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Landing Page

A landing page is a specifically designed webpage intended to guide visitors toward a specific action.

What does the term “landing page” mean?

A landing page is the page visitors arrive at after clicking on an ad, a link, or a search result. Furthermore, it is designed to prompt visitors to take a predefined action, whether that’s submitting an inquiry, downloading a file, or signing up.

Unlike other websites with general information and navigation options, a landing page focuses on exactly one message and one call to action. It guides the visitor directly to the desired outcome along the customer journey. It often deliberately avoids links that would lead the visitor away from the page. The success of a landing page is measured by how many visitors perform the desired action.

Where did the landing page originate?

The concept of a targeted page developed alongside paid online advertising (SEA) in the 2000s. Advertisers realized they were wasting their budget by losing potential customers to a generic homepage after they had paid dearly for clicks. A landing page tailored to the ad proved to be significantly more effective and has since become an integral part of successful campaigns.

Why is the landing page important?

Running paid ads comes at a cost. What happens next is either a success or money down the drain. If a prospective customer lands on a generic page that overwhelms them with options and fails to meet the expectations set by the ad, they’ll bounce.

The landing page is designed to provide guidance at exactly that moment. It picks up on the expectations the ad has created, leads directly to a call to action, and ignores anything that distracts from it. It is the point where the success of an entire SEA campaign is decided.

Advantages

  • A focused landing page increases conversion rates because it specifically meets expectations.
  • It ensures that clicks purchased at a high cost don’t go to waste.
  • It makes the success of individual campaigns measurable.
  • A landing page can be easily optimized and adapted for a similar campaign.

Challenges

The landing page must precisely match visitors’ expectations. Such customized pages may—but do not necessarily—align with other campaigns. The right design requires an understanding of user guidance and is rarely perfect on the first try. Additionally, the direct path without links is a deliberate balancing act. It must be focused without withholding necessary information.

Example

A door manufacturer is promoting a free door configurator. Initially, the ad leads to the homepage, where hardly anyone can find the configurator. No inquiries are coming in.

Then a dedicated landing page is created, featuring only the configurator, its functionality, and the most important information. The page is rounded out with a form. The same ad budget now generates many times more inquiries because the page has a single, clear goal and knows how to convince visitors to take action.

Related terms

Call to Action (CTA) Read now: A call-to-action is a prompt telling website visitors what to do next. Conversion Rate The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who perform a desired action. CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the targeted improvement of a website to generate more inquiries, purchases, or sign-ups while maintaining the same number of visitors. A/B Test Two versions of a page or ad run simultaneously, and the one that performs measurably better wins. That’s an A/B test.