Originally published by Karissa Neely in The Daily Herald.

 

Almost all the desks were full at 97th Floor’s “Paid Landing Page Optimization” workshop Thursday.

Many entrepreneurs and small business leaders came to the free workshop held in Silicon Slopes Lehi headquarters, hoping to learn how to more effectively market their business online. In just one hour, they all got some expert advice on how to make their paid landing pages more powerful.

Workshop leader and 97th Floor marketing specialist Tyler Girsberger explained that a paid landing page different than a company’s home page on its website, because it is one that draws in users via online ads. He encouraged those attending to use different landing pages catered to different audiences or target markets.

“If you don’t, you might as well just send them to your home page,” he said.

Paid landing pages target potential buyers and answer their initial questions quickly. These pages also have a clear call to action — usually a small form users fill out for more information. Girsberger took attendees through what makes these landing pages work: a strong “hero” image and header, clear benefits of the product to the consumer, a strong positioning statement, proof of the brand’s trustworthiness and the call to action form.

The hero image, he explained, is the picture on the page that draws the reader in. In one example, the picture of a girl happily getting a drink of water from a faucet underscored the organization’s call to donate money towards this cause. Girsberger said this image selection can be changed based on location, demographics or audience to effectively speak to the user.

Products and services all have multiple benefits, but for a powerful landing page, Girsberger said users need to focus only on the most important three or four benefits to consumers. This makes the content easily digestible, and allows those other benefits to come to light further on in the buying process.

On the landing page, he said, businesses must set themselves apart in the market with a clear positioning statement — what differentiates the company from others. They also must share a bit of proof of their brand with the audience.

 

“These people coming to your page, they don’t know your brand,” Girsberger said. “To instill trust in the brand, you include proof: testimonials, other people or brands that use your products, and awards. The more they trust your brand, the more they will convert to a sale.”

Girsberger concluded that business leaders must then consistently test their paid landing pages to see how effective they are with the targeted audience.

“Landing pages are really, really powerful. You don’t know where in the buyer’s journey they are coming from, but you capture them just enough to walk them through the process,” said Shante Schroeder, 97th Floor director of marketing and communications.

97th Floor, a digital marketing company located in Lehi, regularly offers these free workshops to small business owners as part of its partnership with the Pledge 1% nonprofit organization. Schroeder said in their work with clients, they saw the “community asking for these insights,” and wanted to reach out to startups and entrepreneurs who don’t have easy access to this type of information. Due to limited seating, the workshops are invite only, but interested business leaders can contact Annalee Peters at 97th Floor by phone: (801) 919-8749.

“For those just starting out, this will get them ahead that much faster,” Schroeder said.