A landing page is a website page that is created for one purpose - to persuade the site visitor to convert into a customer by making a sale, completing a form (thereby becoming a qualified lead), signing up for a newsletter, etc.

Most importantly, consider that you have 8 seconds or less to convince your visitor to act. If you haven't convincingly made your case in this time then your visitor will move on and will be lost, as the Internet has created the most fickle customer in sales history.

Some tips to for your landing pages:

Page Layout

- Place your logo at the top left
- If the visitor came from a search engine keyword search or a PPC ad, then place the keyword terms in bold at the top of the page
- Always keep the Golden Triangle in mind. It is the most important and scanned part of the page. It is the area of the page that starts at the top left of the page moves to the top right side of the page then down diagonally to the bottom left of the page just above the fold. The fold is the area of a web page that the visitor sees without scrolling vertically. You should never force a visitor to scroll horizontally. This means that your landing pages should be able to be seen completely on an 800 x 600 screen resolution. Place your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) in the middle of the Golden Triangle.
- Contrast your Calls to Action with respect to the rest of the page - use contrasting colors, round vs. rectangular, straight vs. slanted, warm color vs. cold color, big vs. little. Make sure you can spot the Call to Action from 6 feet away.
- Place assurances, testimonials and guarantees in the far-right column
- Place logos to appropriate associations or online companies at the bottom of the page to show

Landing Page Mistakes to Avoid

- Graphics or text unrelated to the offer - limit copy to only the point of the landing page
- Long forms with unneeded fields - limit your form to what is absolutely essential
- Difficult to read fonts
- Navigation off of the landing page
- Placing important persuasive copy below the fold