by Fahad Muhammad

A marketer without a landing page is like Batman without his bat mobile, Superman without his flying, Spiderman without his spidey senses, Martha Stewart without her baking – I could go on but I’m guessing you get the point.

So, even though a marketer without a landing page is a marketer (by definition) just as Spider Man would be a spider man because he was bitten by a radioactive spider his powers would be limited, so if Mary Jane decided to fall off of a building he wouldn’t be able to do anything heroic.

Yes, I just compared landing pages to superpowers and I have my reasons of doing so.

Don’t believe me?

Stick around till the end and I’m sure to turn that frown upside down.

Why all the Fuss about Landing Pages?

Landing pages aren’t a conversion fad that’ll blow over after some time, they are a marketing essential; something no marketer should ever be without.

A landing page is basically an independent page that your visitors land on when they click on a Google search result, your PPC or banner ad or an email or blog link.

Directing your visitors to a landing page instead of leading them to your homepage is a smart marketing decision because unlike your homepage which is a hotchpotch of all your product, services and offers – your landing page is a single page that is targeted towards one goal; getting conversion for just one of your offers.

Landing on a Landing Page is always better

If your visitor arrives on your homepage after clicking on your PPC ad all he’ll be is confused, because he would have to sift through your homepage looking for the offer that he wanted.

And nobody sifts through web pages these days, they either see what they want straight on or just move on.

If you’re leading your visitors to your homepage chances are they’re moving on.

On the other hand if you’re directing your visitors to your landing page (and if you’ve built it properly) then you’ll get conversions every time a visitor lands on your page.

Because they’ll get to see on your landing page exactly what they came looking for when they clicked on your ad.

The marketing secret here is to first build a kickass landing page and then align it with a relevant PPC ad or email link and then just sit back and see your conversions snowball.

How to Build a Kickass Landing Page

Building a perfect landing page is a two-step process; first, understand what goes into making the perfect landing page and then doing exactly that in relevance to your offer.

To build the perfectly optimized landing page (POLP) you need to nail five basic elements.

1.   An Attention Grabbing Headline

Think of your landing page headline like you would a newspaper or a magazine headline. The purpose of your Landing Page headline is not only to inform your visitors about your product or service but to entice them enough that they actually go through your entire Landing Page.

So, your headline needs to be smart and it should include the proper keywords.

 Basically your Landing Page headline needs to be such that your visitors automatically identify with it and understand that they need what you’re offering them.

 2.   Minimal, Enticing Copy

It’s true that your Landing Page copy needs to explain to your visitors all the benefits they’ll be getting once they click on your CTA button but, you need to understand that if you put huge chunks of content on your Landing Page you’ll only end up turning off your visitors instead of informing them.

 So, keep your copy brief and readable; don’t use technical terms on your page, just keep it simple.

 3.   A Bang on CTA Button

The CTA button is arguably the most important element of your Landing Page, that’s because it’s the end goal of all Landing Pages. So, your CTA button needs to be attractive and appealing; use a contrasting color to design it, try out new shapes and sizes.

Just think different with your CTA.

The CTA button also needs to be consistent with the initial offer that brought your visitors to your Landing Page.

 4.   A Relevant Graphic

An irrelevant graphic is not only a mood killer but a conversion killer as well, which is why it has no room on your Landing Page.

The graphic that goes on your page needs be interesting and relevant, an image that sparks something up in your visitors.

5.   A Simple Lead Capture Form

Lead Capture Forms are the least favourite part of your Landing Page as far as your visitors are concerned, this is because nobody is enthusiastic about giving their personal info to someone they don’t know yet.

Your Contact Form needs to be to the point; don’t ask them things you have no business knowing.

So, you’re halfway there; you’ve built the perfect landing page, optimization and all, what’s left to do now is aligning your PPC ads with your landing page (or vice versa, depending on where you stand) and then just wait for the conversions to come in.

Aligning PPC ads with Promotion Specific Landing Pages

Bringing your landing pages in line with your PPC ads is a simple task; all you need to do is take care of the following.

1.   Message Match

Make sure that your landing page’s message corresponds with that of your PPC ads. So, if your PPC ad talks about a free software trial; your landing page headline better do that too or you’ll simply lose that visitor.

2.    Simplicity

Simple and focused landing pages go a long way because they don’t distract your visitors from the conversion goal.

Refrain from adding unnecessary elements on your landing pages, keep them simple and in line with your PPC campaigns.

3.    Relevance

The landing page that your visitors land on should be relevant to your PPC ad. All your landing page elements whether that’s your CTA button or your copy should be in line with your PPC ad.

Don’t want to lose your marketing superpower?You can build a free landing page with Instapage for example.