Nail the Landing

Landing pages are the Rodney Dangerfield of most Web sites — they get no respect.

Catalogers agonize over what words to use in a paid-search ad. They work the creative department to the point of rebellion to send out another e-mail. They give away prime, expensive space in their catalogs to promote their Web sites. But when it comes time to direct this precious Web traffic, most simply say, “Find a page on the site that will work.” To quote Rodney again, “It ought to be against the law!”

Smart catalogers have figured out that they can double profits by creating targeted landing pages for visitors from:
• paid-search ads;
• e-mails; and
• URLs printed in catalogs (the most overlooked source of landing page traffic!).

Sound too good to be true? The chart below shows what a 20 percent boost in landing page response rate means for your site.

Even this example understates the true effect of targeted landing pages. Since landing page traffic is driven by the URL printed in your catalog, increasing conversion on these pages and having an effective matchback make your mailings more profitable, allowing you to mail more deeply to prospects and your housefile.

Most catalogers know the cardinal rules:
1. don’t simply dump traffic onto the homepage;
2. make sure the landing page delivers on the promise that drove the shopper to the site with consistent products, benefits, offers and branding; and
3. include some urgency device, such as a deadline, to increase clickthroughs and conversion.

Web Platform Handcuffs
So why don’t more mailers give landing pages respect? In many cases, catalogers feel handcuffed by the limitations of their Web platforms, so they just find a page on their existing sites that comes closest to following the rules above.

While it’s true that some Web platforms allow more flexibility than others, really creative catalogers are applying techniques that can work on any site. Here are some examples: