How to Build Great Landing Pages

Landing pages refer to the web page an online advertisement or pop up leads to. Many a time we see advertisements on the margins of the websites we go through and are prompted to click on the advertisements. The web pages that open subsequently once we click on the advertisements are the landing pages. The concept of landing pages has turned out to be a great online marketing tool for marketers all over the world and many have started deploying various strategies to capture the attention of internet users so that they are impelled to visit the landing pages of these advertisements.

The rationale behind landing pages is to transform the visitors to these landing pages of advertisements into effective or at least prospective sales leads. Therefore, in an age marked by the emergence and proliferation of information technology and the internet, where online marketing is one of the hottest buzzwords, landing pages have proved to an essential marketing tool. However, just linking a website or a web page to the landing page of an online advertisement does not make the endeavor effective. The effort should be channelized in such a way that the overall experience for the visitor impels him or her to tread on and go through the entire advertisement.

Generally, there are two types of landing pages in online marketing. One is the transactional landing page whereas the other type is known as the reference landing page. The transactional landing page facilitates transactions with the visitors like filling up of forms, interacting with visitors in many ways and the like. The objective of transactional landing page is to generate immediate or eventual sales leads for the products or services the advertisement promotes. Reference landing page, on the other hand, is used by advertisers to give out information to the visitors. Various publishers include reference landing pages in their online marketing campaigns.

However, irrespective of the type of landing pages one wants to launch, there are certain techniques that apply to all sorts of landing pages. The first and foremost of these techniques is the procedure of proper testing of the landing page. Testing, as done by most organizations or advertisers, comprises just a formality whereas it is this particular stage of the developmental process that carries in itself the seeds of various additions or alterations that may add credibility to the landing page. So the testing phase should be kept in mind and followed rigorously before launching the landing page. The testing phase should be undergone many times and in various formats so as to ensure that all possible combinations of the landing page is tested at least once. This would give the advertiser with a better view of the combination that comes up with the maximum impact on the viewers or visitors to the landing page.

Another typical technique that normally yields fruitful results is by adding testimonials to the landing pages. Testimonials are highly desirable since it adds credibility to the landing page as well as the advertisement in entirety. These testimonials in the landing pages help to on the one hand voice the praises given by the clients or consumers of the products or services and on the other hand help to advertise with a force not only of the product but also of the strong base of customers and clients. The factor of legitimacy is a serious concern since unlike physical distribution centers or sales outlets where customers can physically test the products, since these advertisements are put up on the internet, and customers and clients do not have the access to test or feel the product or service, so adding testimonials help to alleviate the specks of doubt that prospective customers may have in their minds and these write ups of existing customers who have already experienced the products or services help a lot. But here again there are quite a few techniques of creating the maximum impact through the way the testimonials are displayed in the landing page. All the testimonials should not be full of positive aspects since that gives an impression to prospects that the testimonials have also been written by the advertiser and therefore it loses its significance. So some realistic negative aspects or rather shortcomings may also find mention in these testimonials. But then, one must know the right degree of negative aspects to be added so that it makes the product or services seem realistic without marring the core values offered by the same. Also the position of the testimonials in the landing page should also be considered carefully. Ideally it should be made as conspicuous as possible since it adds a touch of realistic review of the product or service to the advertisement. Moreover, the landing page should not be full of reviews or testimonials since then the whole effect would be lost. Nor should it be too crammed so that the message is lost in the clutter. The right balance should be struck in this regard.

Call to action is one of the unique concepts that landing pages may include. Most successful landing pages do include these ‘call to action’ aspects in them so as to come up with the maximum impact of the landing pages and so that people may be enticed to click on the same. In this case, ‘call to action’ refers to a couple of words or a phrase that contains the moot point of the advertisement. Since the landing page serves as the very face of the whole advertisement, so the very essence of the entire effort should be summarized in such a manner that coaxes visitors to go forward and click on the landing page. Creating maximum impact is obviously an art. But ‘call to action’ requires reading customer perceptions and knowing the ways or the right choice of words that help draw the attention of the visitors as well as at the same time conveying the solution to a need or a desire. Thus right choice of words is necessary. Again, too many words may actually reduce the ‘call to action’ to nullity. So the right length should also be thought well in advance. Again, the ‘call to action’ should be congruous to the pictures, images and the content given in the landing page. These considerations are a must while designing the ‘call to action’ of any landing page.

These apart, the visual appeal of the landing page should be taken proper care of. Visual appeal is of paramount importance since despite the other types of appeals there in the landing page, this is the foremost and of a considerably higher degree of importance. So in order to boost the visual appeal, again one has to rethink the main objective that the landing is supposed to serve. So the visual aspects of the landing page should be in congruence with the concerned theme. One cannot use the image of an octogenarian to promote a landing page for an online advertisement of a pair of jeans. So the aspect of congruence should be kept in mind. Also, the overall effect must be brought forth through the right use of color schemes, array of images, and even animations that are more likely to suit the mood of the landing page.

In this regard, as already mentioned, the salient idea is to deliver an experience to the visitors that they click on the landing page and move forward to go through the entire advertisement. So the structure of the landing page should be apt and should be able to create the requisite impression to the visitors. Again, in this context, in order to optimize the overall experience the structure comes handy. Also, one should not lose focus while devising the structure of the landing page. As far as the focus of the landing page is concerned, the main theme should always be at the centre of attraction. Even the goal of the landing page becomes of high importance in this regard. So it is clear that the structure of the landing page should be in tune with the goal of the landing page and in order to achieve the same one cannot to lose focus of what is to be achieved.

Lastly, it is imperative that a great landing page is basically an amalgamation of various features and in order to deliver a unique experience that creates an impact on the visitors and is impelling enough to grab eyeballs as well as conjure a desire to go forward experience the entire advertisement, the landing page has to be excellent in all possible ways. The various strands of the landing page, be it the visual aspects, or the images or the content or the call to action – everything should be enmeshed in such a manner that the overall landing page has a synergistic effect and helps take visitors to the actual advertisement.

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