What is a Landing Page?
The term “landing page” is relevant to pay per click advertising. It refers to the page that a visitor is sent to when he/she clicks on a pay per click ad. “Destination page” or “destination URL” are (roughly) synonyms for “landing page.”
Why Create Custom Landing Pages?
One of the advantages of pay per click is the advertiser knows what the user is looking for specifically by the keyphrases being searched. This knowledge can be used to increase sales by directly addressing a search engine user’s wants in ad text and in the landing page. By creating custom landing pages for groups of keyphrases, an advertiser can increase conversion rates because it gives the user:
- Confidence that what he/she is looking for is being provided.
- Easy access to the most vital information for generating a conversion, relying minimally on the user to successfully navigate the site.
What’s Are the Characteristics of an Effective Landing Page?
An effective landing page has these characteristics:
- Discusses a visitor’s search query in the text and how your company’s services/products relate to it.
- Gives a visitor incentive to execute a conversion by offering a deal or otherwise differentiating you company’s products/services from competitors’ products/services.
- Gives a sense of urgency so that the user will execute a conversion now instead of continuing to browse.
- Makes it easy for a visitor to execute a conversion (a sign up, sale, contact, etc.).
Generally these four characteristics are met by a page that:
- Focuses attention on the text of the page (not necessarily providing links that go outside of that page or irrelevant information that isn’t related to the search query).
- Uses the search query in the text of the page.
- Introduces the product/service in the first line or two, then goes on to describe benefits of the product/service.
- Tells the user why they should purchase or sign up now instead of later.
- Has a contact/signup form or “buy” button on the landing page.
- Doesn’t ask the visitor to do anything without providing all necessary information that is required by the visitor. For instance, an advertiser selling a product should have a picture of the product with a price and shipping information listed before expecting a visitor to click a buy button. There might also be FAQs or other secondary support for visitors who have detailed questions.
