How important are landing pages?

My wife and I recently purchased a new vehicle. The kind of vehicle that you are tempted to spend money on aftermarket accessories and such to enhance the look and/or the performance of the vehicle. As I have researched said aftermarket products, I’m not surprised when I’m served ads for such things when I’m using Facebook, Youtube, etc. I for one don’t mind the “big brotherish” methods advertisers use to learn what I’m interested in so that they may serve me suggestions and information on THINGS THAT ACTUALLY INTEREST ME.

It made me think about when a client asks me about advertising on digital platforms and what works best. Now, it varies by industry, product and market. However, there is one major rule to follow… have a great landing page!

To emphasize this point, I’ll use a personal experience to help explain why landing pages are so important. As I recently visited a social media channel to “check-in

” on the outside world, I was presented with an advertisement for one of the aftermarket products that I mentioned earlier. Now, I was interested in the product (which was for storage) and decided to click on the ad. Upon doing so I reached a page on the advertiser’s website that featured a cargo cover.

Disappointed in the result I quickly navigated away from the advertiser’s site. Not even thinking about searching for the product I was interested in. Why? First, we are a society that is trained to receive immediate results based on our interests. Second, I couldn’t remember the name of the product. And lastly, it felt like a “bait and switch” tactic to me. Regardless of the reason, I went on my way likely to find a similar product elsewhere at a later time.

So, how does this apply to businesses who want to use social channels as well as other digital outlets to advertise their products and/or services?

It’s simple! Create the best landing page for the best results.

Things to consider;

1. Make your landing page support your offer. For example; If you are offering a free inspection, don’t point your prospective customer to a page that tells them why they should pay for your service.

2. Make it easy for them to contact you. Publish a phone (click to call) number and a form fill so that your prospect can contact you in the manner most convenient to THEM.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions on your form fill. The more information you have from your prospect, the more quickly you can answer their questions and get a commitment.

4. Insist that your advertising partner provides you with tracking and statistics so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing/advertising.

5. Compare your tracking data with your internal stats. Sometimes a good marketing campaign is weakened by internal processes that skew the numbers. Making the campaign appear unsuccessful. For example; Find out why you received 20 leads and closed only 1 deal.

View 19 Great Landing Pages here. Courtesy of Hubspot.

Contact me for a free consultation on digital advertising, landing pages, reporting and more! james@jamesgarrismarketing.com