Landing Pages: An easy way to convert more online prospects

Zosel Blog

December 06, 2007

By Scott Zosel
If you're looking for ways to increase your site’s conversion rate, consider creating simple landing pages. It's fast and easy.

What is a landing page? It's a page that may not be accessed through your normal site navigation, and is used specifically to convert prospects who have responded directly from your banner ad, Pay-per-click ad, or promotional email. It's designed to direct visitors to take a specific action -- purchase, registration, or subscription, etc.

Landing pages are a key part of your advertising strategy, yet a small fraction of advertisers actually use them. And then wonder why their marketing dollars are wasted. Think about it. Have you have ever clicked on Pay-per-click ad, and ended up not getting the information you requested? An average visitor spends less than 10 seconds looking at a web page before deciding whether to take action or move on.

What Makes a Good Landing Page?

The headline and copy connect to the ad you clicked -- If your ad promotes inexpensive kitchen knives, your landing page should focus on inexpensive kitchen knives, not on superfluous information distracts from the main focus, such as pots and pans. Your landing page needs to deliver the information you promised they would receive. Nothing more, nothing less.

It asks the visitor to take a specific action -- your landing page should be designed to do one thing: persuade the prospect take ONE specific action -- purchase, registration, or subscription, etc. Make your offer very specific and offer both a form and a phone number.

Short, benefit oriented copy, relevant to the ad they clicked -- Landing page copy is usually shorter and more straightforward than the copy on your homepage. Keep it to a few short bullet point if possible. Shorter copy works best for encouraging people to take action on free items, such as signing up for a free newsletter or registering for a free service. Don't over sell.

Nix those distracting navigational links -- When it comes to landing pages, choices are killers. Once you've convinced (and paid for) a visitor to browse your site, you want them to stay on the page and take a specific action on your behalf. Tests prove that landing pages with too many navigational links consistently under-perform when it comes to conversion rates. Keep it simple: a company logo or header for recognition along with a link to the homepage is all you need. However, Google could penalize you if you leave out ALL links. Include the links in the footer rather than the header of the page so you don't distract your prospect.