Advice on Landing Pages

Online advertising can be a messy business. It’s very different than traditional advertising in that the traditional rules don’t always apply. For example, when running a traditional newspaper ad you simply decide how much space you need to catch attention and create some interest in your product or service. Then you sit back and wait for the phone to ring. If the ad doesn’t do it’s job, your phone won’t ring and that’ll be the end of it.

With online advertising there are many ways to measure and improve your campaigns but for now I want to deal with one major difference – the landing page.

A landing page is essentially where a potential customer comes once your online ad does it’s job. What’s the job of an online ad? It can be branding but mostly it’s sole purpose is to get CLICKS! With online advertising, your ad doesn’t have to give them every bit of information to close the sale, it just needs to peak their interest enough so they click on the ad and seek more information. This is where the landing page and the real selling comes in.

We’ll talk more about this in the future but let’s look first at the purpose of an online ad vs. the purpose
of the landing page. A properly designed landing page can do much more than any
print ad or commercial ever could and the bonus is that your landing page is free and unlimited space to sell.

The purpose of the online ad:

1. Capture attention
2. Compel the user to click on the hyperlink – a call to action
3. The ad should NOT be designed to close the sale
4. The ad should open a dialogue with an interested prospect
5. The ad should stress the importance of purchasing

The purpose of the landing page:

1. Should act as a bridge between the ad and the sale.
2. The landing page should expand on the reasons and importance of the offer
3. The landing page could show examples where the ad does not have room.
4. The landing page should be suited to the particular ad that directs customers to it
5. The landing page should carry over the theme of the ad
6. Simplify your pages. Keep the goal of the landing page simple. Is it a lead, sale, subscription, etc.

Things to focus on with the landing page:

1. Enhancing desire – build on the offers direct benefit.
2. Creating a purchasing rationale – the facts and the extras
3. Building trust – brand names, secure server, location, contact information,
4. list trusted organizations like the BBB, TrustE, etc., advertise guarantees
5. and return policies, show the links or numbers for support
6. Tell your story and use testimonials
7. Anticipate questions and concerns and address them.
8. Present a clear call to action and a way to make the purchase