Creating & Updating Landing Pages – The Q4Launch Guide

Before You Begin: What Is a Landing Page?

A Landing Page is defined as any page on a website that a user can “land” on—whether they follow a direct link, find the page from organic search, or type in the URL. A Landing Page can inform, persuade, entertain, or do a little of all three. Within the context of our clients at Q4, the goal of the page is most often to persuade and, as a result, gather bookings. The term “Static Page” is often used to specify that a Landing Page is static on a website (a vital page that shouldn’t be moving, changing, or disappearing often).

Creating a Landing Page From Scratch

Prioritize Purpose: Vertical and Page Type

Home Pages

Overview: The main (and arguably the most important) page on a site.

Purpose: To inform users about the property/area and persuade them to click to other pages (or convert into a booking)

Tips for Creating: Keep paragraphs short/evenly spaced between design elements/photos. Don’t use too much copy, but include several top-ranking keywords in the concise text.

Rooms/Properties Pages

Overview: The page that houses all of the client’s lodging options (whether it’s vacation rentals or rooms at a B&B). Most of the time, these pages will have low time on page (because people have to click away to specific rooms/properties).

Purpose: To persuade users to select a room/property

Tips for Creating: Keep the main Rooms Page copy short and sweet. Include a CTA sentence such as “Take a look at our accommodations below, then book your new favorite home away from home!”

Specials/Packages Pages

Overview: An important page that houses all of the client’s special/package options. Most of the time, these pages will have low time on page (because people have to click away to specific specials/packages).

Purpose: To persuade users to book a special/package

Tips for Creating: Keep the text for this main page short and sweet, but peppered with additional important keywords (like “North Georgia Vacation Packages”). Specific special/package pages should have more text (in order to adequately describe the offerings).

Things to Do Pages

Overview: An important page that provides the user with useful information about the area. It’s also an important venue for promoting the Vacation Guide lead generation tool.

Purpose: To inform users about the area and to persuade them to download the Vacation Guide for more local suggestions

Tips for Creating: Try Page Builder for a more streamlined UX. It’s important that these pages be thorough and enticing! Link to as many internal resources (blogs) as possible. Always include a VG CTA button.

About Us Pages

Overview: An important page from a UX perspective, but not normally for conversions.

Purpose: To inform users about the property.

Tips for Creating: Ask the client for as much information as possible before creating this page. A good About Us page will be well-organized and feature sections about the owner(s), history, and what’s unique about the destination.

Amenities/Concierge/Guest Services Pages

Overview: A key page that specifies what sets the property/properties apart from the competition.

Purpose: To inform guests about what their stay entails, or to persuade a curious user to become a guest.

Tips for Creating: An opening paragraph, bulleted list, and booking CTA (including a button) are usually more than sufficient for this page type, but don’t be afraid to get creative! Don’t include too much copy.

Breakfast/Restaurant Pages

Overview: An ancillary page that details the food offerings at a B&B. Don’t discount this page—people love food and may even book from this page!

Purpose: To inform guests about food choices and persuade them to crave it!

Tips for Creating: Use high-definition photos! Include a link to or screenshot of the menu, if applicable. Include any awards/press. Include a link to OpenTable if the restaurant takes reservations.

Weddings Pages

Overview: A very important page for B&Bs that also market their property as a wedding venue.

Purpose: To inform engaged couples about the venue and persuade them to book it for their future wedding.

Tips for Creating: Be as informative as you can be on this page. A bride-to-be will be looking for answers for all of her questions. Include a Wedding Guide CTA/button and a Contact Us button/submission form. Include high-definition photos, as well.

Vacation Guide Pages

Overview: One of a Q4 site’s most important pages, which houses the client’s main lead generation tool.

Purpose: To persuade users to download the guide (and provide their information).

Tips for Creating: Use the “Landing Page—Online Guide Single Image” template for most VG Landing Pages. It’s cleaner, more concise, and more enticing than other page templates.

Vacation Rental Filters

Overview: While not exactly Landing Pages, VR filters are important for sorting properties into categories and providing a better UX. These can be “vacation rentals with a pool,” “pet-friendly properties,” “properties by area,” and more.

Purpose: To inform

Tips for Creating: Ask your CSM for help setting these up. Copy for filters should be short, sweet, and peppered with relevant keywords. In some cases, setting up a filter can count as a weekly blog post.

Consider the Timeline/Plan

  • Landing page creation and updates of any kind should be included in the Marketing Strategy Calendar.
  • If they are not, the CC and CSM need to work together and decide upon the desired deadline.
  • This applies during Onboarding, as well! The CC needs to have ample time to work with their CSM and the SEO Department to come up with the best possible strategy.
  • The CSM must detail the requirements for this page in the “Notes” section of the Marketing Strategy Calendar.

Use Conversion Copy Strategies

  • Write to your audience
    • Are they wealthy or middle-class? Are they older or younger? What do they need? What do they want?
    • Appeal to emotions.
  • Communicate the value
    • Emphasize the “local” aspect
  • Avoid passive voice
    • The more direct your copy, the more likely you get the desired outcome! Avoid fluff.
  • Craft a compelling CTA
    • Buttons are the best CTA option. Appealing to needs/wants/emotions in a CTA is even better.
    • Don’t include outbound links—showcase the CTA as the only option (aside from bouncing off of the page).
  • Incorporate responsive design (that looks great on mobile)
    • Most users are visiting a site via a smartphone. Make sure your design is simple, effective, and looks good on a mobile device.

Run Your Text Through Trusted Content Apps

Post in WordPress

  1. Go to Dashboard
  2. Click Pages
  3. Click Add New
  4. Add content as you would for a blog (Title, Body Text, Yoast SEO information, Tags, Featured Photo, etc.)
  5. Select the appropriate Parent Attribute if nesting under a dropdown menu (for example: Accommodations > Amenities or The Area > Things to Do).
  6. Keep as Default Template unless it’s a special type of page (Vacation Guide Landing Page, Specials/Packages Page/Rooms Page or you want it to look a certain way (for example, select Landing Page Strict if you don’t want the Sidebar Tout to be visible on this page—this is recommended on pages with specific conversion goals).
  7. Publish!
  8. Add to the appropriate menu (click Appearance, click Menus, select the appropriate menu—Main Menu/Primary Nav if you want it in the main dropdown strip—check the page you just created from the list to the left, click Add to Menu, drag/drop where you want it to nest, click tiny down arrow on the drag/drop box to adjust how the page title appears, save, then save again).
  9. Check the site to make sure everything appears the way you want it to.

Try Page Builder

Page Builder is a WordPress plugin that can greatly improve a page’s UX. Check out our step-by-step Page Builder Guide for how to proceed!

Updating an Existing Landing Page

Troubleshooting Problematic Landing Pages

  • If the following UX (user experience) characteristics are less than satisfactory, a landing page may benefit from an update:
    • Poor design/layout (large blocks of text, inconsistent spacing, no photos, unsatisfactory photos, etc.)
    • Poor grammar/mechanics/overall content quality (comma splices, misspellings, long sentences, etc. Put the content into Grammarly and The Hemingway App if you aren’t sure.)
    • Low-quality/not enough links (the more inbound links, the better)
    • Little/nonexistent mobile optimization (too much text, few headers, long paragraphs, no buttons, poorly formatted photos, etc.)
    • Slow page speed (may be caused by clunky formatting, large/uncompressed photos, etc.)
    • No clear CTA (what is the page’s purpose? Does the current content serve this purpose well?)
    • Conversion rate less than 1%/bounce rate over 50%/low time spent on page (if you have access to Google Analytics for the customer, check these important metrics. Are they down YOY?)

Use “Creating a Landing Page from Scratch” Strategies (See Above!) -and- the following SOP to update page content: 

Our overall goal is simple: We need to improve the CONVERSION on this page with Direct Response Content (quality content that converts)!

  • There are more specific goals for each page. Check your marketing calendar for notes. 
  • Examples of page goals would be: 

Direct bookings, vacation guide downloads, spa reservations, restaurant reservations, learn more, upsell packages, increase interest in visiting the area, etc. There may be more than one goal for a page.

How to Update Landing Page Content

  1. Look at the marketing calendar for keywords and notes. If you have any questions, ask your CSM.
  2. Do an incognito search for LSIs. 
  3. Copy/paste the current text into a Google doc for updating.
  4. Do a site search for existing info (we may even need to combine pages) and related info you can use for internal linking.
  5. Outline your text. Make sure you “create a problem or need” and then answer all of the questions for the reader. Use words that evoke emotion. At the end of their reader experience, they will know everything they need to know about the topic and be convinced to book/purchase/download.
  6. Include a call to action at the top and bottom of the text. 
  7. Fact-check what is currently there to see what needs to be removed/updated. 
  8. Research and add new content. 
  9. Overall, a minimum of 40% of the text must be updated. (Tip: Highlight what you change so you can visually see how much of the blog has been changed.) There are times when the content will need to be completely rewritten because info is old or the writer (or the innkeeper) did a poor job. 
  10. Be absolutely sure our current strategy is implemented. This includes using the keyword properly, using LSIs, adding subheads, including internal links, updating photos, CTAs, etc. See How to Write a Blog Checklist for the full list.
  11. Update the meta-description so it reflects the revisions.
  12. When the text is complete, login to WP, find the page, delete the existing content, copy and paste your new content in the text field. Update the meta-description, title if need be, adjust tags, photos, publish date and click “Update.” Your CEM will note if the URL needs to be changed to reflect a revised keyword. Questions? Ask!
  13. If you are combining a couple of pages, you will need to redirect URLs. Before you try to redirect, check these instructions for How to Set Up a Redirect and ask the CEM if you need help.

WHY We Update Landing Pages

Just like blogs, the content can get stale, needs to be refreshed with new life and our current strategy. We want to boost the ranking of this page on Google and increase conversions.

Optimal Word Length

  • For homepage content: 300-400 words (Check the design of the page first so you know how many blurbs/sections there will be)
  • For other landing pages: 200-300 words

Internal Linking

Examples of Successful Q4 Landing Pages

Other Landing Pages for Inspiration

 

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