Online Marketing is the buzzword on the internet today. It has conceived and given shape to various business models like B2B, B2C, affiliate marketing, advertising and publishing et al. And though internet marketing is an entire different dimension in its own, its still similar to traditional marketing at its core. Try to remember what’s the first thing you notice as you enter a departmental store or a supermarket? Unless you’re in for a shoplift, you will probably see the latest product on offer on a display shelf. Its unusual to think about it, but if you really think, they’re kept over there only so you could notice them. That is exactly why we have landing pages on the internet. Landing Pages are the display shelves of your website. In this and the next post, we are going to look around what Landing Pages are all about and how you can use them to your benefit.

What is a Landing Page really?
Strictly speaking, a landing page is the page on which the visitors of your websites “land” from a source. If a visitor comes to your website by typing in the URL of our website’s homepage (for e.g. http://www.galaxyweblinks.com), his landing page would be http://www.galaxyweblinks.com/index.php . If the visitor reaches our website through the contact page of our website (say, via a search engine), the landing page would be http://www.galaxyweblinks.com/contactus.php .

However in internet marketing, a landing page is interpreted as the page where you want your visitors to land deliberately. On a broader scale, its basically the same thing as above, but look minutely and you will realize that internet marketers are using landing pages as their display shelves. Landing pages are a face to your products. They are made and campaigned in a way to make the visitors notice and take interest in them.

How many types of Landing Pages?
Traditionally and in the books, landing pages are essentially classified into two categories: Reference and Transactional.

1. Reference Landing Pages are pages that are made for the purpose of displaying information to the visitors. These pages usually do not prompt the reader to take any action. The objective of such a landing page is not broadcast, not sell.
2. Transactional Landing Pages are pages which actually prompt (in many cases, lure) the visitor to do something that ultimately leads to the fulfillment of the objective of having such a landing page. The basic difference between such a page and a reference page is that a transactional page has – what it is commonly known as a – call to action. Such pages usually have a small form being displayed prominently and the visitors are expected to fill that form. Conventionally, the “Visitors” are called “Leads” and once a lead takes the action which fulfills the objective of the landing page (for e.g. fills the form), its usually called a conversion – though the actual interpretation of conversion depends from person to person.
Eye Tracking Heat Map. Courtesy http://www.impactmedialtd.co.uk/blog

Eye Tracking Heat Map. Courtesy http://www.impactmedialtd.co.uk/blog

Apart from these two, there’s another kind of Landing Page which is creating a roar in Direct Marketing. Its called the -
3. Squeeze Page. Squeeze pages are web pages having just one objective: capture visitor’s data. Squeeze pages are heavily targeted landing pages which extensively focus on goal conversion. (Since the goal here usually does not require the visitor to actually spend money,) These pages have an unusually high conversion rate and are used to get niche data while planning targeted email and direct contact campaigns. Squeeze pages have usually have minimum or no navigation. I’ve read somewhere that the best squeeze pages are created with such perfection that even a native who can’t read and understand a thing would know what he’s supposed to do!

Creating Effective Landing Pages – Part II

What should your landing page have?

1. Keep the Gold above the fold: It is most essential that the first thing your lead notices is the stuff you want him to see first. So, keep the most important information visible without requiring too much scrolling. The name of your product, the important features and the call to action (read below) are a few things that you can keep ‘above the fold’.
2. The Question: The most effective way of selling on the web is to make the prospect associate with you. And the best way of making your lead associate with you is by asking him the question that is on his mind. A salon owner who wants an appointment software for his salon would be absolutely delighted to find that somebody out there has actually made something to suit his particular needs!
3. The Assurance: Once your lead is on your Landing Page, you need to assure him that he has come to the right place. Something like “Congratulations! Your search has ended” or “You have reached the right place” would convince your lead to stay on your page for a while – thus lowering your bounce rate effectively.
4. The Answer: Now that your lead is assured of coming to the right place, you need to prove your worth to them. Give them the answers to all the questions they have in their mind. Another way of doing this is by apprising them of the benefits they will avail if they convert.
5. Call to Action: This is the most crucial component of your Landing Page: It can be a recognizable button or a small form or any visual way of prompting the lead to “do something which will change something else for good”. You may also use a ‘push’ like an arrow labeled “Get started NOW” to trigger a conversion. Remember – all the points above are not even half as critical as the call to action. So make sure you come up with the best you’ve got. I would suggest you have a look at a good list of landing pages. You will find some here at Galaxy Apps.

Source: http://blog.galaxyweblinks.com/news/creating-effective-landing-pages-part-i