When I get new clients that want to run ads, there are a few conversations we often have right upfront. I think in general it’s very important to be able to present the benefits and drawbacks of different marketing strategies in a holistic manner.
One of the most common questions I hear is “Do I REALLY NEED a landing page?” And my answer is always the same - if your business is running right now and you don’t run digital ads, no you don’t NEED one. However, if you want to maximize your return on investment and get the best results from your ads, or you need to run ads to improve your profitability - then it’s a good idea to have one.
In today’s article, I’m going to break down some of the most common objections I hear from new clients about why they believe they don’t need a landing page for ads and I’m going to highlight how and why landing pages help in these circumstances.
Ultimately, I believe it’s up to every business owner to decide what’s best for their business, but here is the case we present for the value of dedicated landing pages.
BUT I ALREADY HAVE A WEBSITE!
Probably the most common starting point is this.
“I understand you think a new landing page would be good for running ads, but I already paid someone to build my website, can’t we just use that?”
Yes - we can. But ideally, we don’t want to. The biggest issue with most websites is that they usually serve multiple purposes and goals at once. For the average local business, a website is a branding play, a lead generation engine, a sales hub, a place to talk about Unique Selling Points, a way for people to reach out to your business, a customer service/FAQ hub and so many other things.
This is the beauty of a website, but it is also a drawback when we start talking about paid traffic. One of the biggest differences between a website and a landing page is the number of actions someone can take on each. On a website, a potential customer can explore every facet of your business available to them, whereas on a landing page the customer is presented with very limited options. They can sign up with their information to become a lead, buy something, or go somewhere else.
Remember that every single click onto your website when running ads is paid for. If you had to pay for people’s bus fare to come to your store, would you invite them in through the mall entrance, or would they have to enter through your store since you paid for them to be there?
The idea here is simple. We don’t own this traffic - we bought it - so let's make the best use of it.
BUT I HAVE A SMALL ADS BUDGET!
The next concern I hear a lot sounds a little like this:
“ I’m not looking to spend a fortune on these ads. I’ll probably start with a very modest ads budget”
For these clients, I’d argue that it’s even MORE important to have a great landing page. When we’re dealing with a small ads budget we’re going to be dealing with less traffic and fewer people from a given ad campaign.
So we need our pages to convert even better to be able to see a return. I always remind people that when it comes to digital marketing, a good landing page can cost you anywhere from $1200- $2000 depending on how many bells and whistles you need.
If your landing page converts only 10% better than your regular website (they usually convert a lot better than that) then after, approximately, your first $12,000-$15,000 of ad spend it’s paid for itself. In reality, it usually pays for itself in half that amount of ad spend.
Consider that the average business in Canada that does under $2Million in Revenue per year spent $14,301 in digital marketing last year. And the average business between $2-$10Million spent $38.396.
[SAUCE: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/marketing-sales-export/marketing/what-average-marketing-budget-for-small-business]
After it pays for itself, it will continue to provide value for your business and will provide a base that you can edit and change in the future without making a brand new page.
OK FINE, BUT I RUN A SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS!
This is another common question I hear when we talk about landing pages:
“We run a Legal Practice, Dentists office, Garbage disposal Company, Physiotherapy clinic, etc… we’re not the kind of business that is trying to sell things online, we just need people to call us, not go to a fancy landing page!”
This one is in the same vein as the initial objection but with more nuance. A lot of people don’t realize that your service business could increase the number of leads it gets with a well-made landing page.
The type of conversion for a landing page doesn’t matter - whether its sales, leads, emails, phone calls or collecting other information - the focused, streamlined structure and copy of a lander will improve the conversion rate of your paid ads.
BUT I ALREADY DO SEO!
Ok, that’s not actually a common response I hear.
Usually after the above conversation business owners have a good enough understanding of landing pages to make the best decision for themselves and their businesses.
At the end of the day there are some exceptions to the rule - clients that want to spend only a few hundred dollars a month on digital advertising. Clients whose websites are already basically a single page with only one conversion goal for traffic and a few other outliers. For almost everyone else, the value of a landing page is easily quantifiable and apparent.
As always, if you have any questions about your specific situation, niche or business, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We are always excited to talk digital marketing with business owners! Give us a call at (416) 410-7090
on
I was looking for a blog for creating a landing page for running ads and I found your blog this my query is solved by reading your complete blog. Thanks for such a wonderful blog.