Let's start with a quick hypothetical scenario to explain landing pages:
Let's say you are a professional builder who owns a small business where your services include a number of services like tiny houses and fixer uppers. Since you have read David Meerman Scott's book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, you are an incredibly savy marketer that runs your own business' blog. On this blog, you include a few quotes from previous happy customers, a look book of previous jobs, and an option for free consultations.
This scenario I described isn't the only pathway through which a visitor can travel to convert into a lead. Visitors can find your site and its landing pages through a number of marketing channels including email, social media, search engines and ad networks.
So! Just to recap, here are Scott's (2015) 10 tips to consider when building a landing page:
- Make the landing page content short and the graphics simple
- Create the page with your company's look, feel and tone
- Write from the buyers point of view
- A landing page is communications, not advertising
- Provide a quote from a happy customer
- Make the landing page a self-contained unit
- Make the call to action clear and easy to respond to
- Use multiple calls to action
- Ask for necessary information
- Don't forget to follow up!
Discussion questions to consider when writing your post:
- Scott points out that "the best search engine marketing comes from paying attention to and understanding your buyers, not manipulating or tricking them" (2015, p. 406). Is there a time where you were tricked by a landing page or search engine results?
- What advice would you give for a new company that is just starting out in the digital market?
- Is there any advice you can give to a current company to improve their SEO and landing pages?
- What are some ways to measure success of your landing pages and campaigns?
n.a. 2016, March 19. The Importance Of Landing Pages. AdImpact.com. Retrieved from http://www.adimpact.com.au/blog/the-importance-of-landing-pages
n.a. 2017. Building Effective Landing Pages. Marketo.com. Retrieved from https://www.marketo.com/ebooks/building-effective-landing-pages/
Scott, D. M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing and PR (5th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Landing pages are wonderful, and I think you've pointed out many of their benefits. My office often uses multiple landing pages for A/B testing. Sending people to two slightly different landing pages allow us to test how people react... do we see more engagement with this photo than that photo? We also build specific landing pages for each Google AdWords ad we launch for a client, matching search terms with exact content that then directs them to more information within a client's website. HubSpot shares instructions on how to conduct A/B testing with their service, https://knowledge.hubspot.com/landing-page-user-guide-v2/how-to-ab-test-landing-pages . The important thing to remember is you can create as many landing pages as you need, but to only test one variable at a time.
ReplyDeleteHey Victoria,
DeleteA/B testing has so many benefits to it. I am really glad that your office has the resources in order to do that kind of testing! My company did not have the staff to dedicate to the testing at the moment but I think this is something we will absolutely rely on in the future. Thank you for sharing that article! I will book mark it :)
Hi Meredith,
ReplyDeleteGreat job explaining how to build an effective web landing page. You questioned what are ways to measure success of your landing pages. I found an article that discussed 6 measurements as well as ways that brands can improve their pages.
Traffic Source. We are living in the moment of the mobile mind shift and it is important to understand how users reach a brands site so they can create more effective landing pages for each channel including desktop, mobile, tablet, etc.
Bounce Rate. This measurement is the percentage of users who reach a brands site and exit without bouncing to any other pages. "A high bounce rate from your landing pages...typically means users aren't finding what they need, the content isn't engaging or there isn't a strong enough call to action to lead them to another page" (LanderApp, 2015).
Visitor Flow. This is the average path that a customer will take to learn more about a product or service. In order to generate more success a brand can alter their call to actions to increase the visitor flow.
Content Shares. The number of consumers and followers that share your content show that they are finding value in your brand and want to share that with others. Content shares can also positively influence search engine rankings.
Visitor Duration. The longer a consumers visits the site, indicated that the content is engaging. "However, spending too long on one page may tell you that a user has lost interest" (LanderApp, 2015).
Form Abandonment Rate. "The most effective landing pages create a sense of urgency, which can get derailed when marketers ask users to fill out a large number of fields" (LanderApp, 2015). Be sure to only ask simple questions necessary for your data collection.
*All above points were pulled from the following reference:
LanderApp. (2015, March 03). 6 Metrics to Look out for to Improve Your Landing Pages. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from https://landerapp.com/blog/6-metrics-to-look-out-for-to-improve-your-landing-pages/
Hey Kerstin!
DeleteThanks so much for sharing this. I found the article really interesting!
Great post Meredith. We use landing pages with digital ads where I work as part of multi channel campaigns, and the above highlights some of key items to always remember to have a successful campaign. We've also found that having a good call to action is the most critical part of any campaign that we run. Without it, every measurement of the campaign suffers.
ReplyDeleteThis is doubly important for our ads on social networks. Without a good 'hook', visitors from social ads are much less likely to convert since they are not actively seeking a service, unlike search engine ads.
Really appreciated reading this type of innovative blog. There are several benefits of an Advertising Service Agency that have a crucial purpose in the world of business.
ReplyDelete