchy.

Typically this is a button on your landing page that users click either to subscribe or go on to purchase your product.

Dollar Shave Club has a simple landing page complete with a video but their call to action is “DO IT” – not your average run of the mill “subscribe” or “sign up”.

It’s big, bold and flows really nicely with their branding.

Call to Action Sample that we created to our client.

• Your Logo

Don’t forget your logo! Brand recognition should be a number one priority for any company.

Even though the goal of a landing page is to obtain conversions you should always be focused on brand recognition, awareness, and consistency.

Imagine someone has seen your logo before but you don’t include it on your landing page.

That person clicks through to your landing page but doesn’t recognize your company name so they’re unsure if they want to convert.

If your logo had been on your landing page, they might have recognized your brand and decided to convert.

• Updated Design

Just like any website or page you create on the web, it is crucial that you have an updated page that fits in with current design trends.

A landing page has one goal which is to capture conversions.

Outdated web pages look like spam. And if you are trying to get customers to convert, then the last thing you want to do is resemble spam.

This landing page is slightly suspicious looking. It gives off the vibe of old school windows and is in need of a serious update.

When you are creating your landing pages ask yourself, “Would I put my information or email into this contact form?”

If the answer is no, then you need to rethink your design.

Below, you’ll see the landing page for Night Notes.

It’s an app that helps you focus on taking notes at night, has a simple but effective design that looks current and isn’t cluttered with unnecessary information.

Their use of dark colors helps tell their brand story.

Their logo is present along with a screenshot of their app so that users can get a glimpse into what they will be seeing if they download it.

What Is a Landing Page Split Test?

Can you split test a landing page? Of course you can!

A split test is when you create two versions of a web page, advertisement or email and test them against each other.

Try a different layout of your content, change the color of your call to action button, or interchange images to see which one receives more conversions.

If you are creating a landing page for a special deal or promotion and it won’t be used again in the future you probably don’t want to waste time split testing.

However, if you know you will have similar promotions in the future you can try split testing this promotion and use your data to improve future landing pages.

Benefits of a Landing Page

A landing page can be highly beneficial for your business. They are quick to set up and allow you to directly market to leads.

• Ease of Set up

Landing pages are relatively easy to set up. You aren’t building an entire website, just one page.

There are websites dedicated to building drag and drop landing pages so even a novice can do it.

The difficult part of landing pages is writing the content.

Luckily, you know a digital marketing team that can do all of this for you so you don’t have to. Contact one of our consultants today to learn more.

• Easy to Measure

When it comes to measuring data, it can be difficult to understand exactly what is going on with all of the different analytics.

Landing page analytics are fairly simple to decipher. You will want to pay attention to three simple metrics:

1. bounce rate
2. dwell time
3. conversion rate

Your bounce rate will tell you how many people left your page and didn’t convert. Dwell time tells you how long someone spent viewing your page.

Conversion rate simply tells you how many leads actually completed the action you wanted them to on your page.

With these metrics you can gain insight into how successful your page is.

• Additional Information

Landing pages can provide additional information that you might not have space for in your ads.

You don’t want your ads to be too long but you want to make sure a customer has all of the information they need in order to feel good about making a purchase.

If you can fit all the benefits of your product or service in your ad, create a landing page.

• Direct Sales

What is a landing page again? It’s a direct sale with no distractions.

Direct marketing is a key strategy in your digital marketing campaign. When a customer lands on your page they are only given one option.

You are making it easy for them by getting rid of other products or services that you might sell to focus on just one.

Once you capture that lead you can take it a step further and continue your direct marketing with email.

• Building Relationships

What is the benefit that tops them all?

Building relationships with leads! If you collect emails you can now market to these warm leads and nurture them through your sales funnel.

Lead nurturing is an important part of the marketing process, but it takes a carefully crafted strategy to succeed.

Building a relationship means building trust.

As leads learn more and more about your company and the benefits you can provide to them, they’ll learn to trust you and be more likely to convert.

Landing Page Best Practices

Landing pages can show users the value of your product or service the first time they engage with your brand.

They are also a way to directly market to users and to capture leads.

In order to have a successful landing page you will need to write copy that converts and set one goal (and only one goal) that you want to accomplish.

Creating your own conversion focused landing page can be difficult to get right if you lack experience. If you are unsure, don’t chance it.

An experienced social media management company can help you set up your digital marketing campaign, track your ROI and make your life a whole lot easier.

Look no further for that company and stop asking what is a landing page? We have all the answers you need. Contact us today for a free consultation.