The Business of Broadband

CenturyLink nails this landing page with a strong image, clear message about the benefits of choosing their service, and a big "Start your order" button.

The term landing page, also called a lead capture page, refers to the specific page on your site that a visitor “lands” on when they click a link in your pay-per-click (PPC) ads, sponsored search engine results, banner advertisement, or a link in an email message.

Why should I use one?
You should use a landing page whenever you want to sell a product or service, get visitors to sign up for your mailing list, or take some other action that requires the visitor to register or provide personal information.

What makes an effective landing page?
When a visitor arrives on a landing page, you want them to take some specific action or engage in a transaction with your site. To entice them to take the desired action, keep the following in mind when designing your page:

1. Give visitors what they asked for. Be sure there is consistency between your landing page and the link they followed to get there – don’t say “Super-fast Internet Access” in your ad or link and then take them to a page where your phone or video service is more prominent.
2. Offer little or no navigation. Remove all but the most basic navigation to prevent visitors from wandering away from your page before they take the action you want them to take. This is easily achieved by using your regular website header with your logo as a link to your home page, but all other menus removed.
3. Be brief. Really brief – just one page, preferably without having to scroll down to see all the content. State the reasons, preferably in a numbered or bulleted list, that the visitor should take action, buy your product, or sign up for your mailing list in clear, concise language that communicates what’s in it for them.
4. Provide a clear call to action. Make it easy for your visitor to do what you want them to do. Want them to register? Ask them to do so in headline text that stands out on the page. Want them to call? Make sure your number is prominent on the page.
5. Make forms easy. Really easy – don’t ask for more info than you absolutely need. Just list a few short fields with a highly visible “sign up”, “buy now”, or “request info” button.

Where can I learn more?
To create great landing pages, it’s easier to learn by example. Here are some good how-to articles and case studies to help you create more effective landing pages for your web marketing efforts:

• Copyblogger.com: Offers links to how-to articles and dozens of landing page makeovers with “before” screenshots and 10 ways the designer/writer could have been more effective
• MarketingProfs.com: How-to articles and daily posts to make your landing pages more successful
• NewMediaCampaigns.com: Tips you can take from a 2009 Netflix campaign
• SEOmoz.org: Offers practical advice on getting the most from your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts with good landing pages

If you’ve been using landing pages in your Internet marketing efforts, what results are you getting? Please share your experiences and questions in the comments section below.