The only way to have a clear insight into all the parameters of relevance for evaluating the executed campaign

When I go back to the beginning of my career, when I started working in the area of digital marketing, I remember how difficult it was to explain to agencies (with me on behalf of a client at that time) a need for a landing page for campaigns that we implemented. My vast experience in working for international clients that demand specific analytics for every cent spent in campaigns, I realized that it was very difficult to explain that need at a local level. However, education is always welcome for success.

How to get an optimized and successful landing page for your business? 
There is no exact formula for creating a landing page! We will never say – “This is a 100% perfect landing page that will definitely attract the right customers and provide us with a stable and higher profit than expected!”

And what is a landing page actually?

To put it simply, it is a page that opens first when you click on a banner, text ads, search engine results, link, etc. It is an excellent marketing tool for everyone using digital media for promotion. Landing page aims to generate visits from sponsored campaigns only, but here in the region, it is not really a case. In the Balkan digital world, the most sponsored campaigns are posted in such a manner that if you click on them, you will land on the existing webpage of a particular company, rather than on separate landing pages developed for specific sponsored campaigns. With some exceptions, however, 95% of ads lead to the existing webpage at an indexed page.

Landing pages are exceptionally important for successful digital campaigns. They help us direct our specific audience and enable us to collect relevant information about customers which we can later use to communicate with them. Most of all, it is exceptionally important for users to utilize the advantages of a landing page, which are as follows:

1. Check all the information at one place
2. Find answers to all questions related to promotion/campaign
3. Engage – e.g. register for an event, buy/order something, leave their personal data, etc.

All the above has one, unique and focused goal – to stimulate reaction of future potential customers.

And what is not a landing page?

Landing pages are a synonym for a homepage of a website, but often it is the first page that a visitor sees. Therefore, a landing page should not have the same elements as a website homepage; it should not have navigation and other additional links, but promotion-related information, an attractive call-to-action button that will trigger a visitor’s response, an attractive photo and a proper message.

What are the types of landing pages?

1 – Click-through Page
The purpose of this page that consists of clicks is to inform visitors on products or services that are being sold or promoted, as well as on their advantages so that they stimulate visitors to click on a call-to-action button – to buy, call, etc.
Here is an example: https://moz.com/mozpro/lander

2 – Lead Generation Page
This type of landing page aims to collect personal data of visitors, usually starting with their name and email address. If you open such a page, you will get a form to fill in: a specific subscription to a service, order of a product, discount, sweepstake, etc. A good lead-generation page should not include additional links and the navigation should not lead you to some other direction, only to the existing form that needs to be filled in.

3 – Squeeze Page
This page is specially designed for visitors to leave their email address in order to continue browsing the site. This is a great opportunity for collecting email addresses which may be useful in the future.

Here is why this type of site is efficient:

1. They are very short and appealing.
2. The text clearly and briefly explains an offer.
3. Visitors are always motivated to leave their email address because of good design.

4 – Sales Page
It is a separate page, independent from a webpage, and it is used for selling products or services. At this type of site, a visitor should learn all the information about a product or service in order to make a purchase. This page may have a short or a long format, depending on product complexity.

5 – Splash Page
A splash page is an introductory page or screen that appears before opening a webpage. The purpose of this page/screen is to provide visitors with additional information and take them to the targeted page of the website. Let’s take an example from the Zara site. At the very beginning, you need to select a country in order to continue to the targeted page.

What elements are important and how to develop a good landing page?

1 – Page title
If we wish to retain visitors on the website, then we need to have a well-designed and appealing title, with content and text corresponding to the title. The title can be an answer to a question, be interesting and funny.

2 – Subtitle or additional title
It is not obligatory but if there is one, it has to be clearly defined for a specific purpose.

3 – Creative elements
We need to include photos or video clips related to content, i.e. text, because they have a positive impact on visitors, with one objective – to encourage them to read the content and take an action. Visual elements should dominate at the site, but they need to be carefully selected and sufficiently clear to communicate the key message of a product or service.

4 – Content, text
Here we should explain the advantages of our offer – text should be clear and simply written, arranged in paragraphs and points that always help quick access to vital information. It is also necessary to include keywords in the text in order to optimize the page. The text explains the offer; therefore it is important to produce it in a manner which highlights values of a product or service. In the text, you answer the following question: “What makes my product or service better than competitors?” or “What makes this service unique?” Give users a reason to choose you.

5 – Trust indicators
Social indicators are a powerful and persuasive concept. People want someone else to decide for them because it is simpler that way. That is why reviews and testimonials are so popular. We need to include referrals that will help our visitors make a decision based on arguments.

6 – Call-to-Action button
A call-to-action button is one of the most important elements at every landing page. It has to be designed with a sole objective of attracting visitors’ attention and motivating them to take action on the page – make a purchase, subscribe to a service, data, etc. These clicks provide us with conversions, and that is most important.

Therefore, the button should be:

1. Separated immediately above other elements
2. In a contrast color to be separated from the rest of the page content
3. Call to action – “subscribe”, “buy now”, “join”, etc.

7- Lead Capture Form
As already mentioned, there are landing pages that include a form to be filled in. Its format should be simple and with several fields to fill in. However, we cannot always use a short format. In order to know which format is most suitable for your web locations, it is recommended to do an A / B test at each of them. What does that mean? You test both options, short and long format. A version that provides better results is the one you should continue to use.

8 – Mobile friendly
It is important that the page is adjustable to various screen sizes, where visitors can check the webpage, just like in front of a desktop.

Companies which often execute sponsored campaigns know that a key to success is to achieve an optimal budget in regard to spending – visibility of target groups is equal to a well-optimized landing page. It is the only way to have a clear insight into all the parameters of relevance for evaluating the executed campaign.