Landing Pages for increased Search Engine Optimization.

Landing pages and their correlation between a website and Search Engine Optimization is a difficult process that can end up very beneficial or detrimental.  The union between these two entities to increase profitability and exposure is very volatile. 

A Landing Page is the first page that shows up after a customer clicks on a search engine result link, an advertisement, or a sponsored link.  From here, a landing page is split into two different types, a reference landing page and a transactional landing page.  Reference landing pages, which are typically SEO specific, are normally informational websites with relevant content for the searcher.  Transactional landing pages are pages that engage the searcher to provide some form of information (whether it is filling out a form or buying a product) from the clicked link.

The Goal of a Landing Page, whether it is a reference or transactional page, is to get the user to do one of four things:

1.       To teach the visitor about the term they searched (Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Etc.).

2.       Encourage the visitor to click through to another section of your website or another website (Branding).

3.       Encourage the visitor to register or have a follow up in some form or fashion.(E-mail registration, Phone Number, Address, Etc.).

4.       Encourage the visitor to make a purchase from that page (Commerce).

Landing Pages in an SEO sense are pretty straight forward.  If you have a business website that does Auto Repair, you are going to want the most pertinent information showing up to the end user.  For example, if a customer is doing a search for ‘brake repair’, you are not going to want your landing page to show up as air conditioning service or scheduled maintenance.  For the most part, Google and the other search engines handle these themselves in organic search.   If you type this term into Google, the first results will undoubtedly be the referential websites including Wikipedia and Dictionary.com, followed by the second tier reference websites and then the rest of the pack.  

For SEM and PPC advertising, correct Landing Pages are vital for success and provide multiple uses.  These optimized landing pages can help:

·         Provide direct access to the product or information being searched

·         Convey a direct message related to the user search

·         Provide tracking information for the Advertisement or campaign

·         Create additional keyword content and relevance for SEO