One of the biggest mistakes that website owners make is the creation of landing pages that are not designed for a single purpose and confuse the visitor by distracting them with unrelated messages and links. An effective website is one that meets its goals and objectives through landing pages that are clear, relevant and lead the visitor to take action. That action might be lead generation or the purchase of a product. In addition, carefully crafted landing pages can assist with company promotion, branding, visitor education and/or entertainment. The website may be a single landing page designed for one purpose only or it may have multiple pages or sections that when combined, add strength and value to the website's overall mission and purpose. The following examples will make the landing page concept more clear.

Landing Pages for Lead Generation

If you are in a service-related business, your main objective may be to generate leads. Your visitors arrive on a landing page that presents a strong case for solving the visitor's problem, conveys trust and credibility, includes a low-risk offer and requests that the visitor complete an inquiry form. The visitor may be enticed to complete the form in exchange for a complimentary consultation or report. Whenever possible, the visitor's permission is obtained at that time to add them to your mailing list. You might include a check box (checked) that says "I would like to receive information by email from [Your Company Name]." The overall goal of this landing page is to receive leads from the inquiry form and to create a database of people who have opted-in to your list and have agreed to receive your information by email. Your response to inquiries and your list can play a major role in converting prospects into loyal repeat customers for years to come.

Landing Pages for Selling Products and Services

Perhaps your objective is to sell one or more products or services through eCommerce on your website. In that case, your landing page for each item is designed to sell with a shopping cart and automatic payment gateway. Your product page or landing page should be very clear - it should include a picture of the item (if appropriate), clear benefits for the buyer and answers to all of the visitor's questions and objections including return policies and shipping information. If multiple products are being sold, policy information can easily be made accessible through additional links from each product detail page. Depending upon your objective to sell one or more products, the visitor should be prompted to buy and check out, or add the item to his or her cart and continue shopping. Once the visitor completes the checkout process, it is important that he or she is automatically added to a database of customers. Be sure to comply with anti-spam policies and include this practice in your terms and conditions. Following up by email to your list of customers allows you to present a hot market with more and more opportunities to buy from you.

The squeeze Landing Page

The squeeze page is a landing page whose purpose is to get the visitor to take action (join a mailing list or buy a product) before giving them access to the rest of the website. There are minimal or no links to additional navigation. Once the visitor subscribes or buys, they are redirected to a page where they have access to the entire website and all of its navigation.

The Importance of Focused Landing Pages to Search Marketing

The value of search engines to businesses cannot be overstated. The vast majority of people in all age groups are heavily relying on search marketing when looking for products and services. Searching for keywords in local and worldwide markets is easily accomplished through the Internet. The quality of the landing page produced with searching is directly proportional to conversions. Let me explain in simple terms what this means. When you are selling multiple products from one website, it is critical that a visitor searching for a keyword related to one of your products, lands on the detail page with information about that product. If they are searching for cell phones for instance, they should land on a page with all of your cell phone products where they can easily get details about each cell phone and make a purchase. If your site sells a variety of electronics and your visitor lands on a general page where they have to search for cell phones, they may feel frustrated and leave the site. If they are looking for a specific model number and can land on a page where they find the exact product they are looking for, it is more likely that they will become a customer. Someone searching for a particular product is a serious buyer and not a casual shopper. Many times it is more desirable to have a separate landing page with a unique domain name for each product. This is important for more unique and higher priced items. A general rule is that the less distractions and choices you offer the visitor, the better your conversions will be. A distracted visitor is a confused visitor who is less likely to buy.

When Additional Landing Pages and Sections Add Value

There are times when additional information on your website can add to the visitor's experience and produce better results for you. Information about your company is likely to help the visitor gain trust and confidence before making purchasing decisions. This is your opportunity to provide some historical data, relay your unique selling position (USP) and in some cases, provide information about key company personnel. Adding content that provides credibility is particularly important in businesses where qualifications are important to the prospect. Some examples are financial, legal, health care and creative services. This may be accomplished through a press room section where newsworthy content about your company is showcased, by adding a page that lists your clients (when appropriate) and including testimonials that document client satisfaction. Where content helps to educate your market, articles rich in information and keywords about your industry may be the landing pages that drive the visitor into other sections of your website. Whatever the page or section is about, it is important that it is a clear and concise landing page on that subject.

In conclusion, paying particular attention to the quality of your landing pages will enhance the performance of your website in converting prospects to customers. For each landing page on your website, be sure to determine its single purpose. Make sure your landing page includes a clear and concise message that defines your target market, emphasizes benefits, answers objections, provides credibility and includes a low-risk offer. Keep additional links to a minimum. Whenever possible, get the prospect's permission to add them to your mailing list. Applying these rules to your landing pages will increase your website's performance, value and conversions.