I love space exploration, science fiction and everything related to it. So, for me, “landing” has always meant touching down somewhere – whether on Earth, the Moon, or some other celestial body. Later, as a marketer, I learned that landing can also happen on the Internet: when a visitor arrives on a website, we can call it “landing” on the page. And the page designed for this purpose is called a landing page. But what makes a landing page good?
The short answer is simple: it makes money. Its primary function is to generate revenue. To elaborate, the purpose of a landing page is to sell or facilitate sales. It is a page specifically designed to help you achieve your desired goal.
A landing page is, therefore, created to support your marketing campaigns. Typically, visitors arrive via an ad, and you use the landing page to accomplish the objectives set in the campaign. The goal could be direct sales (of products or services), collecting email addresses, (i.e., building a database), or gathering leads. The landing page is essentially about persuasion: the visitor is already interested; they just need a little push to become a customer and provide their information.
A good landing page is a standalone page. It focuses on a single objective, avoiding distractions and guiding visitors toward the desired goal. It needs a strong title, appealing and informal images, and well-written text. This text should include call-to-action (CTA) elements to actively engage visitors. In fact, the text is arguably the most important aspect of your landing page.
The focus should not be on the company or the product but on the customer. The content must describe the product from the visitor’s perspective, emphasizing what it can offer them. It should address their problems and present solutions. Ask yourself: What does the visitor gain by becoming a customer? What problem can you solve for them?
The real challenge lies in capturing—and maintaining—the visitor’s attention. This is no easy task, as you have just 10 seconds to convince them to stay on your site. In that brief window, not only must your landing page load quickly, but it must also present relevant information and include at least one CTA.
To design an effective landing page, you need to have a clear goal. You must understand your customers—specifically, who you are targeting. You should also have a solid idea of the types of ads you plan to use to attract visitors. Of course, you can have more than one target group; in fact, identifying multiple target groups can be beneficial. However, since each group is different, the way you persuade them will also differ. This means you need separate landing pages for each group.
A good landing page is a continuation of your ad. It should feature a single offer, with the key principle being focus – once someone lands on your page, they shouldn’t feel the need to click away. You may even want to hide the menu if your landing page is part of a website, as even a navigation menu can distract potential customers! A good landing page is fast, loading quickly, while remaining clear and transparent. It should also be mobile-friendly. Additionally, including customer reviews can help persuade visitors and build trust.
A landing page can be either part of a website or a standalone page – both can be equally effective. If your landing page is part of a website, it is typically not accessible through the main menu but still aligns with the website’s design. In some cases, hiding the menu can be beneficial to keep visitors focused on the page’s goal.
However, it is also possible to redesign a product page to function as a landing page. While this may reduce efficiency, it is sometimes used – mainly because running campaigns for multiple products at once makes it difficult to create individual landing pages for each one. In such cases, you can enhance the product page by adding descriptions and CTAs that help drive sales.
If you are promoting a specific product or service, or selling tickets for an event, a landing page on a separate domain can be also effective. In this case, you create a relatively simple website that provides basic information along with the necessary services for completing an order, such as registration fields and payment modules.
I always say that the biggest challenge of selling online is creating the right interface to reach your customers. It’s not a large screen – in many cases, it’s just a mobile phone-sized interface through which you communicate. You only have a few square centimeters to persuade the customer, build trust, convince them to share their information, and ultimately make a purchase. And sometimes, you won’t succeed on the first try.
That’s why you should create multiple landing pages, varying in both content and format, for the same target groups. Then, using your campaign, test which version generates more sales and subscriptions. A landing page is only effective if it makes you money – and the more it makes, the better. The only way to determine the most successful landing page is through testing.
A landing page is just as essential to an online advertising campaign as the ad space and the ad creative. Without a strong landing page, you can’t have a successful campaign. So, put as much effort into designing your landing page as you would into crafting an ad – this will help your business reach new heights!