Landing Page Defined

With any disaster response, there are online marketing and traffic driving measures that must be landed someplace. A landing page is any page on your site to which you drive traffic. When a regular page on your site is suddenly vaulted to landing page status, you need to be aware that those landing on the page have a different point of view. They have read a single-issue email, or clicked a keyword ad. Maybe they actually clicked on a banner ad. Theoretically, all these options, banner, keyword ad and email ask the user to give, donate, help, support, or some other iteration of giving action.

A "landing page" needs to be assessed, edited or built with this particular audience in mind. The page needs to coordinate with the channel - whatever that is. A keyword clicker has already searched, chosen your ad and is expecting to help. An email reader has digested your compelling story and wants to give. Even those clicking a banner ad understand that there is some next action they will take. Very few people will casually reach this page by surfing your site. Traffic coming from your homepage was a result of a specific message there.

Therefore, any landing page should eliminate all barriers to giving. Eliminate all extraneous links and choices. Reinforce (don't repeat) the message for the campaign. Tell the potential donor you are a legitimate charity, and then add a VERY LARGE donation button as well as multiple text links that lead directly to a donation form. (In an ideal world it would be a campaign-specific donation form, but that is less important than a great, compelling, seal-the-deal landing page.)

Feed the Children actually has a good example at: http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=usw_hurricane_katrina While we would like to see fewer links on this page, the important elements as well as general feel are there.

- Heather