What’s a Landing Page, and Why is it Important?

As someone who has done marketing for a number of industries for a good chunk of a decade, I’m never surprised when I learn something new. Things in this industry are constantly being developed or evolving—it’s part of the fun of being in marketing! One thing I learned about recently was an SEO tool called landing pages—and it blew my mind. 

What is a landing page?

A landing page in its most basic form is a standalone web page that potential customers can “land” on when they click through from an email, ad or other digital location. many landing page’s goal is to encourage a specific action from the visitor, such as capturing contact information, in exchange for something of value. These are different from other web pages in that they don’t necessarily live in the visible navigation (menu) of a website. They serve a specific purpose in a specific moment of an advertising campaign to a target audience.

Wait, it isn’t the home page?

Nope, though those words are sometimes used interchangeably. On a typical home page, you’ll find many links in a navigational menu, footer and content. If a landing page is done well, you’ll find fewer links—or possibly just one. Another big difference is your audience. When people arrive on a home page, they typically don’t know what they want, whereas those who come to a landing page have already shown interest in what you offer.

So why do I need a landing page?

Great question! Two typical reasons for creating landing pages are lead generation and calls to action. There are many others, but we are going to look at the top two to get us started.

• Lead Generation: These pages are used to collect information about your customers like phone numbers or email addresses. If you are starting an email campaign but you don’t know how to gather the information, a landing page could serve as an excellent tool. Not only will the data you collect for your email campaign help that promotion, you’ll also learn more about your customer base so you can better focus your marketing efforts—leading to an increased return on investment (ROI).

• Call to Action: Unlike the first example, the main purpose of call to action (CTA) pages are the actual buttons or links. If you are offering a class and you want people to know more and sign up,  the “Sign Up Today” button should probably gogo a landing page where they can learn more about the class and register. The information potential customers share with you while gathering more information about your event can also be used to give them the best customer experience.

Bottom Line

The end-all-be-all answer to why use landing pages is you’re driving more traffic to your website which will give you a higher search ranking on Google. This means you show up higher on the list and people don’t have to go to Page 2 just to find you. Every promotion you run or every event you host should have a killer landing page working for you. These pages give your company more credibility, they reinforce your brand and they show you want a clear understanding of your audience.

If you have no idea where to start, let our dedicated web design and marketing teams assist you with landing page creation and content. Let’s chat!