What Is a Landing Page? All Your Questions, Answered

A landing page is a specific page on your website where you collect a visitor's contact information in exchange for a resource, like an ebook. Marketing|13minread WhatIsaLandingPage?AllYourQuestions,Answered WrittenbyBashaColeman IfyoucoulddoonethingtodramaticallyimproveyourmarketingROItoday,whatwoulditbe?Ifyouranswerwas"uselandingpagestoconvertnewleads"I’dhavetoagreewithyou—here’swhy. Nearly1in10peoplewhomakeittoalandingpagewillbecomepotentialcustomersorleads.Ifyou’renewtotheworldofconvertingwebtraffic,thatnumbermightnotseemimpressive,butwhenyoudothemath,there’sreasontobelievethat1,000peoplecouldbecomeleadsonyourlandingpageif10,000peoplevisitit. That’salotofleadsformostsmall-to-medium-sizedbusinesses.Let’slookatexactlywhatalandingpageisandhowhavingone(ormore)canhelpyouseeresultslikethis. Whatisalandingpage? Alandingpageisaspecificpageonyourwebsitewhereyoucollectavisitor'scontactinformationinexchangeforaresource,likeanebook.Thiscontactinformationiscollectedusingalead-captureformwherevisitorsenterdetailsliketheirname,emailaddress,andjobtitle. Generatingleadsforyourbusinessisanecessarypartofyourmarketingcampaign,andthereareseveralwaystodoit:throughsocialmedia,contentmarketing,paidads—thelistgoeson.Witheachdigitalcampaignyourun—nomatterwhatchannelyouuse—thepeopleyou’retargetingwon’tconvertthemselvesintopotentialcustomers.Todothat,you’llneedaqualitylandingpagethat’sbuiltspecificallytoconvertthosevisitors.Ifyoudon'thaveatleastafewlandingpagesonyourwebsite,you'remissingoutonopportunitiestoturntheseindividualsintopayingcustomersdowntheline. Today,we'llexplorethemyriadofbenefitsthatcomewithlandingpagesandhowyoumightuseonetoreachyourbusinessgoals. Whatisalandingpageusedfor? Thegoalofalandingpageistoconvertandbuildarepositoryofleadsthatcanbenurturedwithmorepersonalizedmarketingcampaignsusingemail,directmail,paidads,orothertypesoftargetedmarketingbeforethoseleadsreachyoursalesteamtomakeapurchase. TypesofLandingPageOffers Landingpageshaveasolepurpose:toconvertleadsforyourbusiness.However,youcantargetthoseleadsusingaspecificcontentofferoneachlandingpage. Herearethetypesofcontentoffersyoucanaddtoalandingpagetoconvertvisitorsintoleads: 1.EbooksandWhitepapers Ifyou’vewrittenablogpostthatintroducesatopicyouraudiencewantstolearnabout,youcansatisfytheirinterestinthattopicbyelaboratingonthesubjectinanebookorwhitepaper.Usingalandingpage,youcan"gate"thisresourcebehindalead-captureform.Onceyourvisitorscompletetheform,they’llbeabletoaccessthecontent. ImageSource 2.EmailNewsletterSubscription Let'ssayyouwritealotofblogcontentonasimilartopic.Sure,youcandevelopanebookorwhitepaperthatelaboratesonspecificdetails,butyoucanalsoofferyourreadersanemailnewslettertheycansubscribetoforthelatestcontentonthattopic.Onvariousblogposts,useacall-to-action(CTA)toinvitereaderstosubscribetoyourblog.ThisCTAcanlinktoaseparatelandingpagewheretheycansignupforyouremaillist. ImageSource 3.OnlineCourseEnrollment Whetheryou'reintheeducationindustryoryouoffervariousskill-basedcertificationstoyouraudience,onlinecoursesshouldhavetheirownlandingpages,too.Usingthesepages,youcaninvitenewstudentstosignupforaclassyouoffer.Thistypeofcontentaddsvaluetotheclient’sexperience—they’llhavemoreaccesstoyouthroughaprivatechannellikeemailtodiscussthecoursecontentandgetfeedbackontheirprogress. ImageSource 4.EventRegistration Similartoonlinecourses,eventsrequireyoutocollectinformationonyouraudiencesotheycanreceiveupdatesleadinguptotheoccasion.Anevent,aswellasitsvarioussessionsandkeynotes,canhaveitsownindividuallandingpagestoturninterestedprospectsintoeventattendeesandleads. ImageSource 5.FreeTrial Areyouofferingafreedemoofyourproduct?Yourdemoofferingcoulduseitsownlandingpage.Bringuserstoapagewheretheycansignupforafreetrialofyoursoftwareusingtheirname,emailaddress,jobtitle,andanyotherinformationyoudeemnecessarytogivethemthebestcustomerexperience. Don’tforgettofollowupwiththeseleads—they’vealreadydemonstratedaninterestinwhatyousellbasedonyourlandingpage,somakesureyoursalesteamclosesthedeal. ImageSource 6.CommunityMembership Ifyourbusinessthrivesonbuildingcommunityamongcustomers—perhapsyoushouldhaveawebsitededicatedtodialoguebetweenusers.Youcandothisbycreatingalandingpagethatletswebsitevisitorssignuptobecomeabiggerpartofyourbusiness.There'snoharminmakingitinvitation-onlyeither—infact,it'sagreatwaytotryyourhandatrelationshipmarketingtoclosethesedeals. ImageSource 7.AppDownload Developingamobileappforyourproductdoesn'tjustimproveyourcustomerexperience—italsogivesyourbusinessanotheravenuetocaptureleads.Alead-optimizedlandingpagethatinvitesuserstodownloadanappisquitecommon.Ontheanalyticsside,youcanusebothGoogleAnalyticstocaptureinsightsaboutwhoisvisitingthelandingpageanddownloadingtheapp,thenusethatdatatomakeyourlandingpageevenmoreeffective. ImageSource TheBenefitsofaLandingPage Thebenefitsofbuildingalandingpageforeachofyourmarketingcampaignsorcontentoffersareendless.Inthissection,wediveintodetailaboutsevenfactorsthatmakethisleadgenerationtoolindispensable. 1.Landingpagesaimtoincreaseconversions. Havingatargetedpagethatdirectlytiesbacktoanofferornextstepiscriticaltoprovidingvalueupfront.Thiscanalsoencouragenewsitevisitorstoprovidetheirinformationinexchangeforanimmediate,tangiblereward. Forinstance,let'ssayyou'velandedonabusiness'swebsiteandyou'reimmediatelygreetedwithapop-upformaskingforyournameandemail.That’sabitjarringbeforeyouevenknowwhatthecompanyisabout,isn'tit? Alternatively,imagineyou'vefoundabusiness'sfreeebookonsocialmedia,whichoutlinestenimmediatesolutionstoyourproblem.I'mwillingtobetyou'remorelikelytoprovideyournameandemailforthatvaluablecontent,right? Manycompaniessendtheiradvertising,email,orsocialmediatraffictotheirhomepage.Thisisahugemissedopportunity.Whenyouknowastreamoftargetedtrafficwillbecomingtoyourwebsite,youcanincreasethelikelihoodofconvertingthattrafficintoleadsbyusingatargetedlandingpage. Forinstance,thoseuserswhoconvertonyoursocialmediaebooklandingpageareclearlyinterestedinsocialmedia.Tofurthernurturethoseleads,youmightfollowupwithapersonalizedemail,detailingadditionalcontentyoucanproviderelatedtosocialmedia. 2.Landingpagescanprovideadditionalinsightsintoyourtargetaudience. Bycreatingvariouslandingpageswithsegmentedoffers,youcantrackwhichtopicsconvertatthehighestrate.Thiscangiveyouvaluableinsightsintoyouraudience'sinterests. Youcouldusethedatayoucollectfromyourlandingpagestocreateamoretargeted,personalizedmarketingstrategy.Plus,landingpagesdon'tjusttellyouwhichcontentyouraudiencelikesbest—theyalsotellyouwhichchannelsyourleadsprefer.Thiscanenableyourmarketingteamtorefinethestrategyfurther,promotingcontentandengagingwithyouraudienceonthechannel(s)they'realreadyusing. Forexample,let'ssayyounoticeyourlandingpagesrelatedtoecommerceperformexceptionallywell,andmostofthoseusersfindyourlandingpagefromyourpaidadsonFacebookandLinkedIn.Thisinformationcanhelpyoutargetfuturecampaignsprimarilytowardsyoursocialaudience.Youwouldalsohaveabasisforincorporatingadditionalecommercecontentintoyourmarketingstrategyasawhole. 3.Landingpagescangrowyouremailsubscriberlist. Inexchangeforthecontentofferedonyourlandingpage,you'lltypicallyaskuserstoprovidetheiremailandname.Thiscanhelpyouquicklygrowyouremailsubscriberlist,andsegmentthatlisttoprovidemorepersonalizedfollow-upemails. Peoplewho'vefilledoutaforminexchangeforcontentorinformationonyourproductorservicehaveshownaninterestinwhatyouhavetooffer.Thisensuresyoursubscriberlistisfilledwithpotentiallyhigh-qualityleads. Considerhowyoumightfurthernurturethembysendinga"Thankyou"emailaftertheydownloadyourlandingpageoffer,withadditionalresourcesrelatedtothecontentinwhichthey'veshowninterest. 4.Landingpagesaretestable. Alandingpageisafantasticopportunitytogetcreativeandtestoutvariousdesignstodeterminewhichvisualsandcopyperformbestwithyourtargetaudience.Additionally,it'softenlowerrisktotestoutanewlandingpage,ratherthanmakingmajordesignchangestoyourentireblogorwebsiteinfrastructure. Forinstance,AJBeltis,HubSpot'sContent&AcquisitionManager,toldme,"Ifyou'reusingacontentmanagementsystemwithabuilt-inA/Btestingtool(likeHubSpot),youcaneasilysetupandrunatesttoseewhichcopy,design,imagery,andpageelementsyieldastrongerconversionrate.Thismeansyoucanquicklyuncovernewwaystodrivemoreleadsandcontactsforyourbusiness." 5.Landingpagesallowyoutomeasuremetricsdirectlytiedtobusinessgoals. Ifyou'vecreatedaspecificlandingpagetomarketyournewproductorservice,youcanthenusethatlandingpagetomeasuremetricsdirectlytiedtoyourbusinessgoals. Forinstance,let'ssayyourmarketingteamistaskedwithincreasingsalesforyournewemailtool.Toaccomplishthis,yourteamcreatesacampaignwithalandingpageofferingafreedemoofyourtool. Youmightmeasureconversionmetricsonthatlandingpagetodeterminehowwellyourcampaignisperforming,orwhetheryouneedtomaketweakstocommunicatethetruevalueofyournewproduct.Additionally,youcanmeasurewhichsitesdrivethehighestconversionstoyourlandingpage,andputmoreresourcesintomarketingyouremailtoolonthosesites—orsocialmediaapps—inparticular. 6.Landingpagesaddcontexttoyouroffer. AJBeltistoldmeoneofthebiggestbenefitsofalandingpageistheopportunitytoaddcontexttoyourmarketingoffer."Marketersfeelmotivatedtobypassthelandingpageprocessandskiprighttotheconversionbyencouragingformfillsinothermethods,suchasthroughachatbot,"Beltistoldme. Beltisadds,"However,thisprocesseliminatestheopportunitytoaddmorecontexttowhatitisyou'reoffering.Imageryandessentialinformationthatcanonlybesharedwithalandingpageprovidecontenttothosewhoneeditbeforetheydecidetoconvert." 7.Landingpagesincreasebrandvalueandhelpmakeagoodfirstimpression. Ultimately,asleek,well-designedlandingpagecanimpressnewvisitorsandturnthemintoleadsbydemonstratingthevaluablecontentyourcompanycandeliver.Alandingpageisspaceyoucanusetotellyourvisitorswhatyou'reoffering,andhowitcanpositivelyimpactthem.Evenifaviewerdoesn'timmediatelyconvert,awell-designedlandingpagecanincreasebrandrecognitionandhelpnurtureleadsforfuturesales. Forinstance,takealookatthisimpressivelandingpagecreatedbyTalisker,awhiskybrand.UsingCeros'landingpageproducttodesignanimmersiveexperience,Taliskerisdemonstratingbrandvalueand,ideally,makingafantasticfirstimpressiononnewvisitors. Thisisproofthatalandingpagedoesn'thavetobeboring—infact,itshouldn'tbe.Takethetimetocreateanengaging,interactive,interestinglandingpagethatcommunicatesthevalueofyourbrand. BestPracticesforCreatingaLandingPage 1.Findalandingpagebuilder. Tocreatealandingpage,you'llwanttostartbyexploringlandingpagebuilders—unless,ofcourse,you'reusingacontentmanagementsystemthatalreadyprovideslandingpagetemplates,likeHubSpot.Lookforalandingpagebuilderthatisintuitiveandsimpletouse,thiswayyou’llhaveashorterlearningcurveandwillbeabletoproducelandingpagesquickly.Irecommenddrag-and-dropstylebuilders—they’reawesomeforspeedingupyourworkflow. 2.Uselandingpagetemplates. Onceyou'vedeterminedtherightsoftwaretobuildyourlandingpage,getinspiredwithsomelandingpagetemplates.YoumightalsousethisasanopportunitytotakeAJ’sadviceaboveandA/Btesttwodifferentdesignstoexplorewhichdesignelementsresultinthehighestconversions. 3.Communicatevalue. Additionally,it'scriticalanylandingpageyoudesigneffectivelycommunicatesthevalueyou'reprovidingvisitorsinexchangeforcontactinformation.And,ofcourse,you'llwanttoincludeaformthatvisitorswillfilloutinexchangefortheofferyou’repromotingonyourlandingpage. Tolearnmoreabouthowtocreatealandingpageindetail,takealookatHowtoCreateaLandingPage:TheSimpleStep-by-StepGuide. Whatmakesalandingpageeffective? Here’sthething,agoodlandingpageistheequivalentofabaseballmitt—itcatchesthetrafficthatyourmarketingcampaignpitchestotheaudience.Thismeansthatthelandingpageyoucreateshouldbespecifictothetypeoftrafficthatit’llbecatching.Forexample,ifyourmarketingcampaignfeaturesanebook,yourlandingpageshouldalsomentiontheebook.It’llbeevenbetteriftheebookistheonlycontentoffermentionedonthelandingpage.Thisensurespeoplewon’tbecomeconfusedaboutwhatthey’regoingtoreceivewhentheysharetheircontactinformation. Becausethelandingpageistargetingonlythepeoplewhoare(presumably)interestedinthisebook,andbecausethisebookhasexclusiveinformationthatelaboratesonatopicyouraudiencecaresabout,youcanconvertahigherpercentageofyourwebsitevisitorsintoleads,whomyoucanthenfollowupwithusingaleadnurturecampaign. Readytocreateyourfirstlandingpage,orimproveonalandingpageyoualreadyhave?Herearesomeofthemostimportantelementsyou’llwanttoimplementtoensureyourlandingpageismovingyourbusinessclosertoitsgoals: 1.IntuitiveNavigation You'vebroughtyourtargetedtraffictoapagewheretheycantakeyourdesiredaction.Don'tdistractthem!Limitthenumberofexitsfromyourlandingpagesothatyourvisitorsarefocusedonfillingoutyourform.Akeypartofthisistoremovethewebsitenavigationelementsonlandingpages.Thishelpsputthefocusbackonthecontentyou'reoffering. Seehowthelandingpagebelowdoesthis—asidefromtheHubSpotlogo,therearenonavigationbuttonstoconfuseordistractvisitors. 2.SharingOptions Tapintothelargestcommunityofyourbest(andfree)marketers:youraudience.Addsharelinkstoyourlandingpagetoencourageyourwebsitevisitorstoshareyourcontentwiththeiraudiences. 3.ValuableContentOffers Firstandforemost,ifyouhaveavaluableoffer,yourvisitorswillgiveuptheircontactinformationinexchangeforyouroffer.Askyourselfwhetheryourofferiscompellingtoyouraudienceandmakesureyourlandingpagedemonstratesthatvalue. Onewaytoensureyourlandingpageaddsvalueistoshowyouraudiencethecontentthey'regoingtoreceive—directlyonthepage.Seehowthiscanlookintheexamplelandingpagebelow. 4.SuccinctCopyandLeadForms Thelongeryourlandingpageandform,themorefrictionyouaddtothelead-generationprocess.Keepingyourleadformshortandstraightforwardwillincreaseyourconversionrate. Here'satip:Putasmanycontactfieldsasyoucanonthesameline.Shorteningtheheightofyourlead-captureformhelpsyoulimitthemoretrivialfieldsyoumightbetemptedtoinclude,andpreventsyourlandingpagevisitorsfromgettingspookedbyaformthat'saskingtoomuchofthem.Asshownbelow,sometimesallyouneedisafirstandlastname,followedbyanemailaddress. 5.FocusedCommunication Youmightbetemptedtocreateacatch-alllandingpagethatmentionsyouronlinecourse,emailnewsletter,ebook,andeveryothercontentofferyou’repromoting.However,thisisnotideal. Thepeoplewhovisityourlandingpageshouldbelookingforoneparticularofferandthisoffershouldmatchthecommunicationtheysawrightbeforetheyclickedyourlandingpagelink.Didyoushareasocialmediapostaboutyourlatestfreeemailtemplate?Ifso,that’sexactlywhatyourlandingpageshouldcommunicate.Usetheheadlinetograbthereader'sattentionandletthemknow“Hey!You’reintherightplacetodownloadthatfreeemailtemplate.”Theimageryofthetemplateandafewbulletpointsaboutthebenefitsofitwillhelpcommunicatethispoint,too. 6.TrackingandAnalytics It’sonethingtoknowhowmanyvisitsyourlandingpagereceived.It’sanothertoknowwherethosevisitorscamefrom. You’llneedtoknowthisinformationsothatyoucanoptimizeyourmarketingcampaigntogeneratemoreleads.Ifemailmarketingisgeneratingmoreclickstoyourlandingpagethanthesearchengines,thenit’sagoodideatofocusonemailmarketingtacticswhileyouoptimizeyourlandingpageforthesearchengines. UTMtrackingparameterscanhelpyouuncovertheseinsights,too.YoucanusetoolslikeGoogleAnalytics,Bit.ly,andHubSpottocreateandtrackUTMparameters.Here’sadetailedguideonhowtostartusingthistool. 7.ConstantImprovement Asmanybestpracticesasyoumayreadaboutonline,yourlandingpagecanalwaysusemoretestingandimprovement.Makesureyouhavealandingpagecreationtoolthatallowsyoutocreateandtestmanydifferentlandingpagestoseewhatworksbestforyourbusiness.Additionally,ifyou'reaHubSpotcustomer,considersomeofthelandingpagetoolintegrations,suchasbriX. GottaCatch’emAll You’vespentweeks,months,orevenanentirequarterdevelopingtheperfectmarketingcampaignandcontentofferstoappealtoyourbuyerpersonas.Don’tletthathardworkgotowaste—remember,convertingvisitorstoleadsisyourmaingoal.Buildingqualitylandingpagesforeachcampaignorofferyoucreatewillbeanimportantpartofyourleadgenerationstrategy.Usethebestpracticesinthisarticletobuildtheperfectlandingpagesforyourbusinessandcaptureeveryleadyoucan. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinOctober2020andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness.   OriginallypublishedAug4,20215:45:00PM,updatedAugust052021 Topics: LandingPages FreeLandingPageBuilder Don'tforgettosharethispost! RelatedArticles 19GreatLandingPageExamplesYou'llWanttoCopyin2022 Marketing  |12minread 14CopywritingExamplesFromBusinessesWithIncredibleCopywriters Marketing  |19minread 7HabitsofaHighlyEffectiveLandingPage Marketing  |4minread ExpandOffer SocialMediaContentCalendarTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater