This article has been updated on November 22, 2023.
What is a landing page? This can confuse newcomers to digital marketing, but it doesn’t need to be.
Especially if you’re just starting to learn about digital advertising. You might have a few questions, like “What does a landing page do?”, “Why do I need one?” or “How do they differ from a regular web page?”. But before we dive into breaking all of that down, let’s get a quick idea of what they are by looking at the definition.
A landing page is a standalone web page used for a digital marketing or advertising campaign designed specifically to complete one objective – CONVERT. It’s where a person “lands” after clicking on a link in an email or an ad from Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or other similar places on the web.
Where do landing pages fit into my digital campaign?
Landing pages are the bridge between your digital advertising efforts and your campaign goal. And the goal is, of course, to convert your target audience! When you advertise your products and services through Google, email, social media, or other digital channels — the landing page is what web users “land” on after clicking the link. Hence the term “landing” page!
Since high-converting landing pages are the crux of what’s responsible for converting your target audience, it’s incredibly important that they’re done right. Not only do they need the right anatomy to convert, but they also need to look great simultaneously.
There’s nothing more discouraging than hearing “Save 30% off!” followed by a dated design on a website that is not secure and a page that loads slowly. A slower site will lose three times as many visitors if it takes between 2 and 7 seconds to load.
There are many things to consider when creating landing pages that convert. You might want to consider consulting with an agency if you are unsure how to build an optimized landing page.
Statistics for landing page
• In all industries, the average landing page conversion rate is 2.35%.
• When companies use optimization tools for their landing pages, their conversion rates increase by an average of 30%.
• Personalized CTAs convert 202% more effectively than standard ones.
• 30% of top landing pages use video content.
Why use Landing Pages?
Technically speaking, any page on the web could be a landing page. So you might ask yourself a few questions:
What’s the difference between a landing page and the homepage of your website?
Why spend money on a new web page when my website already exists? I want people to visit my business — so why don’t I just use my website for my digital marketing and advertising campaign?
While you may be tempted to do so, suppress that urge! There’s a good reason why we don’t use websites… and that is because websites are incredibly ineffective as landing pages because of the fundamental difference in how they are built.
The user experience of your website is designed with exploration in mind. The whole point of your website is to capture your audience’s interests and keep users engaged, creating a seamless experience where they can easily get what they need and are looking for.
You have a variety of users who may be interested in the different things you offer. So naturally, the scope of people who visit your website will differ from the scope of the audience you’re trying to convert.
Although we list many creative services on our agency home page, we might have a Google Ad campaign focusing on a particular service we provide that we are pushing. We create landing pages for every service we have a marketing campaign for.
Landing pages are created only for your target audience and are specifically designed for conversion, not exploration. An effective landing page has only one purpose – you want the visitor to take action.
You’re not looking to convince passing window shoppers — the aim is to secure those actively looking for a particular service.
The Attention Ratio
To illustrate this difference, we use the attention ratio — a ratio of how many actions a user can take vs. what the desired action is.
Let’s break that down. For example, your homepage can easily have over 20 links between your services menu, about us, footer, and other calls to action.
So your homepage would have an attention ratio of 20:1. For your website — this is absolutely fine because that’s part of a powerful internal linking strategy. You want your users to invest time to explore and experience your brand while browsing your content.
On the other hand, landing pages are totally separate from the rest of your website. There is only one link or action to take on the page… the goal of your marketing campaign. So the attention ratio on your landing page will be 1:1.
But it’s easier to see it in action. Let’s look at a homepage vs. a landing page below.
The Bottom Line: Organic vs. Targeted Traffic
But keep in mind — this isn’t a replacement for your website! One of the greatest benefits of using landing pages is that you don’t have to sacrifice what’s already working for you and your website.
Instead, you’re creating an extension of it that allows you to target the type of customers you’re looking for specifically. A landing page is a consolidated page containing much of your website’s information with a targeted goal.
To break this down in its simplest terms: your website is great for generating organic traffic, but your campaign’s landing page is better for generating paid targeted traffic.
The Technical Stuff: quality score, tracking, analytics, and A/B testing for Landing Pages
It’s also super important to mention that landing pages make reporting, analytics, and testing much easier than using a page on your website.
Because a landing page exists in its own space, tracking how users interact with it becomes much more simple. We have access to how many people are visiting, how many are converting, how many are bouncing… and much more.
But one of the most important metrics for analyzing landing pages is Google’s Quality Score, a diagnostic tool to indicate how your ad quality compares to other advertisers.
This score is measured on a scale of 1 to 10. A higher Quality Score indicates that your landing pages are more relevant and beneficial to someone searching for your keyword.
A conversion can occur when someone submits your contact form or dials a trackable phone number.
Essentially, quality score is a 1-10 scale used by Google to measure how engaging your campaign’s content is. Your Google digital advertising partner will drive home the importance of this. Because of course, higher scores are much more likely to be bumped to the top of the search results. So as always — quality content matters!
Additionally, they give you the ability to iterate designs through A/B tests. This means you can run multiple versions of your landing page to track how well each does and which one has a higher conversion rate in real-time.
This allows us to make objective design and development decisions based on actual data that show what works and what doesn’t — so your landing page can always be refined further to perform even better!
Types of landing pages
Of course, there are many different types, variations, and nuances to different landing pages — but two types can be grouped under lead generation and clickthrough landing pages.
Lead generation:
The primary objective of lead generation landing pages is to collect personal information & generate leads. The CTA (Call-To-Action) is a form that prompts the user to enter said personal information, such as emails and names.
But why would anyone enter their information willingly? Good question! Like any healthy relationship, it’s all about give and take.
Usually, lead generation landing pages offer something in return for that name and email — free reports, eBooks, podcasts, consultations, or more information, just to name a few.
Customers benefit from your offer, and you benefit from adding them to your list of leads. That way, you can grow an audience of people directly interested in what you offer — which is key for building a relationship with customers with whom you want further engagement.
This is an excellent way to drive brand awareness!
Clickthrough:
Clickthrough landing pages take a bit of a different angle, through more of a “soft sell” method. Unlike lead generation pages, you’re not asking for their information outright. The idea is to warm prospects up to your offering by enticing them with unique features, benefits, and/or offers before pushing them further down the sales funnel.
These are very common for eCommerce and SaaS (software-as-a-service) businesses — where the end goal is for the user to complete a sale, sign up for a subscription, or receive a free trial.
How to leverage landing pages for your next digital advertising campaign
- PPC campaign on Google Ads that target searches related to your business
- Promotional offerings that target specific customers
- Re-target people who have visited your site without converting
- Running native advertising campaigns on podcasts or blogs that have relevance to your business
- Gauging interest in new ideas/products before going to market with it
Landing pages with video boosts engagement and heightens customer experience.
The world has become a more visually sophisticated environment as we are all connected and are served up thousands of images a day. People want the best experience possible while surfing the web. Gone are the days of just serving up static content. The world is clamoring for more landing pages with videos.
1. Video Works by Making a Connection.
People have a more meaningful connection with your brand when watching videos. Landing pages with video provides a warm introduction to who you are or what you are selling. They provide insight that words alone cannot. According to Forbes magazine, embedding videos in landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%.
2. Landing pages with video can deliver your value proposition fast and on message.
Video and Motion Graphics Animation is one of the best methods to consolidate complex information into an easy-to-understand format with little effort from the end user. In fact, according to Forrester Research, a one-minute video is equivalent to 1.8 million words when it comes to swaying an audience. Hearing while seeing fosters a much higher retention rate than reading. Keeping your brand top of mind and memorable is the goal. A survey by HubSpot has revealed that 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by watching a video.
3. Google loves serving up videos.
Video has become a top contender when it comes to organic search results for a variety of topics. You’ve probably noticed that videos increasingly appear at the top of search results. Quality content has long been a component of Google’s algorithm. It’s a search engine that wants what other respectable businesses desire: Delivering an excellent user experience. So, you can get an SEO boost by having videos on landing pages and other quality assets. Video is 50x more likely to get organic page ranks in Google than plain text results. Also, someone might stumble upon your video, leading to impressions and conversion.
So how do you make this happen?
Every video begins with an idea and a well-written script. Make sure you have a great copywriter on board so that the production stays on schedule, on message, and memorable.
Sorry, but your mother’s cousin with a video camera will not suffice. You must select a competent video production business with experience in marketing videos. You want to ensure that the video is consistent with your brand and seen as high-quality. First impressions are essential. When filming a video, there are numerous factors to consider. You’ve probably seen the credits roll at the end of a movie – there’s a reason why so many individuals are involved. I’m not suggesting it needs to be a Hollywood production, but make sure you have the correct team in place to get the most return on investment. The right team will produce work that you can be proud of.
Another great way to describe what you do is using an animated explainer video. Explainer videos are animated videos that convey an organization’s message in a straightforward and personable manner. So, whether the audience is 8 or 80, they will understand the message the first time they hear it. When it comes to developing an explainer film, the only limitation is your imagination — the sky is the limit.
Keep your videos under two minutes.
The shorter it is, the better. The sweet spot is one minute or less. The golden rule, however, is to keep your marketing video under two minutes long. We’ve found a significant drop in interaction beyond two minutes, with the highest engagement rate for videos under a minute.
It all comes down to engagement and conversion at the end of the day. A video included on landing pages can be a powerful marketing asset to have at the top of your sales funnel. The idea is to direct the visitor to the desired destination and encourage them to take action by connecting with your company. Good content will always give you an advantage, especially if your competitors have been lax in their marketing efforts.
Final Thoughts
Now that you understand the fundamentals of landing pages, you’re probably raring to go. But hold on!
While landing pages are incredibly powerful, they won’t do you much good if they have a dated design aesthetic, function incorrectly, or are hosted on an unsecured site. That’s why it’s crucial to hire an experienced advertising agency with senior-level campaign managers who can ensure that your landing page is built to convert with a visual edge to it.
