Landing pages are an important part of most online marketing campaigns. They are pages designed to present users with information relevant to the ad that brought them to your site and then convert them into a lead/signup/sale.

If your company sells construction equipment, for example, and you are running ads about bulldozers, you don’t want to just send users to your home page. Ideally you’ll want to send them to a landing page that discusses bulldozers specifically. Perhaps include a video of a bulldozer bursting through a house (OK, may be that’s not a good idea, but it would totally work on me). When creating a landing page keep the following in mind:

Make the goal of the page very clear

You want to clearly and succinctly let the user know what you are offering them and why they should choose your services or goods over your competitors. Back up your message with graphics and photos pertaining to the subject of the page.

Use a call to action

Make sure the page does more than just inform. Your landing page needs to actually ask the visitor to do something, normally to buy your product/service or to take the next step in your sales process (request more information, fill out a lead form, call your phone number, etc.).

Means of contact

Prominently display your preferred method of contact. Whether it’s a phone number, email address or form, make sure users can see it clearly and are instructed to use it (this can be your call to action in some cases).

Conversion tracking

Many online advertising services like Google Adwords, allow you to keep track of visitors’ contact as a result of clicking on your ad. Tracking code can be used for web forms and email addresses, and you can even set up a call tracking number with some services. It’s important to keep track of conversions in order to determine which of your ads and landing pages are the most effective.