We’ve all been there, you spend money on creating highly targeted PPC campaigns, test what works with the keywords you target, split test your advert copy and measure the results based on enquiries you get. But one thing is often neglected in this process and that’s creating a dedicated landing page. Whether you want to drive traffic from Google Ads or from social media, creating a dedicated landing page should be part of your strategy for digital success.
Collectively we spent around £8 billion on digital advertising in 2015 but how much of this could have been better targeted with the use of dedicated landing pages. In this article we look at when you should be using a dedicated landing page to help generate more enquiries.
When you should use a landing page
A dedicated landing page is not a one stop solution to getting more enquiries, it is important to understand the concepts behind a landing page and when it is applicable. One example where a landing page may not be the best solution would be for an ecommerce website where the goal was to increase sales.
However, if you goals are to increase enquiry form submissions, get more service subscriptions or get more whitepaper downloads then a dedicated landing page would be a good match for your business.
What should you include on your landing page?
There are some key elements that great landing pages have in common that help them to generate enquiries and match your visitor’s needs. These are: a strong headline that matches their query, clear and easy to understand language, a focus on the customer’s needs and how you can provide a solution, elements of trust and credibility and finally a strong call to action.
Having all of these elements in place on your site will help your landing page match the needs of your customers and provide them with the confidence and the motivation to convert. Below we will look at these elements in a little more detail.
Headline
A strong and prominent headline that matches your adverts will help to make sure visitors know they are on the right page on your site. You should also use an engaging secondary headline above your content that leads visitors to read more.
Content
The language used on your landing page should be clear and easy to understand with no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. The content should also mirror your advertising message and convey the benefits of your services and how these meet your customers’ needs.
Trust elements
There are many ways that trust and credibility can be included on a landing page and the most common ways are: testimonials and case studies, trust seals, security seals and company logos. By establishing trust your landing page will help reassure potential customers that you are the right company for them to use.
Call to action
Your call to action’s need to stand out on your landing page, you need to make it as easy as possible for people to complete the actions you want and remove any potential hurdles. In general a shorter enquiry form will have a much higher conversion rate then a longer form.
Using strong language and active verbs will also encourage your visitors to take action e.g. Get, Download, Contact.
How can you improve your landing page
Once you start using a dedicated landing page for your PPC and social media traffic the temptation will be to just let it run, after all you have done the hard work and seen the increase in enquiries so why change it. Split testing, also known as a/b testing, your landing pages could help to further improve performance and get even more enquiries for your business.
Using traffic from social media and PPC you can easily split test different landing pages and by using website tracking tools such as Google analytics you can measure the results. Once the A/B test is complete you should have a clear winner which will help you get more insight into what your customers want and allow you to further improve your landing pages to get a higher conversion rate.