Typically landing pages are typically created to accommodate traffic from a paid ad with the intent of eliciting a specific response from the visitor.
But landing pages can also attract visits from organic searches. Using landing pages to attract organic search traffic can be a great way to rise above competitors for specific terms. By narrowing the SEO focus of a page you tell search engines exactly what that page is about. Resulting in a higher page rank vs. other pages that may spread their focus a little thinner. I like to use blog posts to serve this purpose, but not all sites have a blog. So when a site doesn't have a blog we use landing pages (I like to call them search landing pages.)
For example, let's say you are a grocery store. You may have pages on your website dedicated to bakery, produce, and meats. Now let's say that there are a lot of searches in your local area for Prime Rib around Christmas. You may want to create a landing page that is focused on making Prime Rib for Christmas. It could talk about traditions, recipes, specifics about the cut of meat. That page does not have to be included in the primary navigation, but it will do better in searches for Prime Rib than your meats page will.
If you combine search engine optimized content with calls to action you create a landing page that gets your store a bigger cut (see what I did there!?) of the Prime Rib sales.
But landing pages can also attract visits from organic searches. Using landing pages to attract organic search traffic can be a great way to rise above competitors for specific terms. By narrowing the SEO focus of a page you tell search engines exactly what that page is about. Resulting in a higher page rank vs. other pages that may spread their focus a little thinner. I like to use blog posts to serve this purpose, but not all sites have a blog. So when a site doesn't have a blog we use landing pages (I like to call them search landing pages.)
For example, let's say you are a grocery store. You may have pages on your website dedicated to bakery, produce, and meats. Now let's say that there are a lot of searches in your local area for Prime Rib around Christmas. You may want to create a landing page that is focused on making Prime Rib for Christmas. It could talk about traditions, recipes, specifics about the cut of meat. That page does not have to be included in the primary navigation, but it will do better in searches for Prime Rib than your meats page will.
If you combine search engine optimized content with calls to action you create a landing page that gets your store a bigger cut (see what I did there!?) of the Prime Rib sales.
Why?
As users start to zero in on the right company to fit their needs their searches become more specific (and probably more wordy.) This means that there is huge value in targeting the more specific terms. Firstly, because you are attracting traffic from a potential customer who is closer to making a purchase. And also because customers inherently trust the organic portion of the search results more. Both of these factors mean the leads are warmer.
Sometimes more specific searches mean the queries are more granular. 'More specific' can also pertain to longer phrases or questions (long-tail searches). Attract organic (free) search traffic by addressing specific questions using a page written for that query.
Keep in mind we are talking about FREE traffic here. Organic search engine optimization is an investment in traffic generation for the long term. Creating pages with strategically chosen content is a step toward attracting the exact customers you want at a lower cost than any other marketing plan out there.
Sometimes more specific searches mean the queries are more granular. 'More specific' can also pertain to longer phrases or questions (long-tail searches). Attract organic (free) search traffic by addressing specific questions using a page written for that query.
Keep in mind we are talking about FREE traffic here. Organic search engine optimization is an investment in traffic generation for the long term. Creating pages with strategically chosen content is a step toward attracting the exact customers you want at a lower cost than any other marketing plan out there.
How?
- List your keywords - start by knowing how your potential customers are finding you. What exact terms and phrases are they typing in to Google when searching for your product/service? Create a list of potential landing pages by creating a list of the searches your customers use to find your product/service. Here are some ways to start that list :
- Keyword suggestion tools like KeywordShitter (I didn't name it - I'm just telling you about it)
- Ahref's Keyword Explorer - LINK: https://ahrefs.com/keywords-explorer
- Soovle - LINK: https://soovle.com/
- Go to Google and start a search for your product/service using words you think your customers might be using, then watch the auto-fill as you type. The phrases that appear are informed by other searchers.
- Finish your search and scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see a list of similar searches that are also informed by other searchers. (NOTE: No matter what else you do after reading this post do THESE TWO THINGS! It will give you incredibly valuable insight into the minds of your customers and potential customers.)
- Survey current customers on how they found you.
- Talk to the person that answers your phones
- Check Google Search Console -> Performance to see what terms you are already doing well on.
- Keyword suggestion tools like KeywordShitter (I didn't name it - I'm just telling you about it)
 Check the predictive text list while you are typing your search for some clues. |  Check related searches to see other ways potential customers might be searching for you. |
- Create the page on your website -
- Make sure it is hosted in the same location as the rest of your site. Pages generated using a separate landing page generator won't do as well in search.
- Once you publish your landing page add links in pages across your website to point to it. This practice, in itself, is believed to help boost its SEO.
Some page building best practices
SEO Meta information - use the SEO section to tell Google and potential visitors what your page contains. Title tags and description are especially important.
- Title tags - Indicate what the page is about to search engines and potential visitors seeing those search engine results. A well written, relevant title will get more clicks, which brings you more traffic AND builds your credibility with the search engine suggesting your page.
- Title tags will show in search engine results, Web browser tabs, and in social networks when the page is shared.
- Keep your title length it under 60 characters. Use character savers (like “&” and “/”).
- Don’t use CAPS LOCK.
- Use target keywords smartly: Don’t overstuff titles with keywords, use one or two.
- Avoid duplicate titles: Duplicate titles may be an indication of duplicate content, which can hurt your Google rankings.
This video shows where you find the SEO Meta options in a Weebly website.
- Description - is the short piece of copy that tells search engines and potential visitors WHY they should visit this page. It is the paragraph that shows in search engine results, so a viewer uses it to determine whether they will visit your page vs. your competitor's. Your description becomes an advertisement for your page.
- When possible, talk about your page as a numbered lists (e.g. 5 tips for buying Prime Rib.) Short lists feel actionable and useful to potential visitors, so more will click from the search results to your page. The meta description not only impacts the likelihood of a click but it also directly affects how Google ranks your landing page.
- Make it unique to this page - no duplicates
- Search engines highlight the queried keywords in bold in SERP (search engine results page) snippets. Such bolded words draw users’ attention. So, optimizing your meta description for keywords can draw attention.
- NOTE : The content of the description does NOT get used by Google to determine rank, however user behavior DOES. Google looks at how often the listing gets clicked, and the meta description is important for improving click-through rate.
- Headings - Use H1, H2, H3, etc. delineators within content to organize content visually and to help search engines understand the hierarchy of ideas on your page.
- Use <H#> tags to describe and delineate sections
- Use the hierarchical nature of <H#> tags to describe importance
- include keywords in your <H#> tags
- Page content -
- put key terms in first 150 words on the page
- focus on one offer/objective
- we hear that search engines do like lengthier posts. That is only true WHEN THE INFORMATION is valuable. - Experts believe that the content has better authority because people use it
- don't focus on one specific phrase or term within content - search engines use semantic search and readers won't read keyword stuffed pages
- Use images, graphs, charts, to emphasize and illustrate - include ALT tags and include keywords in image file names
- Video
- watch load time
- Launch -
- promote big and fast to get click throughs that will increase credibility perception and get better rank
- get backlinks
- get it shared on social (make it shareable)
- tell Google Search Console about it