Today, almost all businesses have realized that they thrive when their sales are high and this can only happen if they generate potential customers. A quality and properly designed website, along with a well-managed social media profile, can both gain new audiences and strengthen trusting relationships between customers and the company.
The “key”, however, that will open the door to your website visitors and convert them into leads – and subsequently into customers – is the landing page, one of the key components of an online marketing campaign.
What is a Landing Page?
In digital marketing terminology, it is a page that website visitors enter the website, usually by clicking on a link that is either on it or on a social media ad.
It’s called a landing page precisely because users “land” on it through other online destinations (e.g. Facebook or blog post).
As part of an Inbound Marketing strategy, it is used to communicate a message to visitors, encouraging them to fill out a form with their details.
There are two types of landing pages defined by the goals they achieve:
Lead Generation Landing Pages: they use forms as a call-to-action, which collect data (e.g. name, address) that can be used later in the marketing plan. On these pages, the user may also find a text explaining what they can receive in return if they provide their data: participation in a contest, discount on a product, etc.
Clickthrough Landing Pages: used to make direct sales and subscriptions. They can be found on an eCommerce website and usually have a simple button as a call-to-action, which sends the user to a purchase or data entry page for a specific purpose.
Why is it important?
The primary goal of creating a landing page, as we understand it, is to inform users about your product or service and collect their data so they can be converted into your customers.
Therefore, the main reason why landing pages are worth using is because they will help you increase your page conversion rates (Conversion Rate). This is because each page is designed with a unique purpose and can keep up with your target audience.
Furthermore, in case the text which includes a landing page is written based on the logic of SEO tactics, then the appropriate keywords and links will be used to refer to the main web page, thus increasing the traffic to it.
The landing page, still, is ideal for A/B testing that shows what works and what doesn’t. For example, you can compare images, find out which text colors your website visitors like, and prevent ads from being interrupted on a page with a high bounce rate.
It is also a cost-effective marketing action that pays off, as it is a page within a website, which means less creation costs.
Landing Page or Homepage?
Very often, these two pages have similar functions, as both are designed to channel website traffic in one direction.
However, a homepage is less likely to result in a conversion compared to a landing page. This is because the homepage contains a wealth of information and invites users to many different sites. So, a visitor who has a specific goal can easily get confused, as upon reaching it, they are asked to choose from many services and product options.
From all of this we can see that while a homepage directs users to other pages where they can find the information they want, a landing page eliminates the step in between, focusing on a single goal of achievement.
Conclusion
Landing pages are effective and perform better compared to standard pages. In fact, they are a powerful element of a company’s digital marketing strategy, as at every buying stage, from a user’s first contact with the brand to “converting” a lead into a customer, they can help achieve the desired goals.
We therefore recommend having several landing pages on your website to cater to different types of market visitors and experiment until you find your own successful landing page that will help you grow your business.