Unlike your homepage, which is meant to be all things to all people, a "landing page" has one sole purpose: to convert leads.
Typically, these leads come in from paid search and online advertising links, though they can also come from prints ads and even word-of-mouth. No matter where your visitors come from, you’ve got about five seconds to convince them to stick around.
Every landing page should have its own singular objective. Whether you're trying to get visitors to purchase an expensive product, download a PDF, or simply sign up for a newsletter, there shouldn't be any mixed messages: it should be obvious what you want your visitors to do, and it should be easy for them to do it. Stick to one column, and stick to one call-to-action.
Choose your value message carefully – then repeat that message over and over. Don't be afraid to be wordy, either: while shorter is usually better on the Web, studies have shown that more copy converts better for actions that seem high-cost and high-risk. For example, check out the landing page we just made for mtaxflowthrough.com, a complex financial product – with optional charitiable giving benefits.
Unbounce.com is a great new web-based service from a local Vancouver company that lets non-experts easily make a professional-looking landing page in minutes. Just drag and drop your visual elements and type in your conversion text. As they put it on their website, "if you can use Powerpoint, you can use Unbounce." Don't be afraid!
If, on the other hand, you choose to create your own landing page, just remember that you're not building a general, informational website: you're building a lean, mean conversion machine. Shepherd your visitors through the steps that you want them to take – and don't forget the thank-you page afterwards!
