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Table of contents
• What is a landing page
• Rules for creating a landing page
• Landing page length
• Landing page analytics
• Mistakes when creating landing pages
• How to begin creating a landing page
What are landing pages
Landing pages are a popular Internet marketing tool for promoting goods and services. This can be a specially designed page of a large website or an independent one-page resource, the purpose of which is to “land” traffic. A landing page is created to increase conversion, increase traffic and brand or product recognition: by using landing pages correctly, you can achieve set results in a short time.
It is impossible to understand what is a landing without understanding the principles of Internet marketing. There is a concept of a target action, after completing which an ordinary user turns into a lead - a potential client. The target action can be any:
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subscription to the newsletter;
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click on the “Order” button;
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call the specified phone number;
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registration on the site, etc.
Landing page is a page completely tailored to perform a target action. Each element on it seems to encourage the user to place an order: a bright, attention-grabbing picture, a short and catchy selling text, a play on human perception.
As a rule, a landing page is a one-page website on which all the information necessary for a purchase or order is presented in a short and attractive form. Specialists who create landing pages must have a good understanding of human psychology: even the arrangement of elements on the page affects landing page performance by a lot.
You need to remember right away: one landing page - one product. If a product is offered in different regions or with different presentations, you will need to make several landing pages for it (most companies do this). Not to mention if there is more than one product.
Landing pages are divided into several types depending on what is offered on them:
Product. A popular type of landing page is one offering to buy a product. It is aimed at making the visiting user want to purchase what the landing page advertises. Such a page must contain information about what is being sold and under what conditions, characteristics and photographs are provided, and there is a “Buy” button. This is a kind of extended version of a product card from an online store, only with more advertising and motivating.
Service. Service landing pages are even more common. The essence is similar to the previous type, but instead of a product, a service is offered. Anything: from cleaning to legal support for business. The principle of presentation is the same as in the previous case, with its own characteristics: the product is not bought, but ordered, and we need to talk not about the characteristics, but about the conditions and features of the provision.
Subscription. This type is often used by online services that sell content or educational materials. The target action is not to buy or order a product, but to subscribe to news or newsletters. For the user, such a landing page is more attractive: he does not have to spend money, just subscribe, spending a few seconds of his time. For the company, every new subscriber is a potential client, already loyal and interested. You can convert him into an active client by luring him in the mailing list with an advantageous offer, discount or promotion. Various bonuses will help convince people to sign up: people find it difficult to resist the prospect of getting something for free, so you can offer them an interesting gift.
Brand. A rather rare type of landing page, aimed not at selling a specific product, but at recognizing it. Typically, such landing pages are created by large and well-known companies. For example, mobile phone manufacturers producing landing pages with information about new models, or automobile concerns. Such a page does not have a specific target action: it only informs about new and current products and displays them in a favorable light. There is no point in creating such pages for a little-known company.
Rules for creating a landing page
A competent landing page meets certain standards. They are based on the characteristics of the human psyche and are selected in such a way as to motivate the user to make a decision and order the product.
Offer. There must be one. If you offer several products and services at once, the effect will be much worse: the user will begin to switch attention between different options and eventually lose interest. Therefore, you cannot focus your landing page on several targeted actions. Only one thing, otherwise the person will get confused and won’t do anything at all. If there are several products or targeted actions, you need to create your own landing page for each option. This is more effective, especially since from a technical point of view there is nothing complicated in creating a landing page.
Design. Bright colors, laconic lines, thoughtful arrangement of elements - the appearance of the page should be attractive and interesting. A faded and boring design will not attract anyone. But be careful not to overload the page: too colorful a design (for example, an abundance of flashy red) will only scare people away. Don't use outdated elements and don't be afraid to experiment with shapes and design solutions. An almost mandatory condition is seamlessness.
Text. The so-called selling texts for landing pages are a separate area in copywriting. The prices are higher there: a copywriter must be able to write sharply, enticingly and concisely. Length is not important - presentation and motivation are important. Like any text content, landing page content should:
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be unique;
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do not contain errors;
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not to be over-optimized;
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present information in a competent and structured manner;
attract;
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contain keywords.
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The latter is not always relevant for a landing page: landing pages are often promoted using contextual advertising rather than SEO. But this channel will not be superfluous.
Information. It would be a good idea to briefly talk not only about the product and service, but also about the company. Users trust more those who provide information about themselves: an organization that they know nothing about will not inspire trust and desire to buy something. It is better to place the information in a place where the visitor will definitely see it.
Arguments. Competent argumentation will help convince the user to buy a product or order a service. You need to tell the person why this purchase is a profitable decision: describe the benefits, tell him what he will receive thanks to the order. But it is better not to practice direct comparison with competitors: this violates the law on advertising.
Accents. It is better to highlight important details of the text, a button for performing a target action, and other areas that should attract attention with separate design elements. You can point to the button with an arrow, enclose the key benefits in a frame: let the user immediately notice what you want to show him.
Reviews. For service pages, a block with reviews is almost mandatory; in product pages it is also often used. You can order texts or take real ones, providing links to the authors and editing the grammar. The user, having visited the page, will see what real people think about the product or service, and will feel more trust in the company.
Bonuses. A good technique is to promise a person a special advantageous offer if he agrees to place an order. People are interested in getting something for free, be it a consultation, a gift with a purchase, a webinar or an online course - choose a bonus depending on the topic of the landing page, take into account the needs and desires of your target audience.
"Before and after". Services and products whose effect is associated with a change in appearance are perfectly advertised through comparison. For example, an aesthetic medicine clinic may show photographs of clients before and after cosmetic procedures, with their consent, of course. And cleaning companies can compare the interiors of clients’ rooms before and after the intervention.
Restrictions. A simple and at first glance boring, but still relevant technique is to report a limited offer. Many people use a countdown timer: located at the top of the page, it shows how much time is left until the end of the promotion. Slowly passing seconds have a psychological effect on the user: he begins to rush, afraid of missing out. Even if the period is quite long (one day or three days), the method still works, increases conversion and works as additional motivation.
Call to action. The rules for composing any advertisement say: at the end you need a call to action. All the previous text warmed up and motivated the user, trying to interest him in the product. If he has a desire to place an order, this desire must be secured. The appeal should be bright, interesting, not too long and unconventional. It’s quite simple to compose: use the imperative mood, try to shorten it if it’s too long. When used correctly, this is a very effective and catchy technique. It sends a “buy ASAP” signal to the user rather than adding interest.
Form. Whatever the target action, in order to perform it, a form is needed. The easiest way is with subscription pages: it is enough for the user to indicate an email or phone number. In the case of goods and services, more information is needed. There are rules for creating forms: they are very easy to overload and confuse the user.
The fewer fields, the better. This is an axiom. The ideal option is if there is only one, but this is not always feasible. You can simply ask a person to indicate his phone number so that a specialist will contact him, but another danger lurks here: not everyone likes telephone conversations.
The most commonly used option is “name and email address”. Further communication takes place via email. The name is needed for personalization, so that the manager can immediately contact the client personally, and the letter does not feel template.
Landing page length
You can come across several opinions. Some say that the landing page should be short, others say that the length is not important. In practice, there are landing pages of different sizes. Everything depends primarily on the features of the product: a story about a fountain pen can be packed into 2-3 screens, but a comprehensive business support service will have to be described much longer.
A good tip here is to look at your competitors, how long their landing pages are and what information they put there.
This doesn't just work for length. There is an unspoken rule in Internet marketing: websites and landing pages of the same topic should be structurally similar to each other so as not to confuse the user.
If a person is used to having a specific product sold on short pages with a “Buy” button at the top, a long landing page with a form at the bottom will confuse him.
Lading Page Analytics
After creating a landing page, you shouldn’t expect traffic to flow to it on its own. Most often, landing pages are promoted using contextual advertising, and SEO is used less often: search engine optimization is better suited for large sites. The results need to be checked regularly: where visitors come from, how much time they spend on the page, what section they reach, how often they place an order, what is the bounce rate. All this information will help you quickly track and correct errors and increase conversion.
Mistakes when creating landing pages
Proper development of a landing page and its content is quite a complex matter, and many people encounter shortcomings. Most often people make mistakes like this:
• choosing the wrong audience. For example, they target the landing page at young people, while the product is more often purchased by representatives of the older generation;
• incorrect information. Users are very sensitive to deception. If the information is not true, your company will be disappointed, and negative reviews spread quickly on the Internet;
• overloaded the design. The design should be bright and interesting, but not heavy. If the landing page is difficult to navigate or its design distracts from the text, small font or flashy colors strain the eyes, the user will simply leave without purchasing anything;
• the text is written incorrectly. Landing pages are contraindicated in heavy designs, clerical clutter, and complex sentences. Errors are unacceptable, just like irrelevant mumble.
How to begin creating a landing page
Analyzing competitors’ websites and searching for competent performers will help you create a high-quality landing page. You can order a landing page from professionals or, if you have the skills, use a platform like Wordpress, Wix or Ucraft to create it from scratch on your own.
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