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What is a Hotel ‘Landing Page’ and When Do You Need One?
You already have a website for your hotel. Now you’re hearing people say that you need to build “landing pages” as well? What the heck is a landing page and why would you need it?
The easiest way to understand the function of a landing page is to think of it entirely separately from your website. A landing page is a standalone page that people typically access from a search engine or social media link (usually from a paid ad that you run on one of these platforms). It highlights a single special offer or feature of the hotel and encourages conversion action more aggressively than your website would.
If you think of your website as a virtual brochure or concierge for your hotel, a landing page is like a virtual flyer or salesperson. Your website is large, comprehensive, and caters to many different types of guests. A landing page is small, focused on a single goal, and caters to a specific type of guest.
Here’s an example of a hotel website homepage:
Here’s a landing page for that same hotel:
Now that we know what a landing page is, let’s figure out when you would need one. In most cases, landing pages are used to showcase a special offer, package, discount or contest. And in most cases, they are supported with paid ads on search engines like Google or social media platforms like Facebook.
They’re called “landing” pages because this is the first place that a user will “land” after clicking your ad link. The reason you want ad traffic to land on a dedicated landing page rather than, say, your website homepage, has to do with the type of transaction you are trying to facilitate. When people land on your website homepage from an unpaid google result, you’re allowing them to take their time researching and immersing themselves in your property. When they click on a landing page from an ad, you’re trying to give them an offer they can’t refuse and encourage them to take immediate action. When you’re paying for every click, you want to maximize the chances that you will make a return on this investment.
(For more tips on how to maximize your ROI for PPC campaigns, check out our Secrets to Effective PPC Campaigns for Hotels in 2017)
Let’s use a real-world example: say you’re running a ‘staycation’ package offer like the one in the landing page above. You’d like to support the promotion by running some ads on google and facebook. These platforms allow you to be fairly specific with who you target, so you request the ads to be delivered to users within 60 miles of your property, focusing on families and couples in the 40+ age group.
One option would be to simply direct this ad traffic to the packages section of your website. From here a user can see the package details and book it if they choose.
The other option would be to build a dedicated landing page for the promotion. One that’s designed entirely to showcase the features and benefits of this package with images and messages that appeal specifically to the targeted ad group.
Which option do you think will convert more guests and provide you with better ROI? In our experience, campaigns with dedicated landing pages convert anywhere from 2 to 10 times better than those without a landing page.
What’s more, landing pages allow you to A/B test and optimize in very effective ways. You can create several different versions of the landing page with slightly different images and messaging and direct more traffic to the one that is converting better.
Is it worth building a landing page for every package or promotion your property is running? Not necessarily, especially if you’re starting with landing pages for the first time. Like everything in digital marketing, data should be your guiding light. And the best data is gleaned by trial and error. We recommend our clients start small to gather analytic insight and develop best practices that can be scaled over time.
To learn more about how landing pages can drive additional revenue for your property, give me or one of my associates a call. We’re happy to provide friendly advice and guidance on anything related to digital marketing for hotels and resorts.
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