Of course you would’ve heard of landing pages, but what about search engine optimised landing pages? We’ve consolidated most, if not all, the best practices for creating the greatest landing page of all time in this two part guide. Read on to learn about how to create such landing pages and provide your page visitors with an enjoyable experience.
First, let’s understand the basics:
What is a landing page?
A landing page, as its name suggests, is a page where visitors can ‘land’ on, usually after clicking on an ad. Having said that, not all web pages are landing pages. A landing page has a dedicated objective.
There are two main types of landing pages: click-through and lead generation.
Click-Through Landing Pages
The objective of click-through landing pages is to provide sufficient information for site visitors so that they will be pushed to the next course of action. In other words, it means guiding them to follow through a specified pathway, filtering them down a funnel. In the Spotify example above, it provides users with relevant information about Spotify, such as the benefits and price, etc. Such information helps users to make their decision and motivate them to proceed to the next step, which is, to either click on the ‘Get Spotify Free’ or ‘Get Spotify Premium’ button.
Lead Generation Landing Pages
Lead generation landing pages are mainly aimed at capturing user information in exchange for something. Take for instance, this landing page of ours getting users to download a sneak peek into The Digital Goldmine book written by our founder, Mr Leonard Tan. Similar to any lead generation landing page, there is a form for users to fill in their names and email addresses in exchange for downloading the preview chapter. From this, we are able to capture the information of people who are relatively interested in digital marketing, and can reach out to them for future marketing communication purposes.
Before Setting Up Your Landing Page
Now that you know what a landing page is, what are some of the considerations that you should take note of before setting up your landing page?
Ask yourself these three questions and check them off your list before you proceed to create your landing page:
Question 1:
The very first step is to determine who your target audience are. You may also want to segment your audience based on user types or traffic sources. This will give you an idea of how you can design your landing page according to their behaviours and preferences.
Question 2:
After you define your target audience, think about what you want them to do on your landing page. This will steer the direction for your landing page design and content. When you’re clear of what your goal is, it’ll be easier for you to do up the design and content of your landing page.
So for example, if you’re looking to drive more purchases through your landing page, you might want to include detailed product information, photos and even product demonstration videos for users to make an informed purchase decision. Alternatively, if you’re intending to get them to download a free ebook, you can provide a short preview to one chapter in your ebook. This way, users will know what they are signing up for and be more willing to disclose their information to download the ebook.
Question 3:
It might also be wise to do some research on what your competitors are doing. On one hand, you can observe what they are doing and gain inspiration as to how to go about making your own landing page. On the other hand, you can emulate some of their good practices while avoiding bad ones.
What’s Next?
As of now, we hope you are familiar with what landing pages are and the considerations that you should keep in mind before starting one. So, the next step is to get into action and create the actual landing page.
Think about:
- What constitutes a good landing page?
- How do you differentiate between good and bad landing pages?
- What are some best practices for the design and copy elements of your landing page?
Find your answers to these questions in part two of this guide to landing pages!
References:
https://www.spotify.com/sg-en/
http://thelandingpagecourse.com/landing-page-101-intro/
http://unbounce.com/101-landing-page-optimization-tips/
http://unbounce.com/landing-page-articles/landing-page-best-practices/
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/02/12/great-landing-pages
