Landing pages are aptly named – they are where users end up or “land” once they click a link to your site, usually from Google ads or similar links. Landing pages are based on precision and directness, and a good landing page answers a specific question and provides a clear solution.
Landing pages should be a valued tool in every marketing professional’s arsenal for several important reasons:
Since most users will be visiting your landing pages from your pay-per-click ads, chances are those users know exactly what they want to see when they search, and your ad fits the bill. This is an incredible opportunity to make a great first impression on a lead. When you tailor your landing pages to specific searches, you’re delivering the results users want.
Top reasons to have a landing page:
Your generic website pages probably offer valuable information, relevant content, and a way for customers to make a purchase or take the next step on their journey with you. However, unless the user knows exactly what they want, or they’re already set on buying from you, a generic page can leave them wondering what to do next, or worse, lose their interest.
Landing pages are crafted to address a specific issue and drive users toward performing a specific action. They may be hitting your landing page from a link in your email marketing about a new eBook or download, and your landing page shows them exactly what they need to do next to get it. Many leads are lost midway through the journey from awareness to purchase simply because the user isn’t sure what they need to do or where they need to go. Landing pages bridge that gap by providing them with a clear result for a specific action.
Some users search broadly using very general search terms, and you likely can capture a great deal of potential leads by casting a wide SEO net and offering valuable content. Other users are more precise, though, and search with very specific questions or exact terms. You need to position yourself as the answer to those questions and in the top results for searches specific to your niche.
When you create solid landing pages, you’re creating a laser-precise focus on your leads’ issues and showing them exactly what they need to do to fix them. When your leads are lost midway through their journey with your brand, it is probably because they simply did not have a clear path to the next step. Landing pages narrow your focus. Once you have a firm understanding of your audience, you’ll know which questions they ask most often, and you will have a better grasp on the questions they may ask. Your landing pages are their signs from above that someone is watching and knows their struggles: you.
Landing pages direct your leads to take the next step to becoming customers. Your SEO efforts may be tailored toward drawing traffic and ranking highly in searches for relevant keywords, but your website’s authority also plays a major role in your rankings. If you want to rank well, you need to be the answer to customers’ problems when they are searching for solutions.
If your site features top-quality content and has been optimized around the keywords and phrases relevant to your niche, your landing pages are going to be some of your best tools for closing the loop and turning leads into sales. Google’s algorithms are all about relevancy. When you’re offering exact answers to specific user queries, you are positioning your site as the most relevant answer to those questions and building authority.
Perhaps you have a multifaceted brand that appeals to a variety of customer personas. Well, once you know who those people are and what type of leads you need to capture, you can craft landing pages specifically tailored to the subgroups of your audience.
Trying to capture sales leads is a lot like fishing. You need to have the right bait on your hook – landing pages offer very tasty, specifically crafted bait for specific searches. Landing pages not only help marketers catch the right fish – they help get them jumping into the boat.