Why are landing pages important?
Why are landing pages important? What are the main benefits when using a landing page, and when can you use it? What mistakes should you avoid when creating your landing page? Find out below!
What is a landing page?
The landing page is the first page on which an external user “lands“, attracted to the site during certain marketing actions. But to better understand what a landing page is, it is important to describe what this subpage looks like and its purpose.
What does a landing page look like?
A landing page is, to some extent, isolated from the entire site. Specifically, it can be published even in a different domain. This subpage lacks a navigation menu, the conventional footer, and other elements that might distract the user from the main purpose.
We can also see a limited number of elements on this subpage to maximize the efficiency of achieving the landing page’s purpose.
A landing page must meet the following requirements:
- A landing page includes a simple message that you send to your users. It promotes a product, service, or operation and demonstrates all its advantages.
- A landing page should look clear and simple. Please limit yourself to one topic and provide a simple explanation for it. The main goal is to attract users and encourage them to take advantage of your offer and get to know you better.
- A landing page should get visitors to take action.
- A landing page consists of several well-defined sections that convincingly present a topic.
What is the purpose of a landing page?
A landing page’s main purpose is to persuade users to take a certain action, such as registering, purchasing a product, downloading a file, or filling out a form.
Most of the time, it is about generating leads (people interested in a certain product) and turning users into potential customers.
The landing page's second purpose is to improve sales and website performance by providing information about users’ source and intent. Usually, several landing page versions are created for A/B testing, performance measurement, and other actions.
Landing pages: when do you use them?
By definition, a landing page is the first page that a visitor reaches through promotional activities. This is true, but not everyone knows that not every landing page you are redirected to when you click on an ad or promotional link is a good landing page. This part of the article will present some important recommendations for creating a landing web page.
For different promotions.
Business success often depends on finding a balance between reducing costs and increasing profits, between customers from promotional campaigns and obtaining an economic gain. That’s why more and more companies are using A/B testing on landing pages. Tests may include different prices, different page layouts, and different texts. The testing is done to be able to choose the variant with the best conversion rate.
The landing page is an excellent tool to gain knowledge about customers and their preferences. Such a tool allows you to customize the offer according to customer needs without changing the main website every time.
If you use multiple marketing channels.
The Internet provides you with a wide range of channels through which you can attract customers: Facebook, Twitter, Google AdWords, Pinterest, Instagram. But every communication channel is different. Some users use Facebook, some come from Twitter, and some click on AdWords ads or Google search results. For this reason, users of these channels are unlikely to have the same expectations and respond to the same message. Among other things, this is why 75% of companies strive to create content on their sites.
The landing page has a clearly defined purpose. Therefore, it is an ideal tool for attracting users through online ads. The landing page matches the creative message, but there is always a form on this landing page that the user reaches from the creative.
As I said, there is no need to change the whole website or give up the possibility to get various results through different channels. Create a landing page that matches the target group’s bid and preferences for each channel or campaign.
If you use several forms of promotion.
Some buyers prefer free delivery as others prefer a discount that increases with the shopping cart’s value. The best way to identify your target group’s preferences is to A / B test multiple landing pages, including various offers.
When you find out the users’ preferences, a strategy can be applied according to which each campaign will have its own landing page, on which the tests will continue later.
When you want to get customer data.
A / B testing is not performed solely to collect customer data. The landing page is a very effective tool for generating leads. The goal of the landing page is to gather contact information from potential customers rather than sell.
A user who buys and has regular contact with you is worth more than a simple buyer.
Companies that use more elaborate landing pages to gather information from customers collect up to 200% more potential customers than those who do not work as hard to obtain contact information.
What makes a good landing page?
To obtain a landing page to collect the users’ contact data and convince them to do it voluntarily, you need a few elements and continuous testing.
Order and layout.
The main purpose of a landing page is to present a specific product or service. For users to convert, the page should have a simple and intuitive look so that anyone can get to do the targeted action.
A suitable color scheme and high-resolution images that look good regardless of the type of display. The CTA (call to action) and a contact form should be positioned at the top or center of the page. Moreover, all the key elements for conversion should be highlighted by using contrasts. Everything, along with the titles and the most important elements, should look great and attract users’ attention.
Explanatory and concise titles.
The title is either the first thing readers notice when entering a web page. The more accurate the purpose of the page, the easier it will be to understand. To present another aspect of the offer, another subtitle can be used.
Short and to the point.
For marketing purposes, you can ask visitors to fill out a form on the landing page. It should be noted that such forms should be reduced in size. The more fields customers have to fill in, the lower the chances of conversion.
The same goes for the text on a web page. A good landing page is not the place to present its history or a list of the prizes won. It would be best if you focused only on the product or service, and any word and section should be dedicated to them.
Increase confidence.
A good landing page contains elements that will increase customer confidence. Of course, I mean reviews or ratings of the products on your site. Other people’s opinions will be more convincing than any other marketing text.
Know your audience.
What is the target audience of your website: adults, young people, women, men? Different people respond differently to the same elements or color schemes. Usually, women prefer warm colors, while men prefer neutral ones. The design of a landing page depends on how you define your target audience.
What is the best platform for creating and optimizing landing pages?
Several online tools allow you to build your own landing page by using drag-and-drop builders. This is a great way to create a page without having any coding or web design knowledge. Most of the builders come with pre-made templates; this way, you don’t start designing your landing page from scratch.
Here is a list of some of the most popular landing page builders:
What mistakes to avoid when designing a landing page?
The first thing you should do is to optimize your call to action. This is the most important step. After all, your CTA is the reason why you created the landing page in the first place.
So, it would be best if you made your Call-to-action stand out. Choose contrasting colors, use power and catchy words, and make sure you place it above the fold. It has to attract the user’s attention right from the start.
Always, and I mean always, include social proof. People have more confidence when they know someone else already tested a service or product they intend to buy. This is why word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to promote your business.
When creating your landing page’s content, keep things simple and easy to follow. Don’t confuse your users and try to create a linear flow that leads to the CTA. A linear flow will ensure that the user is not getting distracted or presented with unrelated information to what he has read up to that point. If you need a few pointers, check out my writing tips article.
Your content should always address the user and use a friendly tone. This way, the user will realize that the landing page and the service or product you offer is about him. In fact, this is the way it should be. The end goal of your landing page is to collect the user’s contact information so that you can convert him from a lead to a customer.
Final words on why landing pages are important.
A landing page is a useful tool when you want a visitor to perform a certain action. Whether it’s a purchase or a contact, a good landing page can significantly improve your conversion rate. Using it is a great way to capitalize on the effects of marketing!
You don’t need a lot of time or money to create it because you won’t need a graphic designer. Creating a landing page is much easier than creating a regular website. If you want to create a landing page, you can do it without problems using various online services that provide you with landing page builders. With them, you can design landing pages to promote your products or services.