Why Landing Pages Outperform Your Website for Ads

You’ve worked hard to get visitors to your website. Now, you need to convert them into leads. 

One of the best ways to do this is with a landing page: a dedicated web page customized for a specific marketing or advertising campaign. 

Sounds simple enough, right? But even today, many businesses are still sending traffic to their home page instead of landing pages. Either they’re too worried about the investment to design an effective landing page or are (more likely) just too busy to do it right. 

But with a little help you can learn what to look for in an effective landing page and know why your company cannot afford to ignore them when it comes to lead generation.

What’s the Difference Between a Landing Page and the Rest of My Website?
 

A landing page is a standalone web page specifically created for a marketing or advertising campaign. 

It’s where a visitor ‘lands’ after they click on a link, like in an email, a search ad from Google and Bing, or a social post from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms.  

Now, you might be wondering “why do I need a landing page when I have a perfectly functioning website already?” 

Why not just send people to your Home page, your Contact Us page, or one of your product/service pages?  

Here’s why: 

• Most of the pages on your website offer general information about your business. You’re the focus, not your customers. And these pages are all linked together, with a menu that lets people jump around unfocused and unmotivated. 
• On the other hand, landing pages are solely dedicated to getting people to take action on one specific offer. It’s all about generating leads or sales. No links, no distractions. Just a single, simple offer. 
  

That singular focus makes landing pages extremely effective when converting leads ‒ and research backs this up. Studies prove that landing pages with just one call to action will get you more conversions than pages with two or more. 

And not only does a landing page get you more leads than a home page, but it also: 

• delivers a higher ROI and gives you valuable information about your prospects. 
• generates leads that you can segment, nurture, or distribute to your sales team with ease.  
• lets you track the marketing performance of your offers and how visitors become leads over time.  
  

To put it simply, sending people to a landing page instead of your home page is one of the most effective ways to increase sales, leads, and revenue from all your digital advertising and email campaigns. A successful landing page asks prospects to take a single action, whether it’s making a purchase or signing up for a quote, consultation, or lead magnet.

10 Critical Elements of an Effective Landing Page

So now that you know why your business should use landing pages, what should you do to create a high converting and effective one? 

Below are some of the most critical elements of a landing page that every business should be incorporating.

1. Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Great Headline
   Your headline is the first thing people will read when they land on your landing page. It should sum up exactly what you’re offering and how people will benefit in a few words.
   
   
2. Write Concise and Compelling Copy
   Tell a concise yet compelling story that makes an irresistible offer and nudges people to convert. Focus on the reader, not on yourself. Use short sentences and paragraphs. 
   
   
3. Use Strategic and Natural Keywords
   Using commonly searched keywords throughout your landing page (in the headers, body text, and page title) will help to optimize the page for Google search and ads relevancy. Avoid the temptation to keyword stuff. 
   
   
4. Embrace a Mobile First Mindset
   Over half of all website traffic is now from mobile devices. Make sure your landing page loads quickly, is responsive and looks good on mobile, tablet and desktop devices. 
   
   
5. Seal the Exits and Hide Navigation
   By hiding the top and side navigation, you reduce distractions, minimize friction, and lower bounce rates on your landing page. This means more visitors stay, stay longer and convert more often. 
   
   
6. Use a Lead Capture Mechanism
   A landing page isn’t complete without a lead capture mechanism, such as a form. In general, a shorter form will generate more conversions, but from leads of lower quality. Inversely, a longer form will generate fewer conversions, but from leads of higher quality. 
   
   
7. Add Some Social Proof
   Fear of missing out is a powerful tool to use when building social proof behind your landing pages. Testimonials and reviews add credibility to your product or service. This demonstrates that customers trust you and that business is in demand. 
   
   
8. Help Explain It with Images
   Using images that relate to the copy on the landing page allows people to visualize what it is that you are trying to say about your business, products, and services. If a picture is worth a thousand words, an image is surely worth a few hundred characters of copy.
   
   
9. Don’t Forget the Thank-you Page
   After the visitor has put their information into the lead capture mechanism a thank-you page should pop up to confirm with the visitor that their information was received properly. If the page includes a specific deal, the visitor should receive a message that guides them to their next steps and prepares them to be contacted by the business.
   
   
10. Follow-Up with an Email Autoresponder
    Many thank-you pages are accompanied by email autoresponders. These emails offer more information on what’s next for the visitor after converting on the landing page. Email autoresponders serve as a type of ‘receipt’ for the lead capture mechanism to confirm opt-in consent with the visitor. It also acts as a prompt for your sales team to check-in with your new lead.

Get More Leads at a Lower Cost with Landing Pages

Setting up landing pages is time well spent, and the results from conversion to leads will be all the proof that you need.  

Guiding your website visitors to focus on your current business offer will steer them towards action and turn them into customers. 

If you’d like to learn more about landing pages and how they can benefit your business, or if you’d like advice from an industry professional about the next steps reach out to us to chat.