How to boost web traffic with landing pages!

You’ve heard of a landing page. So what exactly is it and how can it help to promote your website?

A landing page is a web page which the customer lands on when he or she clicks on a link from a specific promotion or advert - it may or may not be the home page of your website. Because it is used to drive custom to your website and promote your services, a landing page should always contain sufficient information to capture your audience and it should relate to the promotion in question.

The landing page will make use of specific keywords or phrases so as to enhance search engine optimisation and it will very much mirror your homepage. Unfortunately, Google takes a dim view of creating a stand-alone landing page with its sole purpose to drive traffic to other sites and so all landing pages should be part of a fully-functioning website.

So how to create a landing page:

1. Find yourself a website creation/builder package. There are plenty of free ones out there that will allow you to create your own site. They will then allow you to add on features as you build. Using a website builder package makes it so much easier and you have all the tools at your disposal with online help and easy-to-follow instructions for a great looking site.

2. Make best use of keywords and phrases in your landing page so that it will be featured highly in the search engine rankings. Make your landing page the page which is the most informative and describes best what you have to offer. Like we said before, it needn’t be your homepage; it depends where you are linking from and what you are trying to promote. You may decide that your promotion needs to link to your ‘services and products’ page and so you would make this your landing page.

3. Keep it simple! Don’t over complicate your landing page or you will drive customers away. They are easily bored these days! It needs to get to the point within about 5 seconds or they’re gone.

4. Keep the content original. Don’t copy and paste from other websites because Google or other search engines can pick up on this and frown upon it. Even the search engine spiders are becoming more and more sophisticated so genuine materials only please! Besides, it will come across as more authentic if it’s from the heart.

5. Try using video links. A landing page with video links is always a great way to interact with customers. They are drawn in by visuals and they feel a part of your site more quickly than if they are faced with a wall of text.

Make sure the link to the landing page works! Sounds obvious but how many broken links have you clicked on in your endeavour to find out more about a special offer or promotion?

Good luck with building!

Copyright © Peter Moore 2009 - EzWeb123.com

F1ForKidz.com – Review

F1ForKidz.com is a new website resource for children, designed to attract lovers of Formula One everywhere. Just how good is it and will it draw in all those lovers of motorsport and FIA?

Well, to begin with, the domain name says it all which is a good thing. You know from first hearing the name to visiting this site that it is a website for children who love Formula One. So we’re off to an excellent start and in pole position already.

The landing page has a look and feel of F1 about it with use of black and white colours to match the F1 chequered flag and there is a video clip of Jensen Button on there. The video clip is a great idea as it adds another dimension to the site and makes it immediately interactive. The site actually has a look of the official F1 site which is in keeping with the overall image.

The site is not sending out ambiguous messages and it is clear so far. It is laid out well and it has a simple look about it with clean lines. However, should it be more childlike on first glance or is it just about the right pitch for today’s sophisticated youth?

The menu options are very clear and it is immediately obvious where to go for everything that you need, although the font size of all the text is quite small. An option to increase font size if required might not be a bad idea. Another plus point is that the visitor is not bamboozled by ‘walls of words’ on the home page which is a great thing for any site. Having said that, perhaps the page is a little too ‘cold’ at the moment and not quite as inviting as it could be.

The potential for the pages to be filled with detail and activity is huge and the site certainly functions well. It possesses all the key features of any other website and is what one would expect, with the option of adding on extras if required. Some of the pages do obviously still need some work on them as the text looks a little sparse and not as easy to read as it could be with the scroll down action; such as on the F1 history page.

It is always good to have a forum area these days, especially for kids, because they love to interact and chat with one another – fill this page with lots of topics to choose from and make it a hive of activity. The forum page could benefit from being a little more visual with added graphics to bring it to life.

It is a crisp, clean looking site which fits in well with F1 but it is designed for children and so perhaps needs a few more flashing images and a bit more excitement adding to it. Apart from the home page, it is all quite static.

In terms of business potential, one would have to ask where a child would go if they wanted some F1 fun. Are they more likely to go straight to the F1 official website to begin with or do they want their own site? For the F1ForKidz.com site and for business to grow, the site needs to become far busier. Children are very sophisticated nowadays but they still thrive on fun and they need to feel that this site is a place where they can go to that grown ups can’t! It should have an exclusive feel for children about it; like a club or a gang. Once children are in that gang, they will almost certainly want to stay and chat with other F1 lovers.

What do you think? What are you views on how to make this website a place for serious young petrol heads to visit and catch up on all the latest Lewis Hamilton gossip? What features would you like to see on there if anything was possible? How could this site become the children’s Number One for F1?

Copyright © Peter Moore 2009 - Co-Founder of EzWeb123.com