What Is a Landing Page, Exactly?

Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who isn’t quite sure what a landing page is. You might have smiled and nodded along when a web designer or marketing professional mentioned one, but if you’re not dealing with web marketing on a regular basis, you might still be asking, what is a landing page, and when do I need one for my business?

What Is a Landing Page?

• Typically when marketers talk about landing pages, we are talking about a page that looks and feels like the rest of the website but is actually a separate page that lives on its own.
• For example, when we ran an air conditioner promotion for Sensible Heating and Cooling two years ago, we had a landing page built for that promotion. If people clicked on the ad in the Denver Post, it would take people to a sign-up page where they could enter into a contest. The page looked like it belonged on the Sensible site, but you couldn’t actually find it on the site because it was run independently.

Why Should I Use a Landing Page?

• The benefit of setting up a landing page is that it offers an excellent way of tracking results. Because you are steering people exactly where you want them to go, you can analyze their behavior in a very specific way.
• Landing pages are usually used for sales-related goals. If you set up a Facebook ad, for instance, you would want a landing page that related specifically to that ad and would allow you to track your sales that resulted directly from that ad.
• You usually need to hire someone to set up landing pages for you. Third parties (like the Denver Post in our case) will sometimes create the page if you are partnering with them for a specific promotion.
• You will probably get the most leads from using a landing page with an enticing offer, but be cautious about interpreting these results. If you draw in leads with offers of free services or products, they are probably not going to be the most informed leads and are less likely to bring you actual business.

We hope this answered the question “what is a landing page?” Let us know if you’re still pondering this or if you need help setting one up. We’re always happy to answer your questions, so just e-mail Niki at [email protected].