What is a Landing Page? And Why Is It Important?
You’re running an ad campaign to get potential customers to book a free consultation. When your potential customers click on the ad they are taken to your homepage. The potential customer immediately leaves the page because there are too many choices about what to do next. This is where a landing page comes in!
Landing Page vs. Homepage
A landing page is designed to transform visitors into opt-in leads. Landing pages guide your visitors to take your desired action.
A homepage is the map to your website. There are lots of ways a visitor can go.
A landing page only has one purpose. Your visitor has one option of what action to take! That action can be to contact you, download a lead magnet, or give their email for more information. Whatever the action is, it is the only choice.
Landing pages follow a formula (outlined below) to grab the reader’s attention as quickly as possible.
How Does a Landing Page Work?
- Attract your Potential Customer – There needs to be a way someone ends up on your landing page – pique their interest! It can be from social media posts, an ad campaign or even a link on your website.
- Opt In – The visitor puts in their information in order to complete the offer or get the “goods” – this step is most likely a lead magnet. The point of a landing page is this step – to get potential customer information!
- Follow Up – The lead is created and put into your database or you are made aware someone has completed the opt-in. Whether that means you want to automatically start an email sequence or follow up directly. You need a system in place! This person has just entered your world, they need to be nurtured and guided where to go next.
How to Set Up Your Landing Page
Landing Page Formula:
- Create a value proposition in the header. This should be bold! A statement that is to the point and ideally 6-8 words. (only 20% of people will get past this so grab their attention fast!)
- Have a visual focus to attract attention – a header image or eye-catching photo above the fold.
- Outline the benefits (not features) of your product/service. People buy products for the benefits/solutions to their problems.
- Have a focused singular call to action. Depending on the length, you should have the call to action multiple times.
- Include a testimonial or other social proof.
Other considerations:
- Colours (Are the colours consistent throughout? Are they visually appealing and in line with your branding?)
- Offer (Are you offering something your customers want?)
- Fonts (Are they consistent? Is the font easy to read?)
- Flow (Is it clear where the customer should go next? Tip – you can get heatmaps to track where people’s mouses click and move for further analysis)
- Copy/Messaging (use accessible copy! You don’t want someone to have to be a detective to figure out what you’re trying to sell! The aim is to be concise and clear.)
Call to Action
“Sign up”, “buy now”, “contact us” are all examples of calls to action. They tell a customer what action you want them to take next. You need a call to action to tell your customer what you want them to do. Do you want them to contact you for a free consultation? Great! Create a “Contact Us Now” or “Book Now” button.
Calls to action should be spread throughout your landing page to remind your visitor what action he or she should be taking.
Conclusion
Landing pages are used when you want a specific action to be taken. If you are running an advertising campaign, you should link to a landing page. If you are trying to capture a potential customer’s interest in a specific product or service, you should be using a landing page.
