A landing page is a standalone web page created specifically to align with a marketing campaign or time-limited offer. The primary goal of a landing page is to get conversions or generate leads, whether it’s to promote a new product, getting prospective customers to make a purchase, sign up for a webinar or event, download information, or any other desired action.
Why can’t I just direct people to my Home Page?
A website Home Page serves as a great first introduction to your company, offering a general overview, inviting users to explore further. It must appeal to a broad audience, including those unfamiliar with your company.
When a user clicks on a specific advertisement, they expect to be directed to a page that provides content that aligns precisely with the promise of the ad. They do not want to be trawling through your website, trying to find your offer.
Home pages are great for general information and sign posting, while landing pages are all about conversions.
Below are four key factors that set a landing page apart from a home page.
One goal or call to action
A landing page should have a single objective, guiding the user towards a specific goal or action.
Minimal Distractions
Superfluous content and unnecessary navigation options should be removed to ensure that the user remains focused on the intended goal.
The aim is to direct your user to a clutter free page dedicated entirely to that specific offer alone.
Messaging
The content and design of a landing page should align precisely with the campaign or advert that led the user to click through to that page ... leaving no room for confusion.
Customised User Experience
Multiple landing pages can be created and tailored to different audiences to provide a highly personalised user experience.
In Short
Sending users to a landing page that aligns with your campaign meets their expectations from the start, keeping them engaged and providing a great user experience.
The better the experience, the higher the conversion rate!
And, the more your ad and landing page align, the more Google will reward you through your Quality Score and cost per click!
It's a WIN WIN!
Now let's take a dive into the component parts that make up a good landing page!
1. Optimise your Meta Description Tags
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This is the part that Google delivers to a user when their search matches whatever you are offering.
While not important to the search engine rankings, meta description tags play a vital role in getting users to click through from their search engine results pages (SERP).
Meta description tags are short paragraphs, ideally around 150-160 characters and are your opportunity to summarise your campaign content and to inform them as to whether a particular page will deliver the information they are looking for. It is therefore an extremely important part of search marketing.
Crafting engaging descriptions, including your most important keywords, can have a dramatic effect on the success of your click-through rates.
2. Match the Headline of the Landing Page to what was clicked
And we mean, make it an exact match. If you don't, then there's a good chance that visitors to your page will leave as quickly as they land!
3. Be Compelling
Spend time putting yourselves in the shoes of the people you want to click on your campaign.
Think about how you want to make them feel and what solution you can provide for them. What would compel them to take action?
4. Write Good Quality Content
You should, of course, include your keywords in your landing page text, but quality content will always win out over quantity.
Use your keywords several times, but make sure they don't sound repetitive or forced.
5. Include Sub-headings and Keep Key Content Above-the-Fold
Sub-headings will allow visitors to quickly grasp what you are offering.
Ask your web developer to make sure you are using H1, H2, H3 tags rather than just using bold to make them stand out. This is helpful to Google and will ultimately be better for you!
Keeping key content 'above-the-fold' (in the top half of the landing page before scrolling becomes necessary), will enhance user experience too.
6. Include Images
Use good quality images and visuals (including infographics and graphs if relevant) to engage visitors, and don't forget to add captions - again, these are helpful to both Google and your visitors.
7. Add Calls to Action
ALWAYS include a really obvious Call to Action (CTA) button such as a 'Download', 'Subscribe', 'Sign Up' etc.
Keep any forms simple and never ask for too much information.
8. Include Customer Reviews and Testimonials
People buy from you once they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you!
Video customer testimonials are what you should be aiming for here, but at the very least, include a written testimonial.
9. Include a Menu
Google rates ease of navigation as part of its Quality Score. So make sure you include a navigation menu in your footer
10. Include a Privacy Statement
By law you should be including a privacy statement anyway, but Google will increase your Quality Score if you do. It needs to be visible, so add it to your footer.
11. Use Alt Tags
Alt tags (also alt attributes or alt text) are invisible descriptions of images.
Alt text helps search engines better understand the content of a web page, which can help improve search engine rankings, as well as helping visually impaired people using screen readers, navigate a web page more easily.
12. Avoid Duplicate Content
Google doesn't like duplicate content. This is because Google only wants to deliver pages with distinctive information.
So avoid copying and pasting content from other areas of your website, however tempted you might be.
13. Ensure Fast Page Loading Times
This is really key. If your page takes too long to load, you will likely lose the visitor to your page. This in turn, will inform Google that your landing page experience is below par and they will penalise you with a low Quality Score.
A good hosting package and help from your website developer should ensure that page loading times are super speedy.
14. Make Your Landing Page Fully Responsive
Google will now only send search from mobile phones to mobile friendly landing pages, so given the huge percentages of people who search on their mobiles, make sure yours is fully responsive. Again, seek help from your website developer.
In Summary
Make sure the content of your Meta Description matches exactly that of your landing page's offer.
Ensure that content is compelling and speaks directly to your customers.
Keep key points above-the-fold.
Display text in bitesize chunks using sub-headings (with correctly formatted heading tags).
Including engaging, good quality images, customer testimonials and prominent, clear Calls to Action buttons.
