The difference between a Landing Page and a Squeeze Page

Last updated on April 9th, 2022 at 11:50 pm

We all know that a webpage is more than just a single page.  Instead, it’s a network of pages that explain your company, your products and services, your purpose, and how your products can be used to solve all sorts of problems. 

You probably have pages for ordering products, and pages for checking out and paying for the order.  You’ve probably also heard terms like “landing page” and “home page” and “squeeze page” tossed around.  While we have discussed squeeze pages in detail, in this article, we’ll look at landing pages and squeeze pages in a bit more detail so you can better understand how each page works in the grand scheme of your marketing plans.

A Page By Any Other Name

Of the three terms, a home page is probably the easiest to decipher.  This is your “home” on the internet.  When a user types in your web address, it delivers that person to your home page.  Generally speaking, this is a visually compelling page with your logo, information about your business, and links or a menu that will take visitors to all the various pages within your website.

A squeeze page, on the other hand, has one very specific duty:  to encourage visitors to enter their email address, and perhaps a first name.  Often, squeeze pages offer lead magnets, such as a free download, a discount code, or an exclusive service in exchange for that coveted email address.

Unlike a home page, a squeeze page is extremely focused, and typically contains only a description of the lead magnet, a field for entering the requested information, and a Call-To-Action button that says something to the extent of “click here for this amazing offer!”.

But what about a landing page?  Technically, a squeeze page is a type of landing page, but as mentioned, it’s very, very specific, and very limited in the amount of information it’s going to impart to your audience.

So What Is a Landing Page, Anyway?

A landing page is so named because it’s where you direct visitors to “land” on your website in particular situations.  Sometimes, you want your home page to be your landing page, especially if you want to open your future customers’ eyes to all the amazing products or services you offer.  However, there are also times when you want to direct visitors to a specific portion of your website.

Let’s say you’re running an AdWords campaign to either improve your SEO Ranking or to promote your business on Google. As you’re setting up this campaign, you’ll have the ability to choose where the person who sees your ad “lands” on your webpage.  

That means you have some decisions to make.  You want your landing page to refer directly to the keywords you choose in your ad campaign.  So, if your keywords focus on a specific product, make sure that users who click on the link in your AdWords ad are directed right to the page that discusses that specific product.

Don’t make them click around, looking for what they want: make sure they land exactly where they need to be to make that conversion.

A landing page can also be a standalone entity, created specifically for each ad or marketing campaign you run.  As in the AdWords example above, a highly successful campaign on any platform will be focused on a single goal.  This is because you want visitors to be motivated to click on your link, and you want your landing page to propel these motivated customers through to make the conversion.

How Does a Landing Page Work?

There are many situations in which a landing page can be beneficial, so let’s take a look at a few examples of scenarios in which a landing page can help lead directly to a conversion.

Perhaps you sell a variety of pet products for both indoor pets and livestock.  You may choose to run a marketing campaign on your cat-related products.  You’ve got ads set up on Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… even your affiliate marketing crew is hyping up your cat-related products.

Now, these ads could use your general website, which leads them to your very well-designed, full color webpage, where they’ll see pictures of cats and horses and dogs, as well as articles about designing livestock pens, and a blog about vaccination schedules.  You can only hope that they’ll find the link on this page that says “Month Long Special on Cat-Related Products!”.

Alternately, you can create a landing page specific to this campaign.  By clicking the link on your ads, visitors will show up at your super-slick “Month Long Special on Cat-Related Products” landing page.  Perhaps this page recommends they enter their email address before they continue, so they can take advantage of more cat-related discounts, then takes them to the cat section.

Perhaps this is a clickthrough landing page, which lists a variety of cat-related products included in the special, allowing visitors to start shopping immediately.

The advantages

As you can see, creating a landing page for this particular ad campaign keeps visitors focused, and more likely to continue interacting with your site.

Think of it in terms of a physical store.  You can walk in, wander around, and eventually find what you need to buy.  You need to keep your guard and focus up to make sure you don’t forget that one thing you need.  But what if the one thing you needed was right inside the door?  Now that you don’t have to worry about that one specific thing, you might be more compelled to wander around a bit, now that the stress has been lifted.

You’ll also have a very pleased opinion about the store, because they had exactly what you wanted, when you wanted it.  A landing page is the same thing: it gives the clicker exactly what they want, when they wanted it.

These are a few of the basic uses for landing pages in your marketing campaigns.  With the right software, you can create a variety of landing pages any time you want to draw attention to a particular segment of your business.

Read also: How to create a good advertisement.

You can create landing pages accessed from email campaigns, social media and more.

Just one word of advice: make sure you don’t lose track of these pages, because having up to date information is going to be key for those conversions!  That being said, most landing page software will help guide you through the process, so choose wisely, and prepare for conversions!