Coming in for a Landing?

A client recently asked me if it was still best practice to use landing pages when implementing marketing campaigns—landing pages being those custom web pages where users are directed to “land” via an ad, brochure or other marketing source, to present a unique message, offer or brand to that user. And the answer to the question is a simple: “It depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Like most best practices in marketing (both online and in print), there is no hard and fast rule saying “use landing pages all the time, or else.” But here are some circumstances where using a landing page makes the most sense:

1. If you need a unique look, look no further than a landing page. Landing pages can look completely different from your site without hindering the user experience, since they sort of exist in the ether. So they are great if you need a way to convey a message, image, idea or promotion that contrasts your existing site.

2. You’re indecisive. If you are looking to see which of a few campaigns performs better, using two different landing pages can get you your answer (known as A-B testing to all us jargon-speakers). Traffic to a landing page is easy to track, since you’re typically only sending people there from a finite set of external sources (ads, etc)—people can’t just happen to land on one of your test pages unless you sent them there, which would be different if the pages were linked to your existing site.

3. You have money to burn. Creating landing pages is typically more expensive than just adding or changing a page on your existing site, since it requires unique design, architecture, coding, content, etc.

If any of the above criteria fits your goals, then by all means, land away.