Posted in Landing Page Optimization	August 10, 2006

By Kim Mateus , Managing Editor Mequoda Daily and Library

The Mequoda Landing Page Scorecard outlines the 12 characteristics a landing page needs to successfully close sales online. And to incorporate all 12 characteristics typically, at least for a consumer product, requires medium-to-long copy on that landing page.

But should you send your traffic directly to that long-copy landing page? Or will visitors be put off by its length?

Here's a rule of thumb to follow: when you are driving traffic from an ezine ad or solo email sent to your eList, you're reaching an audience "trained" to read your stuff... and you can send them directly to your long-copy landing page.

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But when you generate traffic through Google Adwords and other pay-per-click advertising—or through organic search—those visitors have much less familiarity with you, and no demonstrated inclination to read long copy on your subject.

Therefore, a two-step landing page approach, or what Mequoda likes to call a Rapid Conversion Landing Page, where users are first sent to a relatively short landing page requiring them to enter their email address before continuing to read more information, could prove much more effective. Once they enter their email address, they are taken to a traditional long-copy landing page selling the main offer.