Anxiety Disorder: An Overview


by JD - Date: 2007-03-06 - Word Count: 881 Share This!

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Summary:

Creating landing page copy is always tricky, it's just like being the pilot of a plane. It takes precision and a keen eye. If all conditions aren't just right, your pay-per-click (PPC) campaign might crash and burn. This article will discuss how to craft successful landing pages that can help drive PPC cost down, but also give your audience excellent information on your company and products.

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It's almost time for take off.

Making his way into the cockpit, he sits in the seat and clinks around with the keyboard in front of him. He checks his monitor and navigation device, pointing and clicking to make sure they're working properly. He then enters his destination into the navigation bar...and he's off. Soaring through the endless abyss, otherwise known as the internet, he wonders where he will land today. Are you prepared for his landing?

If not, you can start by creating a runway. On the web, this is most commonly referred to as a "landing page". A landing page is a "specific web page that a visitor ultimately reaches after clicking a link or advertisement." (1) They are designed in specific ways to aid companies in achieving a pre-determined goal.

Preparing the Runway

In order to start building your landing page, is it important to consider the following:

What is your goal? - Are you trying to get a customer to buy your product, or are you attempting to acquire a customer's contact information for further outreach?

Where is your customer coming from? - It is important to match your referring medium. As you can imagine, someone clicking in from an ad is expecting to see an attractive page that sums up everything there is to know about that particular product or service. While someone coming from an organic search will probably expect to see a page with more quality content that educates instead of sells.

What is your unique selling point? (USP) - Be prepared to tell your customer what is special about you and your company/product/service. This will help to persuade them into performing the desired action.


Lighting up the Runway

A landing page should be straightforward. A simple layout combined with visuals should provide easy-to-follow directions that guides the eye across the page and shows what is expected of the customer upon arrival. Here are some helpful tips when designing layout:

Eye-tracking studies show that most people's eyes follow an "F" shaped pattern when reading web content. So make sure your content moves in this manner. (2)
Remove any navigational links or buttons from the page, including any navigation bars you may have by default on every page of your website. The point is to keep the customer there, not provide opportunities for them to stray. (3)
Try to fit all your content above the fold of the page so the customer doesn't ever have to scroll down.
If your customer came from a search, place the keywords at the top of the page so they know that they've come to the right place. (4)
Make your "call-to-action" is apparent, like a "PURCHASE NOW!" button. It should be obvious what is expected of the customer upon arrival.

A call-to-action may be easier to represent when you want the visitor to make a purchase, but what would be the call-to-action for those who are just curious about your company? In this case, you should start off by providing educational materials and then giving an opportunity for them to leave their contact information to receive company promotions, newsletters, or just to learn more. This usually requires the use of forms.

Runway Formation

When using forms, the most important thing to remember is to always test your forms before making your pages live. Also, be sure that your forms only ask for information that is absolutely necessary, ensuring that the form stays short and is less of a hassle to fill out. Stating the added benefits of completing the form adds extra reinforcement because people are always more easily persuaded with good information to back up their decision.

Do not ask for feedback or comments unless it compliments the goal of your landing page. Most likely, there will be other pages within your site that would be more appropriate for this type of content.

To gain some extra bonus points, take the time to reassure your visitors that they will not be spammed and that their information will remain private and not be distributed to third parties. Leaving a link to your privacy policy will reaffirm this.

A Safe Landing

With this comprehensive overview of landing page design, no longer will your customers continue to crash and burn trying to land on your site. You will have provided them with a safe and easy runway to land on that is sure to increase the number of your online registrations, purchases, and trials.

Happy Landings!

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End Notes:



1) "Landing Page." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Feb. 2007


2) Nielsen, Jakob. "F-Shaped Pattern for Reading Web Content." Alertbox. 17 April 2006. useit.com.


3) "11 Ways to Improve Landing Pages." Digital Web Magazine. MediaTemple. 25 May 2005.


4) Cordova, Michael. "Landing Page Quick Reference Guide." SalesNewz. 11 Sept. 2006.


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About the Author
Veronica Mun graduated from the University of Washington where she majored in Communication and Psychology. She is currently a member of the marketing team at Essential Security Software, an emerging email anti-theft software company based in Bellevue, WA.


Related Tags: pay, internet, call, ppc, customer, action, per, solution, conversion, page, form, campaign, click, landing

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