What is a landing page, and does your business need one?

What is a landing page?

A landing page is the page someone arrives on after they click a link. In marketing it usually means a page built for one purpose and one audience, like a Google ad for blocked drains or a QR code on a flyer. It’s different from your home page, which has to speak to everyone.

Google Ads uses the term in a similar way. It describes landing page experience as how relevant and useful your landing page is to the people who click your ad.

Landing page or home page?

Your home page introduces the whole business. A landing page does one job. Say an electrician in Chermside runs an ad for switchboard upgrades. If the ad sends people to the home page, they have to hunt for the switchboard information. A landing page about switchboard upgrades gets them straight to it.

• Home page: many visitors, many goals, many links.
• Landing page: one audience, one goal, usually no distractions.
• Service page: also focused on one job, and it’s meant to be found in Google search over time. A landing page is built for the click you paid for or the link you shared.

Why Google cares

Google Ads scores Quality Score from three parts: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Each is rated above average, average or below average, compared with other advertisers whose ads showed for the same search in the last 90 days.

Google also says Quality Score itself isn’t used in the ad auction. It’s a diagnostic. But its Ad Rank page says the quality of each ad is assessed at auction time using measures like expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. In plain words, a page that matches the search can help your ads.

If you’re paying for clicks, it’s worth reading why Google Ads aren’t getting calls and what Google Ads cost.

When do you need one?

• You’re running Google Ads or Facebook ads for a specific job.
• You’re using a QR code on a flyer, ute sign or business card for one offer.
• You’re sending an email or text about one thing, like a seasonal service.
• You want a page for one suburb or one type of customer.

If none of those apply, you probably don’t need one. A good service page does the same job for people who find you in search.

What to put on one

This is our own view from building pages for tradies, not a rule:

• A headline that matches what they clicked. If the ad said “Blocked drains Brisbane”, the headline says the same.
• The phone number at the top. On a phone it should be tappable. Someone in a hurry usually wants to ring.
• A short form. Name, number and what they need. Every extra field is another reason to give up.
• Proof. Real photos of your work, your licence number if you hold one, and real reviews. Use only reviews you have.
• The service area. Say which suburbs you cover.
• One clear next step. Ring, or fill in the form. Not six links to other parts of the site.

Here’s an example of how the top of a page might read. It’s only an example.
Blocked drains in Brisbane’s northside. Ring [phone number] or send us a message, and we’ll get back to you the same day.

Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver. If you can’t get back the same day, don’t say so.

Speed and phones

Plenty of your visitors will be on a phone. Google’s Core Web Vitals aim for the main content to appear within 2.5 seconds of the page starting to load. Large photos are one common cause of a slow page. Test yours on your own phone, on mobile data, not just on the office wifi.

Check that it works

Ring the number from the page. Fill in the form and see if the enquiry arrives. Then look at how many people who visit end up ringing or sending a message. If the clicks are there and the calls aren’t, the page is the first thing to look at.

Questions people ask

What is a landing page in simple terms?

It’s the page a visitor arrives on after clicking an ad, link, email or QR code. It’s built around one purpose, like getting them to ring or send an enquiry.

Is a landing page the same as a home page?

No. A home page introduces the whole business to everyone. A landing page is built for one audience and one action.

Does a landing page affect my Google Ads?

Yes. Google Ads rates landing page experience, along with expected click-through rate and ad relevance, as part of how it judges the quality of your ads.

Do I need a landing page if I don’t run ads?

Usually not. A good page for each of your main services does the job for people who find you in search.

If you’re running ads and the calls aren’t coming, ask for a free website check and we’ll look at where the clicks go. We build landing pages as part of our Google Ads service, and you can see how we build for trades on our websites for tradies page.