Successful landing pages are particularly important in online marketing and are now almost as important as a company website itself. But what is a landing page? What characterizes them? And what makes landing pages successful? We want to explore these questions here.
What is a landing page?
The name already gives it away: a landing page is any website that users land on as a result of an action. There is therefore a prehistory and a specific intention as to what users want to do on this landing page.
Where do users come from?
- Google AdWords
- Facebook Ads
- Social media postings
- Search engines
- Competitions
- Print campaigns
- External websites (blogs, news portals, comparison portals)
- Own URLs
Landing pages can also be any subpages of a website. However, this refers less to the homepage, i.e. the start page of the website. This is too general as a landing page. Many different target groups are often addressed on the homepage and a lot of different content is presented.
The special thing about landing pages is that often only one target group is addressed and only one specific action or goal is to be carried out.What goals can landing pages have?
When setting goals, it is important to consider where users are in the customer journey. It is extremely rare for a product to be ordered immediately upon first contact. Users would rather inform themselves first and weigh up the options before buying an expensive product.
The goals can be different. It doesn't always have to be an order. Common goals are:
- Whitepaper download
- Register for an event (webinar, training etc.)
- Newsletter registration
- Contact us using the contact form
- Phone calls for initial consultation, telephone orders, etc.
- Ordering a product
A typical use case for a landing page
The typical landing pages are pages that follow an ad campaign. Google has brought the importance of landing pages into focus with its AdWords. A typical application is as follows: You create a campaign for a specific keyword and link this AdWords campaign to the landing page optimized for it. This can be a subpage of your company website. However, if the campaign is based on a specific product or topic and is intended to appeal to a specific target group, you will quickly reach your limits with a subpage.
Concrete example of a landing page:
You sell shoes and would like to expand the online channel. In your shoe store, you have positioned yourself as an expert in children's shoes in particular in recent years.
The company website appeals to all target groups equally and should showcase the broad product range.If you are now running an ad campaign on the topic of "Perfect-fitting children's winter boots", it makes sense to develop your own image and color language for the landing page that specifically appeals to parents and children in winter. Even the headline font can emphasize the topic emotionally. This makes it clear that you are much freer in your design with an independent landing page.In addition, convincing content is important. It is important that you focus on your top product for this campaign. Position yourself as an expert and explain what is particularly important when buying children's winter boots and what is missing from most children's boots for the best fit. Highlight the benefits of your product and support your message with confidence-boosting testimonials or customer reviews.
Consciously limit the landing page to one product so that users are not distracted by other products during the sales process. At the end of the landing page, the focus is on an action that users cannot overlook: The purchase of this winter boot.
The more convincing your argumentation chain is and the more appealing your emotional design is, the higher your sales figures and the success of the landing page will be. The header and footer can be designed individually, often with a reduced logo in the header and online purchase details and contact information in the footer.
This is what characterizes a landing page:
The path to a successful landing page
As landing pages have a major impact in online marketing, they are often considered a separate measure and are given a modified design compared to the company website. The success of a landing page can be maximized by optimizing the design and content.
This is what makes a landing page successful:
- Reduced content that focuses on a solution to the issue
- Promoting a product, promotion or contact
- No distraction from other product groups or other promotions
- An individual design that is perfectly tailored to the target group and topic
- Own visual language that stands out in an emotionally positive way
- Own headline font that emphasizes the topic emotionally
- A convincing line of argument that is quickly conveyed in meaningful headlines
- High-quality and eye-catching microinteractions
- Confidence-building customer testimonials or reviews
- A clear call-to-action at the end of the landing page that users click with conviction
Good examples of landing pages
Airbnb
Airbnb uses its landing page to show new hosts the benefits and joys of sharing accommodation with Airbnb. Above all, the personal proximity to hosts worldwide becomes clear.
This is particularly conveyed through the imagery and the handwriting. The right questions in the interactive form show how easy it is to get started. The platform also offers interested parties a lot of support, making it as easy as possible to get started.The call-to-action is always present as a sticky button and is the only button that stands out with its red color. There is no navigation in the header. Instead, helpful links are listed in the footer navigation.Bugatti
With the smartwatch landing page, Bugatti manages to immerse users in the luxury world of the car brand. All the benefits of the luxury smartwatch are also listed during this time.
The landing page is a little long. We are already familiar with this wealth of content from Apple or Samsung product presentations. It almost seems that the more expensive the product, the longer the argumentation, so that in the end there are no more doubts. The landing page shines with numerous scroll effects and microinteractions that highlight the long content in an interesting way.In addition, 3D and self-running videos play a major role. In the footer there is a giant call-to-action button to an external store where you can buy the watch.Samsung
The Samsung landing page tops the length of the website by far. But there are also some good ideas here. Firstly, the landing page can be accessed via sticky anchor navigation.
Pre-Order is the most present button, which is always placed at the top right. The entire navigation of the Samsung website is hidden under a hamburger icon at the top right and therefore does not distract users.
Lufthansa
The landing page of Lufthansa for the Miles and More credit cards presents two products at the same time. By comparing the Gold Credit Card with the Blue Credit Card, the advantages of the more expensive product become clear.
In addition, the target group can still choose the entry-level product if they are not yet completely convinced. The nice thing about the landing page is the two sticky shopping cart buttons in the middle of the page. This keeps the call-to-action in focus.Conclusion
To summarize, there are four factors that are important for creating a good landing page:
- Reduction to an action and a specific target group
- Convincing content structured as a chain of argumentation
- An emotional design that stands out from the competition
- Clear user guidance with a call to action at the end
If you want to create a landing page yourself, think about which subpages of your company website are visited particularly frequently. Independently of the website, you should also determine which products and topics are particularly useful for interested parties and where you can offer users a solution.
