Online marketing is every business owner’s best friend if you do it correctly. Once you take your business online, you’ll require a strong marketing strategy to raise awareness about your brand and promote it to a larger audience across different channels. A great tool to promote your brand is landing pages, which possess enormous power to enhance your conversions.
A landing page builder allows you to customize the landing pages to target your audience and guide them through your sales funnel. In this article, we’ll know what exactly is a landing page and see its features, best practices, and a lot more.
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What is a Landing Page?
A landing page in digital marketing is a standalone web page that is designed specifically for marketing and advertisement campaigns. Visitors land on the page after they click on a link they received via email, ads on Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other similar places on the web.
Once a user lands on a landing page, they will be encouraged to take action, which includes buying a product or joining your list. Once the user takes the desired action, your landing page has succeeded in converting them. Landing pages are a pivotal part of every content strategy to convert more traffic and increase conversions.
Landing pages are suited for digital ad campaigns as well as useful tools when you connect a QR code on print marketing materials for a specific page. It is this focus that has made landing pages one of the best options to increase conversion rates and lower the cost of acquiring leads or sales.
What is the Difference Between a Landing Page and a Homepage?
Landing pages and homepages can be differentiated based on a handful of things. I’ve listed them below.
- Links- A well-optimized landing page has one or two links that are designed for users to convert and increase sales. They have fewer distractions and make users take the call to action. That is why experts make use of dedicated landing pages for the destination of their traffic. A typical homepage has at least 10 links, and it has a navigational menu at the top of the footer, and many in the page’s content.
- CTAs- A landing page has 1 goal, and they are tailored CTAs, for example, download your free eBook. A homepage, on the other hand, has broader CTAs as it introduces your business and servers to other corners of your site.
- Audience and purpose- Users that end up on a landing page are already interested in what they are offering. These users have ventured deep into the customer journey and are ready to convert more efficiently. People that are visiting your homepage haven’t decided what they want. It shows off your brand and allows people to explore a range of products and additional information about the company and its values. Here, the visitor can go anywhere from applying for a job, review of terms, posting on community boards, and much more.
Types of Landing Pages
There is a lot of variation when it comes to a landing page, as it depends on the specifics of your business. However, there are two main types of archetypal landing pages defined by their goals.
1. Lead Generation landing pages
A lead generation landing page focuses on collecting lead data using a form as their call to action. Also called as lead capture or lead gen pages, this form will allow users to collect the data of leads, like the names and email addresses of the visitors. You can also ask for more specific details like their age or job title. This is a great way to nurture their interest in your business.
The data also serves a broader purpose to collect information and learn about your contacts. With this data, you can focus your marketing efforts and target specific people who are more likely to convert. This is great to increase your ROI if you are running paid advertising campaigns. Using this, you can improve your marketing strategy to make it more efficient.
If lead nurturing is a priority for you, like that for eCommerce brands, then you can use these pages for list-building, offering free shipping and special deals as well.
2. Click-through landing pages
A click-through landing page uses CTA buttons compared to forms in lead gen pages. Clicking the button will redirect the user to a page where they will complete a desired action. For example, schedule a demo, which will direct you to a schedule page, or order X now. This will easily redirect you to the checkout page and so on.
They are frequently used by eCommerce and SaaS marketers, so the clickthrough pages go straight for sales or subscriptions rather than collecting user information. Apart from the CTA button, they have landing pages that include persuasive information like user testimonials or product descriptions to efficiently intrigue and engage your prospective customers.
Benefits of Landing Pages
A landing page is different from other pages as they help focus on short-term and specific goals so that you get the desired results you want. In this section, we’ll look at factors that will make landing pages indispensable.
1. Increase leads and conversions
Having a dedicated target page is critical to provide value upfront. This is great to encourage new visitors to provide information in exchange for tangible rewards. The information helps generate leads for your business and increase your conversions. These pages focus more on conversion rather than providing education and information. However, you can highlight educational features to get a targeted audience that is interested in your offerings.
2. Additional insights into the target audience
When you create landing pages with segmented offers, you can efficiently track topics and convert them at the highest rate. This is a great tool to find valuable insights based on your audience’s interests. Use the data you collect from the landing pages to create a targeted and personalized marketing strategy.
3. Grow your email subscriber list
From the content offered on your landing page, you can ask users to provide their names and email. This is a great way to grow your email list quickly and segment it to create a personalized follow-up email.
Those who have filled out the form have most likely shown an interest in what you have to offer. This ensures your subscriber list is filled with high-quality leads. You can further nurture this by setting up thank you emails and offering additional resources based on the content they’ve shown interest in.
4. Boost credibility and brand value
Users appreciate clear and simple messaging that explains the value you are offering. A great landing page shows your customers that you have their best interests in mind. Here, you can insert testimonials about your product as social proof, which can increase conversions. Overall, landing pages are a great tool to boost your credibility and brand value.
5. Increase your traffic
If lead generation isn’t your main goal, landing pages will allow you to increase website traffic to enhance your brand awareness. Further, it allows potential customers to learn more about your business, optimizing its SEO and traffic.
6. Landing pages are testable
Landing pages offer a fantastic opportunity to test and offer creative designs to see which visuals work and copy them for your target audience. Testing a landing page has lower risks compared to making major design changes for your blog or website.
How to Drive More Traffic to Your Landing Pages
A big challenge faced by businesses is driving and attracting traffic to their landing page. Below listed are some avenues to grow the traffic on a landing page.
1. Paid Search Traffic
Most search engines offer paid advertising on them. When someone looks up something, these ads will appear, but not very clearly marked in search results. These ads are prepared and paid for by the marketer compared to other pay-per-click ads. Make sure that people who click on it are charmed by your copy. The ads have targeted people based on their search, demographics, or interest in their browsing history. When you create an ad on search engines like Google, you can choose where the link will take your visitors.
2. Social media
Social media is a prominent platform to engage with a target audience and promote your landing page. May it be Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest, you can create posts having a link to your landing page.
On social media, you can easily run ads on social channels that will target people and communities who are interested in your brand, even if they are not in the market yet. Each social media channel has its specific characteristics that help add your own appeal. For example, Instagram works well for those working with products and lifestyle brands, while LinkedIn is preferred by B2B advertisers working in specific industries.
3. Email campaigns
Email is a great choice if you want an effective marketing channel due to its enormous reach at low costs compared to other platforms. If you manage to nail the email subject line, layout, visuals, and copywriting, then your landing page will give you a noticeable boost in incoming visits. A powerful combination of emails and landing pages offers a good solution to nurture existing relationships with your customers while also acquiring new users.
4. Organic search traffic
Organic search traffic is basically the visitors that come to your website from an unpaid source-like from Google, Bing search results, and SERPs, when you create compelling and legitimately useful content for your website on landing pages. This will ensure that your business appears more frequently in related searches. The higher your content ranks better are its chances of conversion.
Optimizing the landing pages for Google search ranking allows you to rank higher and reach the right people. You will have to do some primary research on keyword SERPs to find the best fit for your landing page using SEO tools.
SEO is not quick, and you need to sweat and effort to get sustained attention. Over time the landing page will maintain SEO authority as more people visit it.
Best Practices to Create a Landing Page
You want landing pages to be well-oiled conversion machines, but most importantly, you design them for search engines. Keep in mind these best practices to create the most effective one for your business. Here are some best practices to your boost your landing page to optimize them for conversions.
1. Find a page builder
To create a landing page, you want to start exploring a landing page builder – we’ll talk more about some of the best landing page examples. It is ideal to find a landing page builder that is simple to use so users have a shorter learning curve. This will allow you to be able to produce landing pages more efficiently.
I would recommend drag and drop builders like Unbounce or Leadpages that help speed up your workflow. Also, select a platform that would minimize navigation, maximize readability, maintain consistency, simplify actions, target specific markets, and offer the best features.
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2. Use landing page templates
After you have selected the right software to base your landing page, you can select the right templates that can suit your business. Landing pages are a great place to experiment, so you can expect a better user experience with a higher conversion rate. Utilizing the A/B testing, you can test its formats, headlines, designs, and CTAs that work best.
3. Communicate value
It is critical for any landing page you design to be effective in communicating the value you provide to visitors in exchange for contact information. You will want to include a form that visitors will fill out in exchange for the offer you are promoting on the landing page.
What makes a Landing Page Effective?
A good landing page should be as smooth as silk so it catches the traffic that your marketing campaign will pitch to the audience. This will mean that the landing page you create should be catered to the specific traffic you want to catch. For example, if your marketing campaign mentions a course, then it’ll be better if a course is only content that is mentioned on the landing page. This way, people won’t be confused by what they are receiving when they share their contact while registering to the landing page.
Since the landing page is only targeting the people who are interested in the specific course, it offers exclusive information that elaborates on a topic that your audience cares about. This allows you to convert a higher percentage of website visitors into leads and follow this by creating a lead nurture campaign. Here are some important elements you want to implement to allow landing pages to get your business closer to its goals.
1. Easy and intuitive navigation
The first and most important thing necessary for the functioning of a great landing page is getting the best navigation. Create a straight path to the landing page, allowing you to get the desired action and remove any unnecessary links. You can also remove the navigation bar, and ideally, the CTA button should be the only link. If there are other links that should be on the page, then they must be as little as possible. This helps focus on the content that you are offering.
2. Create valuable content offers
If you have a valuable offer, it is natural that your visitors will give you their contact information in exchange for information. See that your offer is compelling to your audience, and ensure that your landing page demonstrates that value. A great way to show value is to put the image of the product that they will receive directly on the page.
3. Make your content shareable
Ensure that your content can be easily shared. Sharing your content is a novel way to market your landing page. All your potential leads are connected with each other, and you might also want what you are offering. Once the pages are shared, you tap into a larger network. Not only this, but it also boosts the traffic you get and enhances your overall search engine rankings.
4. Focused communication
You might think that you should create a catch-all landing page that talks about your online course, eBook, and newsletter on a single page; however, this is not ideal.
People that are visiting your landing page should look for a particular offer, and it should match the communication they saw before they clicked on the link of the landing page. Try a headline that will grab a reader’s attention and tell them they are in the right place to either download or get the product. A short copy with bullet points will help communicate your point better.
5. Succint copy and lead forms
The longer time your landing page and form take more will the friction you have with the lead-generation process. Keep your lead form short, which allows you to increase your conversion rate. A pro tip will be to put as many contact fields as you have in the same line shortening the height of the lead-capture form to help enhance your overall performance.
6. Tracking and analytics
It is one thing to know the number of visits that you get for your page, but another thing to learn where the visitors came from. You need to gather this information about your landing page to optimize your marketing campaign and generate more leads. If your email campaign is getting you more leads, then it is a good idea to focus on what is performing well instead of fixing everything at once.
7. Maximize readability and maintain consistency
Long chunks of text will bore people and distract them from the original goal. Make your text short, sweet, and skimmable to grab your audience’s attention. Ensure that every word serves a specific purpose and brings it directly to the eyes of your customer. Don’t make it too creative with the content on the landing page, but make it straightforward.
Apart from readability, what is important is consistency in its messaging and design. To prevent confusion, ensure that the content of your marketing asset matches that of your landing page. Additionally, ensure that the branding and formatting of your landing page should coordinate with your site’s homepage. This will let your audience move seamlessly through the marketing funnel with minimal distraction.
8. Make your CTAs prominent
A landing page should include CTAs that stand out in the market. To achieve this, ensure that you utilize clear and direct language with a CTA button, which contrasts visually from the background. You can place the button across multiple places so visitors will no longer need to hunt for it.
9. Simplify actions and focus on the customer
Ensure that the actions you’re expecting a reader to take are simplified. You don’t have to scare people with long time-consuming forms as people will be a bit concerned with sharing their information. Generally, you should consider only asking for an email address and find out more information later. Also, ensure that the content on the page focuses more on the reader rather than your company. Instead of praising your business, tell them how it can benefit the customer.
10. Constant improvement
You may spend days, weeks, and even an entire quarter developing a perfect marketing campaign for your landing page. Don’t let this hard work go to waste, so ensure you can convert more leads into customers. Choose a landing page builder that lets you test it and see what works best for your business. Also, consider using some landing tool integrations to enhance its overall functionality and performance.
Examples of a Landing Pages
1. Unbounce
Unbounce is a drag and drop landing page builder designed to create beautiful and highly converting landing pages to run successful campaigns. Its builder interface can be slightly overwhelming at first glance, but it is simple to understand, and every widget, element, or button is added with the purpose to build the best landing page possible.
The builder gives you great insights into your leads and offers everything you need to convert them into sales. Unbounce is a great platform that provides visitors with the information they need but also lets them know about some aspects they didn’t know until they landed on the site. All in all, you can say Unbounce is actually a written book to create high-converting landing pages.
Why does its landing page work
- Up to the point- Its landing page is to the point and doesn’t have much clutter. The two CTA buttons make visitors try it out and see how things work.
- Speed and performance- Unbounce takes speed seriously and has put a lot of effort into ensuring that pages load in a few minutes. From the hosting setup to image optimization, all is covered with it. Further, you no longer have to mess with server configurations or figure out which plugin is slowing you down, as Unbounce has got you sorted.
- A/B testing- Unbounce allows you to duplicate your page variants and split the traffic within a few clicks. This is helpful in understanding which page will get higher conversions.
- Visual interface- The interface of the landing page is simple, and the smiling face with minimalistic colors makes the entire thing appealing to customers.
2. Shopify
The Shopify free trial landing page is a great mission to get you to sign up with it. The page keeps things simple, and it is not text-heavy but still manages to persuade users by noting a few points about the product. It has one CTA button on the whole page, and it shows up again at the bottom. The double CTA is an effective strategy to keep things very simple and effective. This allows visitors to know that Shopify is an all-in-one platform that is easy to use and trusted by many.
Why does its landing page work
1. Clean interface- The intuitive interface with a user-oriented headline is just a few words. The page makes use of simple graphics and short paragraphs to communicate efficiently its details and benefits.
2. Concise CTA- The landing page has a few fields which you need to fill out before you get started. All this makes it easier to quickly start selling online using it.
3. DoorDash
In some cases, the key to designing a successful landing page is the execution of messaging. Testament to this notion is the DoorDash landing page, which is designed to secure high conversion rates. Instead of customers, it is geared towards the dashers who make these deliveries.
Why does its landing page work
1. Highlights potential earnings- The earnings that are shown on the page make it very enticing. Though you cannot prove them to be typical, they will attract people who want to make cash on the side.
2. Emphasize Dasher Autonomy- It plays up dashers that they are independent and free to work whenever they want.
4. Muzzle
Muzzle is a Mac app that helps silence on-screen notifications. Their landing page fully embraces the show, don’t tell mentality of their minimal landing page. They put a clear communication to your value proposition rather than confronting visitors with a very common problem the app solves. In this way, customers can decide whether the product is worth their time and energy.
Why does its landing page work
- Show what it does rather than tell- Visitors who land on the page are greeted with a rapid-fire onslaught of embarrassing notifications. The animations are very hilarious but also convey the app’s usefulness without giving any lengthy descriptions.
- Smooth visual experience- The text on the page is of gray color and mirrors the function of the product offering a sight to withhold.
5. Webflow
Webflow is a design tool that helps web developers pack a lot of information into a single GIF. It keeps things to the point, as with a Muzzle, it demonstrates what this tool can do instead of just talking about it. The animated GIF is at the bottom of the frame of the website, so users can see how it works and sign up for it.
Why does its landing page work
1. Eliminates risk- In several places on landing pages, visitors are told that the service is free and there is a trial to sign up for. Users can easily build their site for free and decide whether they want to sign up for a plan once they are ready to launch.
2. Show rather than tell- Webflow’s tool in action allows you to give potential customers a clear idea of what it does and tell you about your user experience.
6. Talkspace
Talkspace is an online therapy service that ensures that you work on trustworthiness with the landing page. The friendly face talking on the phone ensures that the information on the page emphasizes that customers can share their information in a secure and confidential way. This is great to reassure those who might be hesitant to participate. There are also services for different age groups, so you can offer a customized offering to individuals. Overall, its layout is clean, informative, and inviting.
Why does its landing page work
- Build trust- Talkspace focuses on customer security, and the friendly face ensures that people will be compliant and trust what they are offered.
- Customizable categories- The landing page of Talkspace is catered to different age groups and niches. This allows you to customize the offering as per customer perquisites.
7. Nauto
Nauto is a data platform made for self-driving cars that are designed to make autonomous driving safer for companies that manage fleets of self-driving vehicles. Its customers require all kinds of information to sell effectively on this platform. It has a super-simple eBook that will give you a brief contact form and preview statistics which will prove why this resource is very important. It has a download now CTA, but if you scroll down, you’ll also get another Get the eBook CTA to remind users what is waiting for them.
Why does its landing page work
1. Simplicity- The landing page has little to no distractions, which is perfect for a company that is focusing on safety.
2. Informative- Nauto has an informative landing page that gives valuable insights into the importance of driving safely and any other issues.
8. Wag
Wag is a great platform that helps connect dog owners with sitters or dog walkers. The landing page gets right to the point, having a large font to encourage prospects to join and put the sign-up prominently on the right half of the page. Further, the green background with the white font makes it aesthetically appealing, and the other elements make the page pop. The additions of a QR code in the form also offer a nice touch to it, allowing visitors to scan it and download the app, followed by signing up to the platform.
Why does its landing page work
1. Emphasizes credibility- Having a caretaker photo in the background and the addition of over 400k caregivers nationwide enhances the platform’s credibility in front of the users.
2. Simple and effective form- Directly having the form field open on the landing page means that visitors can get access to it easily without having to click on the CTA to access it. The QR code further helps make the process fast and simple.
9. Landbot
Landbot has a unique landing page that helps create a chatbot-based page. It will put your product at the forefront, and it is powered by chat to get the desired results. The friendly bot greets users that land on the page. It is completed with emojis and GIFs that encourage them to provide information in a conversational format instead of using a traditional form.
Why does its landing page work
- Intuitive and fun- Landbot is known to have bright colors with GIFs, and the page will keep visitors engaged and entertained while also increasing your chances of converting them into paid customers.
- Don’t tell but show what it offers- A chatbot on the page is great, and customers can see exactly what they are doing. The entire experience tells you what is happening and what you expect to get with Landbot’s product.
10. Bills.com
It is a misconception that landing pages are just static pages of your website. However, with the right tools, you can create a page that is interactive and personalized. Just look at Bills.com with its versatile landing page. Here, you have to answer two questions before the form is shown.
You have to answer two questions as seen below:
Once you answer them, then the final page will offer a form to fill out your information.
The entire process may look hectic, but once you start using it, you will get excited to fill out the form. The landing page offers a great way to increase your conversions pretty significantly.
Why does its landing page work
1. Interactivity- If you ever get people to interact with a page, you can assume that it is simple. This is a great impression that helps garner interest and convert them.
2. Exclusive- The platform helps make you feel special, so you exclusively work on it. This gives you the impression that the offer is for you and not for anyone, but you have to qualify to get in.
11. Zillow
Zillow’s landing page is similar to Bills.com. It will ask for your home address, but you will not get an appraisal value of a home. It will just denote a home’s neighborhood, and it’s just like playing around to find the right price. You will get access to homes in the area and see if they are worth it and input your address to see how close you got. If you want to learn more, the platform will prompt users to sign-up and continue. After you hand in your email, you’ll get access to more comparable home data and tangents.
Why does its landing page work
- Establish an authority on the topic- Zillow gives you access to plenty of housing and neighborhood data, and this is why it is amongst the top search sites for those looking for a home.
- Simplistic- Zillow’s pages are simple but effective. You can fill out a form, and it feels like a game, and this is a win-win for your business.
12. Conversion Lab
This is a website cum landing page, which is not typical of an example I would suggest but it is unique. The homepage is the website, but the navigation links will take you to the information below. Once you click on “Get My Free Consult”, the entire page will darken to highlight the form.
Once you click on the CTA, you can check how the form appears.
It performs the same function when you are clicking on any headings on a page. However, instead of taking to a different page, it will jump to the corresponding section of the homepage. You don’t have to leave the page to fill out the form or view any features to create a seamless user experience.
Why does its landing page work
- Creative landing page- If you find a homepage that functions as a landing page, make it very unique. This will mean that it is unique and more people will want to at least land on it to see what is happening and increase your SEO rankings. To top it off, it offers a pleasant user experience.
- Organized layout- The homepage and landing page are one, but the page doesn’t feel cluttered or complicated at all.
Ready to Build Your Landing Page?
If you are using a landing page or want to build a landing page from scratch for your business, it is important to follow the best practices to stay on top. You may spend months or even the entire quarter developing it, but it may still not appeal to your buyer’s persona. Don’t let the hard work go to waste, as converting visitors to leads is your main goal.
Build quality landing pages that keep all the lead generation strategies in mind to get the best results. And remember, you should test the landing pages to check what works to improve their effectiveness.
Click Here To Try Unbounce For Free
Landing Pages FAQs
1. Why do I need a landing page?
Landing pages are a great tool to attract potential customers via digital advertising campaigns. A dedicated landing page for your campaign is very effective to target specific customer segments to increase conversions and lead generation. Apart from this, they are a great tool to attract leads by offering lead magnets in exchange for customer data.
2. What should you include in a landing page?
A good landing page has elements that help improve performance and generate more leads to increase your conversions. Landing pages include:
- A headline
- Description of the offer
- A supporting image or video
- Dedicated form for capturing your customer data
- Social proof, like testimonials or reviews
3. How many landing pages does a website have?
A landing page helps convert leads into paying customers, as they are a critical part of a digital marketing strategy. These pages help you along your customer journey. There is no limit on how many landing pages a website can have.
4. How can I create a landing page?
To create a landing page, you will require a landing page builder. It is recommended that you select a builder that has intuitive navigation, and drag and drop design elements so your website is developed without requiring any developer or coding skills. The page builders will allow you to test every element of the landing page to get you the most out of the copy.
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