Posted in Landing Page Optimization	September 26, 2006

By Kim Mateus , Managing Editor Mequoda Daily and Library

What is a landing page?

Some say "it's the first page someone sees on your site". Others say "it's a webpage viewed after clicking a link in an email."

We've also heard it referred to as "a specific page a visitor reaches after clicking a search engine listing" or "a location a user is directed to or ends up at after clicking on a link or typing in a command."

All of these definitions are true.

The Mequoda Research Team came up with its own definition:

Landing Page: any website page where a direct response transaction can begin.

Direct Response Transaction: publisher-initiated exchange of information with a willing user.

Examples of direct response transactions could be:

• Subscribing to a newsletter
• Downloading a free report
• Purchasing a book
• Registering for an event
• Joining a membership organization

In our research process, we also determined that landing pages can be broken up into two main categories: organic landing pages and conversion landing pages.

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An organic landing page attracts visitors and converts them into subscribers, buyers, etc. Their function is to pull in traffic and initiate a transaction.

Some examples of organic landing pages include:

Article Landing Pages (example: FDANews)
Directory Landing Pages (example: The Motley Fool)
Glossary Landing Pages (example: SEMPO)

A conversion landing page simply converts traffic into subscribers, buyers, etc. They are not intentionally designed to attract visitors.

Some examples of conversion landing pages include:

Rapid Conversion Landing Pages (example: Bottom Line's Balanced Healing)
Sales Letter Landing Pages (example: AWAI's Copywriting Courses)
Up Sell Landing Pages (example: Mequoda Daily)
Access Challenge Landing Pages (example: The Accounts Payable Network)
Priority Code Landing Pages (example: Student Health 101)

Understanding the difference between organic landing pages and conversion landing pages will help you determine which ones are right for your specific products and promotions. Naturally, your job doesn't end there.

Now it's time to understand and implement the appropriate conversion architecture on your landing pages so you can successfully convert your visitors into customers.

For more on landing pages and conversion architecture, be sure to get the Mequoda Summit 2006 proceedings on CD-ROM and pay special attention to our session titled Landing Page Driven Internet Marketing.