There are a number of internet marketing channels that can be utilized to drive traffic to your website—social media, organic search results, PPC advertising (like Google AdWords), and more.But understand that the channels by which you drive traffic to your website are only half of the equation. It’s not enough simply to drive traffic to your website—traffic, by itself, doesn’t generate money for your business!

Whether the objective is to make a sale, prompt a phone call, or simply to capture an email address, it’s critical that your website feature landing pages which prompt the desired action.

Below are four essential elements to creating landing pages that work:

1) Create a dedicated landing page for each specific campaign. To be effective, your landing pages need to be highly specific—customized to resonate with a specific target, and to prompt a specific action. If you give your visitors too many choices, you dramatically increase the chances that they’ll choose ‘none of the above’.

2) Match the headline of your landing page with the advertising that is funneling traffic to the page. The copy in your advertisement creates expectations—and the headline should deliver on these expectations. If it doesn’t, your prospect is going to feel deceived… or at best, like he or she made a mistake by clicking on your link.

3) Incorporate testimonials. Every landing page is fighting a battle with its visitors—working to establish the trust and excitement necessary to overcome each prospect’s natural reluctance to pull out their credit card or even give out their contact information. Testimonials are a valuable weapon in this battle—as long as they feel "real." Don’t use anonymous testimonials—if at all possible, use the name and position of each individual. Video testimonials are even better!

4) Test multiple versions of each page. Just because you think that you’ve crafted the perfect landing page doesn’t mean that your prospects will agree. Test multiple versions of each page—change up the layout, the copy, the images you use, every variable you can come up with. Over time, you’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t.

The success or failure of your internet marketing campaigns often comes down to the performance of your landing pages. Don’t underestimate their importance. Stay tuned or more information in the weeks to come, or sign up to receive our weekly marketing tips! For help designing the perfect landing page for your next campaign, contact us today!