Good Landing Pages to Send People to From Ads

Imagine going to an action-packed fun center. You saw their ads, and it looks like a blast! You arrive, push open the doors and — see plain white walls and a formally dressed receptionist. It seems more like a medical clinic. "Uh," you say, "am I in the right place?"

That's precisely the experience folks can have when they click on your amazing, well-designed ad — and wind up on a landing page that's confusing, too blunt or aesthetically way off.

Of course, that's what you don't want. At Zoe Marketing & Communications, we understand this concern. For 15-plus years, we've helped clients align their ads and their landing pages to ensure more engagement and, ultimately, more conversions.

So what's a good landing page entail? In this blog, you'll discover top elements, including:

• Aligning your message and your design

• Including a super-clear value proposition and call-to-action — and warming people up

• Keeping your page focused and distraction-free

• Making your form simple — and not hitting people with it right away

• Considering different landing pages for different audiences

Read on for clear tips on top-notch landing pages that resonate with your audience.

Aligning your message and your design

First, avoid that "fun center" vs. "medical clinic" mismatch. You want to make sure your ad and landing page look similar and have well-aligned messages. 

A core reason is that you're psychologically prepping people: "Yes, this is the same company whose ad you saw. You're in the right place."

Because when people get confused, they're more likely to leave — and not come back. Focus on aligning:

The color scheme/design

This should feel organic and "matched." If your ad uses dayglo orange but clicks to a subdued, monochromatic page, it can feel "off." Keep your branding consistent to reassure people that they've arrived, not gone astray.

The message itself

Here's another annoying experience: You see an ad touting, "Sign up for our free event!" You click — and you go to a home page or totally different page. No sign of any "sign up." 

You wonder, "Is the form hidden deeper on this page?" That's super frustrating. Instead, send them to a page that makes sense and aligns with your offer and message.

Including a super-clear value proposition and call-to-action — and warming people up

Yes, this is important for the ad itself, since you're dealing with limited space and attention spans. But it's equally crucial for the landing page. Granted, you have a bit more room to write. Still, more isn't always a great thing. Sometimes, more is just cluttered and confusing.

It's helpful to put on your "consumer hat" here. What would you like to see on a landing page? Consider these three parts:

1. A crisp header and subheader

These are the first two lines of words people will see. Make them as clear and compact as possible. Share what you're offering and why it's valuable and helpful to them.

2. A little friendliness and 'warmth'

Especially if you're going to be asking for personal info! Give people a better sense of who you are and how you can help in a short "intro." Build a little trust. But again, keep it brief — a sentence or two will do.

3. A really obvious next step

This is why they clicked your ad. So, make it clear how they can "get" what you're offering. This is often a form to fill out (more on that in a few minutes). "Provide your name and email to sign up for our exclusive family discount" is a great example.

Keeping your page focused and distraction-free

People on your landing page should have one singular focus: Taking the action you want them to. Don't squander the opportunity of having someone's attention by muddling it with too much or inconsistent messaging. 

Avoid 'junk' on your page

Our eyes wander. Omit common distractions and make sure there are:

• No ads: No matter if they're promoting you or your clients. Remove them.

• No links: Don't tempt folks with links that can lead them away to other blogs or pages.

• No widgets: Do your pages have "widgets" that tout your newsletter sign-up, for instance, or services? Zap them. Keep those margins free and clear.

Train their eye on the prize

Again, keep your actual messaging focused and crystal clear. Keep in mind:

• What do they need to know before they make a decision? Do some quick "educating" and answer a common question or two — as succinctly as possible.

• Placing your call to action prominently and very visibly. Remember, this is "the path." Don't distract them from it. Guide them right to it.

Making your form simple — and not hitting people with it right away

Yet again, there's a balancing act here: Keeping it friendly yet direct. Here are some tips.

Just ask for the essentials

Two things are a given for any form these days. People expect to give their:

• Email address

• First and last name

That gives you a way to reach them — and, importantly, a way to personalize your future emails and messages to them. If you can, we recommend you avoid asking for:

• Phone numbers. This tends to turn people off and generally lowers the odds they'll fill out the form. It may make sense sometimes; say, for a school seeking parents interested in enrolling their kids. In these cases, be clear their number won't be sold or spammed.

• Any "deeper" personal info. Think: Age, home address, number of kids, etc. Again, this heightens the "barrier to entry," and you'll likely lose folks.

• "Optional" info. Sure, you could make "phone number" optional, for instance. But for folks just glancing, they might not realize it's optional, and you'll run into the same issue.

Remember, with an email address, you can always provide (and ask for) more helpful information later. Focus on building a relationship gradually. (And always provide an opt-out.)

Have a 'lead in' before 'the ask'

Simply put: Don't hit people with the form right away. It can come across as abrupt. Maybe they're not quite ready yet. A few things to think of:

• Use your header, subheader and brief "warm-up" intro copy to guide them in.

• Make your ask reasonable. A great, classic angle is to "provide your email to get more information." Much better than "register to sign up your child for this program right now" (provided they just found out about you and are still getting to know you).

Considering different landing pages for different audiences

What if you targeted someone with a Google ad vs. Meta? Or what if they visited your landing page once, and now you're retargeting them? There are some great reasons to tailor your pages to these different audiences. A few common examples:

Search engine ads

Google Ads, for example, has strong "search intent." That means your paid ads show up for people searching for certain keywords directly related to your content.

In other words: They're looking for answers. So, in these cases, your landing page could have a bit of extra writing focused on solutions and educating your audience.

Social media ads

If you're advertising on Facebook or Instagram, for instance, you're popping up in feeds of folks who have a loose "affiliation" interest in you. They're not searching for you, though.

Keep these landing pages short and sweet for this transient crowd. If you say or ask too much, you'll likely lose them all the quicker.

Retargeting ads

Here, you're trying to lure back people who visited your landing page before but didn't fill out your form or take action. At this point, though, they're likely aware of you.

You can use a different tone and content on this landing page — a little more familiarity than you would with someone who's "cold" to you. Keep trying to inform and build understanding.

What are next steps for elevating your landing pages?

Sending prospects to a relevant landing page is as critical as the great ad leading them there! In this blog, we covered some key aspects of creating a good landing page.

You learned always to align your ad and landing page regarding color scheme, design and message. It's also essential to make your value proposition and call-to-action super clear. Keep your page focused and free of distractions like ads and links, too.

We also touched on keeping forms simple and "warming up" people before asking for their information. And finally, we explained how different landing pages work better for different ad types.

Need a little guidance? Talk to your advisor at Zoe Marketing & Communications. Each year, we help hundreds of businesses like yours better connect their ads and landing pages.

In the meantime, keep upping your conversions game by learning how to create successful digital ads that drive results.