Christina May covers the topic of landing pages in our latest Marketing Monday Q&A. These pages are an important part of inbound marketing, and are the primary source for conversion. If you’re new to marketing or trying to learn more, this episode will be a great foundation for you.
Check out the full video here:
Question 1: What are landing pages?
CMay: Pages where exchanges happen.
Landing pages are specific website pages that aren’t connected to the main navigation of a website. This means that they lack the header and/or footer that includes links to the home page, about page, contact page, services page, etc.
Instead, a landing page has a sole purpose: To encourage and increase conversion. The goal is for someone to give up information, usually their email address or more, in exchange for something else, like a piece of content. This content can come in the form of a checklist, eBook, infographic, access to an exclusive class, or anything that could have value to your buyer persona.
Question 2: When should I use landing pages?
CMay: When you’re hoping to encourage conversions.
This has to do with the goal of your page. Most websites include home pages, about pages, catalogs and services pages. None of these are landing pages.
Landing pages are programmed specifically for conversion, so they don’t need to have your company history, blogs, or any extra information. Instead, all the information is going to be focused on your goal of converting your visitors to leads.
Here’s an example: If you’re offering a valuable case study and you’re hoping to generate conversions, it’s important to remove any and all distractions that could possibly take someone away from your landing page. The extra information on your normal webpages could take potential leads away from converting.
The page should instead focus on the item that's going to be exchanged for their information. Include a bulleted list or short paragraph with a description of what to expect from the content offer, an image of what the offer looks like, and most importantly, a form. The form should be the only opportunity for conversion on your landing page.
You must be sure that what you’re asking for in the form is of the same value as the content you're offering. It must be an even exchange. If your form is asking for an email address, perhaps the content offer is a checklist. If you’re asking for more information on your form, your offer should be more substantial, like an eBook or series of online classes, for example.
Question 3: How can I increase landing page conversion?
CMay: Check the basics.
What happens if your landing pages aren't converting well?
Start by checking the information you’re asking for, and decide whether or not a customer would value your content offer enough to give up that information. Remember, it must be an even exchange-people are becoming more and more protective of their primary email addresses and phone numbers.
Consider the length of your forms. If your forms are too long, your audience may not want to spend the time to fill them out. Decrease the amount of information you’re asking for and see if this affects your conversion rates.
You must also remember that your landing pages are not part of your website’s normal navigation. This is where content promotion comes into play. You’re going to want to use social media, email campaigns, and marketing automation to get your landing page in front of the right people and move get them into and through your sales funnel.
We hope you enjoyed this crash course about landing pages. If you have a marketing question for us, leave a comment or a message and we’ll answer it on our next #MarketingMondayQ&A. If you enjoyed this week’s edition of Marketing Monday, follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our Youtube channel.
Catch each episode on Mondays at 6 p.m., live on Facebook.