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Landing Page Debate

Why Make Prospects Fill Out A Form To Get Info… When You Can Just Give Them The Info They Want?

Why Make Prospects Fill Out A Form To Get Info… When You Can Just Give Them The Info They Want?

Should You Direct Your Online Prospects To A Lead-Capturing
Landing Page…

Or Should You Direct Them To Your Full Website?


By Rich Harshaw

Note: About once a month I answer questions that come to me via email or via one of my call-in webinars. If you have a question, please email it to me at rharshaw@mymonline.com.

Hey Rich:

I attended one of your webinars where you discouraged using landing pages for capturing home improvement leads. You suggested just using your regular website instead. But almost everyone else I talk to says the exact opposite; they say I’m better off having multiple landing pages for various lead generating campaigns. Would you mind explaining your rationale in more detail? I’m starting to get a lot of pressure from some of these people (including my business partner), and I need to decide one way or the other soon.

Scott H.

Hi Scott,

I hear you! This is a thorny subject, and one that’s subject to quite a bit of debate. You’re right; I’m a staunch supporter of driving all your web traffic into you main website instead of splintering the traffic into multiple landing pages. I’ll explain why in just a minute… but let’s start this discussion by exploring WHY most people are proponents of the landing page approach:

  1. Google Domination: The theory is that if you have four or five—or fourteen or twenty-four—landing pages, then when somebody performs a Google search, all of these pages will show up… and your competitors’ websites will NOT show up. This might be true for some very specific keywords (like your company name), but the reality is that it’s highly unlikely for you to have ten different websites show on the first page for normal keywords.I’ve actually seen this backfire on companies before. Case in point, a ReBath dealer I know had at least six websites that would show up in the top ten when you searched “ReBath” in his area: 1) his main website, 2) a landing page he built for a PPC campaign, 3) a landing page ReBath corporate had set up for corporate-run PPC campaigns, 4) the main corporate ReBath website, 5) a landing page he was paying a local Yellow Pages company to drive leads to, and 6) a landing page the local newspaper had set up for him. The result was chaos: When a person Googled “ReBath” they found all six websites—none of them very good—that all looked different. They would assume that these were all different, competing ReBath dealers. He would frequently have people tell him they were going to get quotes from the “other” ReBath dealers.
  1. Just Capture The Lead: This is an old-school thought process left over from the 1990’s and early 2000’s. It’s based on an assumption that people are going to simply fork over their contact information on an online form without hesitation simply because your landing page exists and has a form on it to be filled out. While it’s true that some people will fill out the form, it’s also undoubtedly true that many people look at the page, can’t get a good feel for your company (due to the brevity of the landing page) and keep looking elsewhere. The fact is that online shoppers are far savvier than they were years ten years ago, and are going to scrutinize contractors before even CALLING (let alone hiring). The landing page with a few pics and a form might have worked a decade ago, but it’s COSTING you now.
  1. Easier To Track: The ReBath guy in the story above loved that he could track all his home improvement leads from his various websites. And he’s right—tracking is always a good thing, whenever possible. But the fact is you can use technology to track all your leads that come into one central website—it’s easy. It’s beyond the scope of this email to explain exactly HOW, but suffice it to say, it’s possible.

Now, let’s cover the major reason to NOT use landing pages: CONVERSION!!!

To understand this, you have to REALLY put yourself in the shoes of a prospect who’s legitimately searching the internet for bathroom remodeling (or windows, siding, etc.). What is it they are hoping to accomplish when they type their search terms into Google?

Here’s a fact: They’d rather do the “sorting” of remodeling companies on their computer rather than in their living room. In other words, they want to KNOW with REASONABLE CERTAINTY that any company they invite to their home is probably one they actually want to hire to do the job.

They can ONLY draw this conclusion if you facilitate the information-gathering process by, you know, giving them enough information to draw that conclusion.

Which do you think a prospect is more likely to call if they want to remodel their kitchen?

Situation 1: Landing Page that has a beautiful picture of a kitchen and a form that they can fill out to get a quote on a kitchen remodel.

Situation 2: Website that has an identity-based discussion about why the company is better/different/superior… along with evidence to back it up, including case studies, online reviews, photo galleries… and descriptions of their process, tools for visualizing their remodel, etc.?

Here’s the master key to this discussion: When people are online searching, they want information RIGHT THEN. They don’t want wait two or five days for a “salesman” to show up, do his dog and pony show, and cross their fingers that the company doesn’t totally suck. Who’s got time for that? Who’s got patience for that? Who’s got the stomach for that kind of uncertainty? Nobody, that’s who.

At the end of the day, you want to cause the prospect to absolutely, positively FALL IN LOVE with your company based strictly and solely on what they see on your home improvement (or roofing or HVAC or plumbing…) website. You can’t wait to send in your salesperson. In most cases, you will have already missed the opportunity. You have to strike while the proverbial iron is hot—right then and there when you have their attention.

So now I have you convinced that you need a “full” website because it will build a better case for you. But you still might be asking, “Don’t I need some kind of lead capturing mechanism on the page to make sure I get the leads?”

I’m all for lead forms on websites—that’s why we include them on every website we create. However, I think they are pretty much overrated in terms of getting home improvement leads. Here’s why:

  • Most people actually prefer to call rather than fill out a form. Reason? Per above, if they feel like they LOVE your company, then they want to talk to somebody who will (hopefully) validate their conclusion so they can proceed to the actual appointment set.
  • The NOW factor, per above—why fill out a form to hear from somebody in the indeterminate future when I can simply pick up the phone and call and settle this once and for all—right now.
  • Shoving obvious forms in people’s faces isn’t necessary, and is probably counter-productive. If your site does it’s job and people FALL IN LOVE with your company, they’ll take the nano-second’s worth of effort to look at the top of the page for your phone number. Or if they do prefer to fill out a form (it does happen), they’ll be able to easily discern the “Get A Quote” or “Contact Us” button on your site. Think about it this way—do really good looking girls have to advertise for dates? No. Quality doesn’t require a carnival barker to drum up business. Neither does your website.

The other part of the argument for full websites and against landing pages comes down to SEO rankings. A one- or two-page landing page simply isn’t going to gain a contractor any SEO traction. And while I understand that you don’t always need a page to rank well in search engines (such as in the case of PPC landing pages), why send any traffic to a site that won’t help your overall rankings? One of the major things Google is looking for is simply “how popular is a website?” When all your traffic from every lead generating effort is coming into one central website, that’s only going to help.

So there you have it. And if that’s not enough, you can read more by reading my blog posting about how looking for remodeling online is like shoe shopping at the mall. This will crystalize the thoughts above even more.

Hope this helps!

Rich


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© 2015 – 2016, Rich Harshaw. All rights reserved.

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