A landing page is the page you are re-directed to when you click on a link or a highlighted word. You can think of it as a record of sorts. The landing page keeps track of how many visitors look at the page. It is very helpful for the website owner to see what pages are "hit" the most. Any website that sells a product or service has a link to a checkout webpage. The checkout is also a landing page.

Advertising copywriting uses landing pages as a way to promote their products. You read an article and then a link is used to direct you to the webpage. If the landing page is through an affiliate of the company, a record is kept of the number of visitors. This is used to measure the effectiveness of the link. The more visitors, the better the chance of a person purchasing or using the website means increasing business for the company or group of people in the organization.

An SEO copywriter, or Search Engine Optimized, uses landing pages quite frequently. After researching what words or phrases are regularly searched for, the writer incorporates them words into the document, article or marketing writing. When the search brings up the results, the person clicks on a link. The link takes the individual to a landing page. Many websites offer what is known as an affiliate program.

An affiliate program is designed to promote websites for other people. The webpage creator or company pays a set amount of money if the customer purchases something and also may offer a percentage of the sale. Websites want more visitors because that increases the likelihood of bringing in revenue for the owner of the business. Website owners can also make money on the number of people who visit the site and read the information. There are programs on the internet that measure the popularity of a given site. Programs such as Google page rank lets people know how popular their site is and gives them a percentage using an add-on the the browser.

There are two ways a landing page can be used effectively. A Transactional landing page is when the writer or company wants a product or service to be purchased. A Reference landing page wants to impart information to the visitor or guest. Both types can be tracked and give the marketing writer useful feedback.

We are directed to a landing page each time we surf the internet and click on a link. It helps us immensely by providing us with the information or product we are seeking. Website copywriting needs the landing page in order to draw in more visitors with the hope of a purchase or by imparting information to the reader.

Landing pages are very handy when searching for information or if you want to make a transaction. There are cases, however, when the links are inactive or misdirect you to a page that is spam. There are also times when there are too many links and it becomes a maze for the reader to navigate. When this happens simply hit the back arrow on your keyboard and try to find the thread you were searching for.

About the Author

David Odell has been a freelance writer for over 20 years and is the owner of The World of the Freelance Copwriter and The Write Advice