Landing pages should be a valuable part of your organization’s online marketing efforts. If you’re not already using them, you may be wondering what they are and what purpose they serve. They’re standalone web pages created for a specific campaign and are designed to encourage the user to take a single, specific action after clicking through from an email, ad or other online location. Whether you’re interested in lead generation or encouraging visitors to complete a call to action (CTA), landing pages can help you get the conversion results you want.

But my organization already has a homepage, do I really need a landing page?
The answer is simple — yes, you do.

Your homepage usually provides an overview of your business and probably offers visitors a variety of different options. A good landing page, on the other hand, encourages visitors to take one action — an action that you’ve selected and designed for conversion — with very specific content and links.

There are different types of landing pages, but the most commonly used ones are designed for lead generation. When done well, these targeted pages can be a valuable asset in your marketing toolkit. They provide upfront value to a visitor and allow you to collect information about your customers, or potential customers, usually through a form. Visitors complete a form that captures contact information and other details that will help you learn more about them and segment them for future campaigns. In return, they receive some type of branded content, product, or service — an e-book, newsletters, whitepapers, etc.

Other landing pages that convert tend to focus on a specific CTA button, redirecting visitors to a page where they can complete your desired action. The CTA could be to schedule a demo, click to call, order this product now — the possibilities are endless. You should use this type of landing page when you’re more focused on a visitor taking a specific action rather than collecting information.

Even if you’re not interested in lead generation or getting website visitors to complete a CTA, landing pages can be integral to your email marketing efforts. Using data collected from landing pages allows you to segment your audience and deliver the most appropriate content at the right time. No one wants to receive marketing materials that aren’t important to them or don’t line up with their interests. When you deliver clear, simple messaging explaining the value of what you’re offering, it shows your visitors or customers that you have their best interests in mind and aren’t sending them irrelevant content.

Using good landing pages in your email marketing efforts is not only effective but allows you to get creative — you’re able to test out various designs and text to determine what works best with your target audience. Once you know what works with your audience it should ultimately lead to higher conversion rates. Plus, landing pages are also highly measurable, giving you the ability to understand exactly how visitors arrived at your landing page. It’s also an opportunity to tie those metrics directly into your business goals.

If you want to expand your contact lists, improve and enhance your email marketing, and make your business more successful — it’s time to start using landing pages.