What is a landing page?
A landing page is a dedicated page (technically, a website) that you land on directly from an external source such as an ad (paid) or email.
The landing page is the digital version of the direct marketing letter, highly targeted and focused on one specific outcome. The aim of the landing page is to stimulate a predetermined action using targeted copy to connect with a user and persuade them to act.
Landing pages can be designed for Seach Engine purposes to capture organic traffic. Alternatively, this can also be used for paid advertising through search engines or social media.
What is the difference between a landing page and a home page?
A home page is like the bank. There are many desks to visit for various services that will take you various places. Homepages only acts like a portal to certain areas on the site.
However, Landing pages are all about conversions.
Landing page | Home page |
About conversion and proposals | Direct to another destination |
Is specific and focused on one objective | Is about brand awareness, messaging and information |
Has limited or no navigation options | Has multiple links and points of entry |
Can a home page be a landing page?
Usually, no. There are always exceptions, such as a one-page website created specifically as a squeeze page to capture email or gain sign-ups.
For a website that is more than four or five pages, the home page usually exists as the portal to enable a user to navigate to other pages.
The home page has too many functions to be focused on one landing page conversion.
How to create a landing page
As highlighted at the start of this article, failing to deliver on the promise from ad to page is a waste of your budget and the user’s time.
A landing page should be approached as a standalone page rather than another page on your website. Ideally, you will have reduced navigation and reduced options to take your attention away from the desired action.
Before you start to create a landing page, consider your end goals for the page.
- A proposal: what makes your offer so appealing and enticing? Why should the user take action? Use the proposition in the headline to gain attention and encourage the user to read the body copy.
- Call to Action (CTA): The most important part of the page. A user must have an area, link (email, phone, form) that they can interact with.
- Benefits of the offer: Sell and sell benefits. The user doesn’t care if the product is black or white. They only care about how this service will help them.
- Social proof: People do not like to take risks. Seeing that others have a positive experience offers credibility and instills confidence that the product will meet their needs.
