Click on a link in an email or online ad and most likely you’ll end up on what’s called a “landing page.” A landing page is a specific type of web page, designed to prompt the reader to take one action—whether that’s signing up for a free report, buying a product, or contacting you for a consultation about a service.

And, because they’re focused on getting one result, they are typically much more effective than sending someone to your home page. Home pages are designed to appeal to everyone in your target market and offer an overview of all the information that’s available. But all those choices can also be distracting.

The good news is once you have the copy, they are fairly easy and inexpensive to create. The design is supposed to be very basic—to keep readers focused on the task at hand. Often, you can create the page on your current web server for no additional cost except the $9 or so to buy a unique domain name.

Both Marketing Sherpa and Silverpop recently studied landing page effectiveness, and a few of the results were surprising to even long-time marketers. Based on their research, a landing page should:

• Match the look and tone of the email, ad, postcard or whatever that sent people to the site. Consistency is important.
• Repeat the call-to-action/offer that enticed the reader to come to the page in the first place. Again, consistency prevents confusion.
• Omit all navigation tabs or options to click away from the page. No tabs mean fewer distractions.
• Consist of a single column. Fewer columns keep them focused.
• Position headlines at the left margin instead of the center. Contrary to popular belief, centered headlines are less read less often than centered ones.
• Use a good-sized, preferably black font on a light background. People actually view reversed text (white font on dark background) as less trustworthy.
• Feature powerful bullets near the top. The top bullet is often the first place people look to decided whether they should keep reading.
• Use an action button large enough to be read from six feet away and which has text referring to the specific action being taken. I.e. Skip the “Submit” in favor of “Buy Now” or “Subscribe.”

Of course, many of these tips could be used to make any type of web page more effective.