There is a powerful SEO tool that digital marketers have in their box but many fail to use. In fact, you could make the case that it is the most underutilized of all SEO tools. What is it? The landing page. Though they are out there, landing pages are hard to come by.

Nearly all organic search results produce links that go directly to a homepage or a post. Perhaps that should be expected given that organic search results tend to point to long-term content. But surprisingly, the majority of links associated with pay-per-click (PPC) ads also point to homepages. They should not. They should point to landing pages.

Statistics cited by Tech Jury’s Teodora Dobrilova explain why: companies get seven times more leads when utilizing 30 or more landing pages compared to those that utilize 10 or fewer. Simply put, landing pages generate leads. Coupled with the right content, they also generate conversions.

Landing Page Basics

If you are not familiar with what landing pages are, no worries. A landing page is a temporary page built to present a targeted message. It runs for as long as that message is relevant, after which time it is taken down.

Landing pages can take many forms. One example is a page that presents customers with information regarding a retail promotion. Webtek Digital Marketing, a Salt Lake City-based marketing firm that specializes in the digital arena, says this type of landing page is remarkably effective with PPC advertisements.

Say a consumer sees a company’s ad on Google. Clicking that ad conveys a definite interest in the product or service being offered. A landing page presents the customer with all the necessary information to make a choice. Somewhere on that page is a call to action designed to encourage positive action.

Landing pages do not have to be sales oriented. Many times in business to business (B2B) settings, they are not. The point is that landing pages are effective.

What They Should Look Like

The thing to understand about landing pages is that they should not look like homepages. What is the point in putting up a landing page if it is going to be a near carbon copy of the company homepage? That is just replicating work for no additional gain.

Smart digital marketing firms follow some basic strategies for developing productive landing pages:

• Useful Information – The information on a landing page should be useful in its entirety. There is no room for fluff. There is no need for it either. Website visitors should be presented with all of the information they need to make a choice.
• Brevity – Providing the necessary information is not an excuse to be verbose. Brevity is the key to successful landing pages. Information should be presented in a clear, concise manner.
• No Navigation – If a landing page requires navigation, it is not a true landing page. Successful landing pages have but one link. That link pertains to some sort of call to action.
• Call to Action – Every landing page should have a call to action. It could be an invitation to purchase. It could be an offer to learn more information or sign up for a newsletter. Whatever the case, the landing page should encourage visitors to make a decision.

Landing pages get better results because they are targeted. In this fast-paced world in which people do not have a lot of time to waste on extemporaneous information, landing pages represent one of the most powerful tools in the SEO box. It is unfortunate that they are so underutilized by digital marketers.