In the purest sense, a landing page is any web page that a visitor can reach or land on. However, when talking about landing pages in marketing and advertising, it is more common to refer to them as a stand-alone web page distinct from your main website, designed for a single goal.
This means that the landing page does not have to have any global navigation that is primarily related to the website. The main reason for this is to limit the options available to visitors, helping them navigate towards your conversion goal.
Lead Generation Landing Pages
The main generation pages are used to capture user data such as name and email address. The sole purpose of the page is to attach information that will allow you to market and connect with the prospect at a later time. As such, a capture page will contain a form along with a description of what you get in exchange for submitting your personal data.
There are many uses of lead gen landing pages, some examples are mentioned in the list below:
- Ebook or white paper
- Webinar registration
- Consultation for professional services
- Discount coupon/voucher
- Entry contest
- Free trial version
- A physical gift (via direct mail)
- Notification of a future product release
- You can read more on the topic of lead generation gifts in this post: 7 Carrots to Catching Lead.
Why should I use a landing page?
The shortest answer is because they help you increase your conversion rates.
The main reason for this is that specific promotion or specific product landing pages focus on a single objective that matches the intent of all your visitors who clicked on your page.
If you consider the example of sending traffic to your entry page versus a standalone landing page, you can understand that your entry page is designed with a more general purpose. This speaks more to your brand value and corporate values, and is typically loaded by links and navigation to other areas of your site.
Every link on your page that doesn't represent your conversion goal is a distraction that will dilute your message and reduce your conversion rate.
Message Match
A fundamental aspect of conversion design is focused on finding the message you are looking for, which is the ability of your landing page to accurately reflect the messaging presented above the ad.
This example shows the comparison of a good and bad landing page for a PPC campaign:
1. Example of a poor message match
Ad: get 50% off a Dell Inspiron 9000
Landing Page Message: Welcome to Dave's Computer Store
2. Example of a good message match
Ad: Get 50% off a Dell Inspiron 9000
Landing Page Message: Get 50% off a Dell Inspiron 9000 at Dave's Computer Store
When should you use a landing page?
You should try to use a landing page for every advertising campaign you operate. You may be selling multiple products or creating promotions for different user segments and your homepage cannot cope with this level of message differentiation. The style and effectiveness of your inbound marketing will also vary depending on the source (PPC, email, organic media, social, display banners), so you should aim to provide a relevant experience to each entry to the funnel.
Advertising products are usually linked by three places: home page, product details page, purchase page. Of these three places, the best is the product detail page, as it will provide enough information to make an important decision. However, there is still the option and the possibility that visitors will be able to learn more about the page of course through the main navigation. Maybe they'll buy something else, and after all, a sale is a sale right? Incorrect. If you're trying to run an effective marketing campaign, a big priority should be metrics-based accountability.
Traffic source segmentation and optimization
Potential customers who arrive through 140 characters have heard very little of your pitch and need many more details to continue their progress down the funnel. This is very different than someone who might have clicked through your page from a three-paragraph email. As such, you should try to use separate landing pages for each source. Message matching is much easier to handle this way: social media traffic can have an associated icon placed on the booster page and the affiliate or traffic partner can be co-branded.
Another important advantage of splitting traffic to separate landing pages is measurability. Sure, you can use an analytics package to show that social media traffic is outpacing email when you're driving it to the home page. But what do you need to improve the performance of your email campaign without affecting social media or PPC conversions? By changing a landing page that consumes all incoming traffic, it will inevitably affect the conversion rate from all sources.