In an industry as huge as travel and tourism, competition is big. With so many businesses offering similar products and services, digital marketing techniques help different brands set themselves apart. One of the best ways to do that is with a killer landing page.
A landing page is disconnected from the main site’s navigation and is meant to lead visitors to complete a particular action. Other than converting leads to customers, a good landing page increases SEO, collects user data, improves credibility, and increases brand awareness.
Landing page design is just as important for travel sites as for any other. But because the travel industry is incredibly diverse, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing travel-related landing pages.
There is a great opportunity for attracting and converting customers with these simple web pages. The conversion rates of the best landing pages for travel sites can be as high as 25.1 percent, which is higher than in most industries.
Whether an airline is selling last-minute flights or a locally owned hotel is booking rooms for a busy weekend, businesses who want to reach travelers can take advantage of this well-known digital marketing tool.
When designing a new landing page to attract and convert travelers, keep these five tips in mind.
Tip 1: Use a simple design
The purpose of the landing page is to entice visitors to complete one action. What that action is should be easily understood by viewers and easy to complete.
Because the purpose of the landing page is so narrow, it is important to eliminate anything that distracts the user from completing the desired action. Unlike other pages on the site, the landing page should be free of a navigation bar, side menu, or footer. Instead, all content on the page should focus on the call-to-action.
Simple design with the deliberate placement of basic elements gets rid of visual clutter and draws visitors to reach for the offered value.
Tip 2: Create a time-sensitive call-to-action
When a potential customer views the landing page of a travel site, they should feel like they discovered an exclusive hacking secret that even the most elite world travelers have yet to find. But rewards are most satisfying when scarce and time-sensitive.
A call-to-action can entice a customer to sign up for a mailing list to receive the best flight deals, download an e-book with helpful travel tips about their destination, or to even purchase insurance for the trip they already booked.
Ways to encourage travelers to act on the call-to-action immediately include using a countdown timer or deadline for a particular sale or offering a limited quantity of what they were looking for.
Tip 3: Calls-to-action are mutually beneficial
Even though calls-to-action are meant to provide value to the customer, they are equally beneficial to the business making the offer. Asking a lead for their email address or Facebook profile is a great opportunity to collect information on who the typical customer is and what they want.
Visitor data goes far beyond collecting email addresses and basic information. Calls-to-action allows businesses to gather data on user interests and demographics and predict what products or services customers would need or want in the future. This helps create efficiency in marketing and savings in advertising.
Make the most of what learning opportunities come with an effective landing page.
Tip 4: Always be testing, A/B testing
As consumer trends change and travelers are drawn to new destinations, the content on any travel-related site should adapt. A/B testing is widely used to make sure that the content and web design of any page is optimal for attracting and converting visitors.
As landing pages are meant to convert leads into customers, they should always be included in A/B testing. From the background color to headline copy, changing individual elements of a landing page can have a surprisingly major effect on conversion rates.
With frequent A/B testing comes more accurate data. With more accurate data, a business can better know its customers and provide a more personal experience.
Tip 5: Optimize landing page for search engines
When a traveler is looking for flights, accommodations, or guided tours, they will most likely use a search engine to find the best deal. There is no reason a landing page that offers what they are looking for should not be one of the first search hits.
As with any page throughout a website, applying SEO best practices to landing pages is important. Keywords that potential customers search for should be included throughout the general content of the page, including the URL and image text.
With a landing page making the first page of a search query, a travel business can guarantee more conversions.
So, what we’re saying is. . .
Creating an effective landing page is no easy task. Although there are several guidelines for design, digital marketers are always finding new methods to attract customer leads. Because the travel industry is so diverse, there is no cookie-cutter template for travel-related landing pages.
When creating a landing page, remember to keep the design simple, create a clear call-to-action, use collected data to better understand customers, frequently A/B test elements of the landing page, and optimize it for search engines.
Following these simple and broad best practices can help turn casual site visitors into dedicated customers.