Spend any time in the internet marketing space and you’ll be sure to hear the term landing page used frequently.
However, don’t make the mistake of confusing your landing page with your website homepage. While your website homepage might be a spectacularly designed piece of internet real estate, a landing page serves a very specific purpose.
Discover all the various types of landing pages and how to create them.
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is what it sounds like. It’s a web page that you “land” on whenever you click a link. While that could refer to landing on different site pages, like a homepage, a contact page, or a product page, that’s not what the term landing page is intended to mean. The difference here is that users are directed to a landing page via a specific marketing campaign whereas main site pages, like a homepage or product page, are searchable by the user.
Landing pages are used to move users through the sales funnel and eventually get them to convert in some way such as entering your email or making a purchase.
1. Lead Generation – This type of landing page is often used at the top of the funnel because you’re more likely to get users who are unfamiliar with your brand to give you their email rather than make a purchase. This tactic is great if you want to build your email list and have a drip campaign in place.
2. Hard Sell – This type of landing page is usually used in retargeting efforts when a user has already been exposed to your brand or products. This page is focused on breaking down the barriers that would keep someone from making a purchase.
How Does a Landing Page Work?
In order to make a landing page work, you first need to figure out what your target audience is. Are you going to be running Facebook ads? If so, what audiences are you building? If you know who your audience is, you can tailor the copy to speak directly to their pain points and desires, and position your product as the best solution for that. Landing page copy can be pretty different from the branded content on your site because it is focused on influencing your users to take a specific action.
With thoughtful copy and design and a cross between science and art, a landing page should increase conversions over a standard site page. The key here is to let the data guide you. Using tools like Google Analytics to monitor conversion rates over time or heat maps to view where users spend the most time on the page will inform what changes you need to make to the landing page. This is a form of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) that we call “landing page optimization” and should be a continuous process that never stops until you’ve “cracked the nut” (but I why even stop there?).
Landing Page Elements
Landing page content can differ in design and offers, but almost every effective landing page will have similar elements. These elements include:
- A compelling headline
- An enticing image or video
- Your focused messaging and offer
- A call-to-action button (CTA)
- A lead capture form
- A thank you page and way to deliver your offer
Ideally, you’ll want as much of the meat of your page to be above the fold to capture the attention of your visitor quickly. You can also create a long-form direct response sales page as a “landing page” if you’re selling a high end product or service. Copywriters use persuasive copy to help prompt visitors to scroll further down the page and inform them of the benefits of the product or service.
However, keep in mind that if your main goal is lead capture, it’s better to stick with short, compelling copy and an enticing image. Attention spans on the internet are notoriously short, so it’s essential to grab attention and grab it quickly. For a long-form landing page, elements will be similar, you’ll just have more of them.
- A compelling headline
- A sub headline if needed
- An enticing image or video
- Your focused messaging and offer
- A call-to-action button
- Trust signals like customer logos
- An explanation of your offer or service
- The benefits of said product or service
- Testimonials or social proof
- A final call to action button (CTA)
- A thank you page and way to deliver your offer
Note that your CTA should be visible more than once throughout a long form landing page to maximize potential conversions. It’s also important to keep the order of information the same so that the visitor flows seamlessly from one element to the next, until they convert. An interruption in the flow of copy and design will throw a visitor off, increasing the likelihood they will click away and you won’t capture the lead.
Landing Page Tools
There are a variety of tools used to create effective landing pages that convert. Some may be more budget friendly than others. Some tools and platforms to consider are:
Unbounce
One of the first tools on the landing page scene, Unbounce is a drag and drop platform that allows you to create landing pages for a variety of needs, using drag-and-drop design and ready-made templates. There is a monthly fee, that can be expensive for some just starting out, but it’s a beautiful option if it’s in the budget, with a lot of options to experiment with.
Leadpages
This tool is very similar to what Unbounce offers, but landing page templates can come for a fee and you can sort them by high converting pages. There are some free templates too, but you’ll probably have to pony up for the really good ones. It’s also not quite as user friendly as Unbounce, but still a great option.
Instapage
For another drag-and-drop option that creates beautiful landing pages that are mobile responsive, you can’t go wrong with Instapages. It also doesn’t require any code to integrate into your website, you can integrate it through WordPress.
There are plenty of other options for landing page creation as well. Many of them come as part of a set of tools, such as platforms like Hubspot, Systeme.io, and Clickfunnel.
Other landing page software you’ll need for creating your landing page is some kind of lead capture system, like Mailchimp or GetResponse. Some lead capture systems, like GetResponse, also offer tools to build landing pages.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Landing Page?
It’s really up to you. There are a variety of options out there, ranging from free to a significant investment. The key is to decide what kind of landing page you need to build, and then determine which builder option suits your needs best. Some tools may be too robust and have features you don’t necessarily need right now.
However, going with one of the free options might mean your landing page is a little less than satisfactory once it’s built.
Ultimately, learning how to create a landing page isn’t that difficult. The real challenge is narrowing down the right tools for the job. Take your time and review your options carefully. Ask for feedback from other users and choose the option that suits your business best.
