Landing Pages: The Gateway to Conversion
By Ryan Vielma
You’ve heard the term thrown around the office and in the blogs you read. You’ve nodded your head during conversations about them, signalling that, “Yes, I know EXACTLY what you are referring to.” You’ve even been on them and used them when looking for a new pair of shoes or a lawn care service. Despite all of that, at Intrigue, the questions we often hear are: What is a landing page? (and) Do I need landing pages?
What is a landing page?
We all know by now what web pages are: they are a set of pages that are compiled into a hierarchical structure that make up the basis of a website. Common web pages, that are found on most businesses websites, include home, about, services, contact, FAQ, etc. A landing page is different than these web pages.
A landing page is a stand-alone page from your main website that is created to encourage your target audience to take a specific action that satisfies a goal.
Typical web pages have a lot of information on them that help the user learn more about the product/service/company, with external links that can direct them to other web pages.
Landing pages have very little content on them in order to focus more purposefully on a specific call-to-action. Landing pages generally foster an exchange of information. For example, a landing page may ask for your contact information via a form in exchange for a specific piece of content that will help you solve a problem — this is called a lead magnet.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is an ultra-specific offer that works to attract a prospect customer. For example, a piece of content with a high perceived value that can help solve a problem, like a toolkit, checklist, or quiz.
The lead magnet’s goal is to entice someone to provide their contact information in order to receive the valuable content. Once the contact information is received, the person can be added to your list for future contact and is a future lead.
Here are some of the benefits of landing pages and a short explanation of their value:
| Benefits of Landing Pages | Explanation |
| Conversion Increase | Emphasize a specific Call-To-Action (CTA) to encourage visitors to follow specific steps to receive valuable content. |
| Design Freedom | Provides an opportunity to test designs that differ from the main website to better optimize conversions. |
| Testing Ability | Content and CTA can be more easily edited and tested than web pages that are connected to the hierarchical structure of your main web pages. |
| Campaign Accountability/Tracking | There are different landing page creation platforms, like Unbounce, that can provide specific measuring capabilities to monitor campaign objectives. |
| SEO Ranking Improvement | Provide the opportunity for specific, tailored messaging and keyword usage to increase content relevancy for search engines. |
Two Types of Landing Pages
Click-Through Landing Page
A click-through landing page’s main objective is to warm an audience to the value of an offer before they proceed down the marketing funnel.
Click-through landing pages are often used for eCommerce websites to highlight information about the product/service that is being presented before someone reaches the purchase decision portion of the marketing funnel.
Lead Generation Landing Page
A lead generation landing page’s main objective is to gather a visitor’s personal information (name, email, phone number, address, etc.), in order to make them a contactable lead prospect.
By exchanging value-added lead magnets, such as a how-to videos, pdfs, cheat sheets, etc., that solve a specific problem, visitors are more inclined to provide their contact information.
One-Step vs. Two-Step Landing Pages
There is no secret formula that we can use to determine which style of landing page is going to resonate perfectly with any given audience. What we do have is an idea of situations that are better suited for one style over the other in generating qualified leads.
For the purpose of exploring one-step and two-step landing pages, we are going to focus on the lead generation type of landing page.
One-step lead generation landing page
This is a traditional lead generation landing page that presents a valuable lead magnet that will be provided in exchange for a person’s contact information. The single form will ask for information desired by the company.
When to use a one-step landing page:
- You only require basic information and a specific call-to-action is outlined.
Benefits of a one-step landing page:
- A simple form typically appeals to colder audiences who are not as invested or familiar with the product or offering.
Tip on using a one-step landing page:
- Get creative with the design and have no more than three requested information form fields.
Two-step lead generation landing page
This style of landing page has all of the same attributes as a one-step page, but instead of asking for all the desired information initially on the first page, the request is split into two pages/forms.
The first page will ask for general, qualifying information that pertains to the company, but is not contact information. After the visitor inputs the qualifying details, they will be redirected to the second landing page, which will then ask for their contact information.
When to use a two-step landing page:
- When more detailed information is needed. Putting an abundance of form fields on one page can result in people leaving before completing the form.
- Ideal for eCommerce websites as it helps their checkout process by minimizing the number of people who abandon their carts.
Benefits of a two-step landing page:
- The time commitment and detail that goes into filling out a two-step landing page tends to result in stronger leads and an increased willingness to provide personal information when prompted.
- Your team will have more information and data collected before contacting lead.
Tip on using a two-step landing page:
- Do not make it overwhelming. There is a fine line between getting more detail and asking for too much information in too many fields.
Landing Page Experts
At Intrigue, we have a team of experts who are experienced in creating one-step and two-step landing pages. We take the time to learn about our client’s goals in order to suggest an appropriate course of action and set them up for success.
If you are interested in learning more about how landing pages can help you reach your goals and convert your visitors into leads, contact us and let’s have a conversation.
