In any kind of online marketing, the goal is to direct users toward becoming leads and converting. The exact strategy can take different forms — search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing — but the endgame is the same.

Many digital marketing tactics rely on landing pages to generate leads and conversions. Landing pages are one of the most effective ways to create new customers and drive up revenue.

But what is a landing page? Below, we’ll go over the landing page definition, and then talk about how to get the most out of your landing pages.

Read on to learn more, and then consider partnering with WebFX’s team of over 200 digital marketing experts for our landing page design services. Just call us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online to get started!

What is a landing page?

So, what is a landing page? In digital marketing, a landing page is a standalone web page specifically designed to drive leads or conversions. You arrive on a landing page after clicking a link in an ad. Once there, you’re shown a call to action (CTA) that prompts you to buy or sign up for something.

There are two primary types of landing pages:

1. Lead generation pages: Lead generation pages prompt users to sign up for something, like a newsletter. Typically, they use a form to collect information like names and email addresses.
2. Click-through pages: Click-through pages aim to convert users immediately, directing them to a product page or taking them straight to the cart.

When can you use landing pages?

Having covered the landing page definition, let’s talk about when you should use landing pages. Which marketing tactics work best with landing pages?

Below are a few of the best ways to use landing pages.

1. PPC advertisements

When it comes to PPC ads, landing pages are absolutely essential. If you run a PPC ad and someone clicks on it, it leads them to a landing page.

Landing pages allow you to direct users to content that is highly relevant to their search query, rather than simply sending them to your website’s homepage. If you’re a clothing company and someone searches for skirts, you want your landing page to focus exclusively on your skirts.

2. Social media content

Social media is another outlet where you need to use a landing page strategy. Social media ads use landing pages to direct users to get more information. These landing pages are similar to those you use for a PPC ad.

Additionally, you can use landing pages for the content you share on your social media accounts. Whenever you craft a post that includes a CTA or encourages your followers to sign up for something, you can have it lead to a dedicated landing page.

3. Blog posts

If you run a blog on your website, you’ve already got a great source of inbound marketing to draw people to your site. Once they’re there, you can use your blog to drive leads and conversions by including CTA buttons in your content.

By inserting a CTA in each of your blog posts, you can provide yet another route to landing pages where people can turn into leads or sales for your company.

4. Email marketing

Email marketing is another fantastic way to bring people to landing pages. When you send out an email to a lead, you can center it around a CTA that directs the user to a very specific landing page. Once there, they can complete whatever task the email encouraged them to complete.

For example, if you send out an email encouraging users to complete a purchase they left unfinished on your website, the link can lead them right to their cart, with their nearly-purchased item still inside it.

What makes a good landing page?

Landing pages can be incredibly effective tools for driving leads and conversions alike. But some landing pages are more effective than others. A good landing page strategy will employ several different tactics to ensure maximum efficiency.

Below, we’ll cover a few vital elements you need to have successful landing pages.

1. Customization

When users visit a landing page, they’re typically following a link from a specific ad because it matched a specific search query. The alignment between your ads and the searches they’re targeting is critical to get right.

When you design your landing pages, make sure they practice good customization by satisfying user intent. Each of your landing pages should be unique to each campaign.

If your ad is part of a campaign aimed at selling your furniture store’s king-sized beds, make sure your landing pages focus exclusively on king-sized beds.

Otherwise, users will quickly hit the back button because your ad content and landing page don’t provide consistent information.

2. One CTA

Your landing pages should keep users focused when they visit.. One of the worst things you can do is fill a landing page with five different links to other places because it confuses your visitors.

Limit your landing pages to a single CTA that encourages users to take a single action and allow them to do that by clicking on a single button. Providing more than one button will confuse users and make it more likely that they won’t click anything at all.

3. Practice good visual design

Your landing pages should look good. If users click on an ad and it takes them to a page that looks bland or poorly designed, they won’t have much faith in your company.

To keep people on the page, you need it to look appealing and engaging. Craft pages that shout your brand through their color schemes and designs and set them up to draw users in.

Here are some examples of good visual design elements:

• Consistent branding across the page
• Plenty of white space around the text
• Attractive graphics and images
• A CTA that pops off the page

4. Highlight unique selling points (USPs)

When users first click on your ad, they might be hesitant about signing up for your emails or buying your product. To convince them, you’ll need to act quickly to ensure that they feel positive about your brand.

One of the best ways to do this is to provide several unique selling points (USPs) right up front on your landing page. Tell them what makes your business, products, and services stand out from your competition.

For example, if you run a pest control business that won an award for performing the best pest control services in your city, you could display that on your landing page. Or, if your business has been around for a long time by the standards of your industry, you could advertise that too.

Get help designing your landing page strategy from WebFX

Are you ready to craft some killer landing pages, but having trouble piecing it all together? No worries — WebFX has you covered.

With over 20 years of experience in the digital marketing industry, we know landing pages inside and out. With our landing page design services, you can start driving leads and conversions for your business like never before.

To get started with us, just call us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!