When you talk to professional SEO providers about landing pages, you’ll hear many of them extolling the virtues of testing those pages. Why? Why not just build a landing page that works the first time? First, let’s talk about conventional wisdom, passed down from those professional SEO providers. Conventional wisdom says that your home page shouldn’t be a landing page. Conventional wisdom also suggests that testimonial landing pages work better than other so-called “conversion pages”, and that product pages are one of the top types of landing pages. Now, let’s talk about reality. The reality is that there’s no telling what type of landing page will work for your specific website. As many of the better professional SEO providers know, what works depends on several factors, including the type of product you sell. For instance, if you sell a weight-loss product, landing pages that show comparisons have a better possibility of working than just a sales ad with a “Buy Now” button. However, if you really want a landing page that works, you want to look at every aspect of the page, not just what type it is. Okay, we’ve covered conventional wisdom and reality. Now we’re going to through everything out the window that you’ve ever read about building a “killer” landing page and start from scratch. Instead of wondering whether you should use a comparison, testimonial or feature landing page and constricting yourself to a “type”, ignore typing and build up the page according to your needs. Landing Page Duties Landing pages have some unique issues. For one, they ARE the sales process, from beginning to end. The product, service or information on the page has to be strong enough to get the user to convert. Landing pages also have to capture a potential customer’s attention very quickly. You have approximately five seconds to impress upon the reader why your product, business or information is better than others. The last issue is that a landing page is your first impression. Generally, it’s not going to be your regular audience that sees this page; the readers will be new visitors. Keep in mind that first impressions are the hardest to change. Your Goals Decide what the goal is for the landing page. Are you trying to collect contact information? Sell your product? Talk about your services? Whatever goal you’re going for needs to be the central theme of the landing page and, while all professional SEO providers will talk about content being king (I’ve done so myself many times), you need to think about design, also. Design When building your landing page (or looking at one you already have), keep in mind that you want to: • Show professionalism – First impressions are everything. Make sure the design is sleek, professional and in line with your goal. • Inspire trust – If you're a member of your local BBB, provide Paypal or are registered with HackerSafe, use these logos on your landing page. Logos take little room, and these specific logos have been proven to inspire trust. • Keep them on the page – Limit or eliminate your navigation. You don't need links around your website on a landing page; these are only ways for them to leave the page. If they leave the page before conversion, you've lost them. • Keep it focused – Your ad has a call to action also, so match your landing page with the ad. For instance, if your ad says "The best professional SEO providers money can buy", you want your landing page to say something like "Level343: The Best Professional SEO Providers Money Can Buy." Use the same phrases both the ad and the page. There are many other tips and tricks, words of wisdom, about landing pages. However, as the professional SEO providers will tell you, no amount of wisdom can guarantee a working landing page. Test first!
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