“Is it necessary to have a landing page for our ad campaign, or could we direct users to the homepage of our main website instead?”
As a medical digital marketing agency, we hear this question a lot. While an effective homepage is a marketing asset, a landing page is indispensable for targeted medical digital advertising. Keep reading to find out why, as well as learn landing page best practices and examples.
Understanding Landing Pages: What Sets Them Apart From Websites
A landing page is a standalone web page created for a specific marketing campaign or promotion, unlike a traditional website, which usually contains multiple pages with various information about the organization.
While a homepage is meant to boost visitation to the overall website, a landing page is designed to guide visitors to take one specific action, such as scheduling an appointment or downloading an e-book.
The Importance of Landing Pages in Medical Digital Marketing
The benefits of having a dedicated single page for a specific purpose are as follows:
Made for Conversion: Well-crafted landing pages have a specific message and a focused call to action. By eliminating distractions, they are optimized for high conversion rates.
Quality Lead Generation: The targeted approach of landing pages ensures that visitors receive specific and focused information, heightening the chance of converting only the right kinds of leads.
Enhanced Patient Experience: A good landing page provides visitors with only necessary information as clearly presented as possible. This hassle-free, seamless experience provides a better user experience, promoting conversion.
Best Practices for Creating Effective Landing Pages
The best practices for a landing page are similar to that of a high-performing medical website.
Engaging Visuals: Use high-quality images, videos, or infographics that resonate with your target audience. Visuals can help convey your message effectively and create an emotional connection with the visitor.
Persuasive, Pointed Copy: Create copy that clearly communicates the value of your service. In light of Contentsquare’s 2023 Digital Experience Benchmark report, which states that visitors across all industries average 47 seconds per page view, it’s best to make your content scannable. Use bullet points or short paragraphs, and don’t waste space on unnecessary information.
Strong, Noticeable Call-to-Action (CTA): Your CTA should be clear, use action-oriented language, and, if applicable, sound urgent. For example, “Schedule Your Appointment Now.” Considering the brief nature of patient journeys on websites, as revealed in Contentsquare’s report, it’s best to place CTAs front and center.
Responsive and Mobile Optimization: With as many as 63% of Google searches performed on a mobile device, ensure your landing page is responsive and functions well across all platforms. According to Contentsquare’s 2023 Digital Experience Benchmark report, when visitors across all industries are forced to wait for pages that take more than 2 seconds to load, bounce rates reach 49%.
Medical Landing Page Examples: What Works and What Doesn’t
Below are three examples of medical landing pages, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement.
1. Dignity Health – Mercy Medical Group: general landing page
What Works:
Viewers are immediately presented with a bright, bold headline communicating the brand’s promise. This, paired with a high-quality, relevant, and optimistic visual, creates a sense of trust and comfort and encourages visitors to act. The CTA underneath is action-oriented and clearly states the next steps for potential patients.
By presenting all the necessary information within the site copy, Mercy Medical Group streamlines the conversion process for guardians. They can learn all the information they need to convert, such as services offered. Also, allowing patients to schedule appointments or gather additional information without leaving the page makes the overall experience more efficient.
From a design standpoint, the website differentiates each section using clear headlines and distinct colors. This visual hierarchy helps users identify and navigate the information provided, creating an engaging and user-friendly experience.
The website concludes by reinforcing the brand promise with a final call to action, prompting potential patients to convert.
What Could Be Improved:
The location section could be optimized by implementing a drop-down menu. Many visitors will not like having to search for their location or scroll to get to the final section of the page.
Multiple calls to action are present: one to find a doctor and the other to call the clinic. Focusing on a single, consistent CTA may be beneficial to ensure clarity. Including more vital information, like patient testimonials, may help streamline the decision-making process.
What Works:
The bold headline grabs visitor attention and clearly communicates the page’s purpose, which is promoting a guide. This, combined with the explanatory sub-copy, ensures visitors understand what to expect from the page. In addition, the bright photo of active, older adults evokes positive emotions and resonates with the target audience, encouraging the desired audience to keep reading.
The section underneath demonstrates a targeted and empathetic approach, connecting with a specific audience. The encouraging tone helps establish a rapport with visitors. By calling them to action with phrases like “keep reading,” the page motivates them to act.
From a design standpoint, the download section is made distinct and noticeable, strategically promoting conversion.
What Could Be Improved:
The page contains abundant information for identifying and treating spine and back pain, but it undermines the purpose of the landing page: conversion. Giving away too much content from the guide may reduce the incentive for visitors to download it.
The page is quite long, so many visitors may not scroll to the bottom. The average all-industry scroll rate is 56.8%, so it’s likely only around half the landing page will be seen by visitors. With this in mind, it would be wise to position important sections like testimonials higher on the page.
Finally, it’s best to ensure all messaging reinforces the landing page’s primary purpose. The final section includes two CTAs: “Request an Appointment” and “Find a Spine Doctor.” This shift in focus will dilute the purpose of the landing page: promote the guide to potential patients.
What Works:
Off the bat, there’s a clear, bold headline with a CTA underneath and a relevant, uplifting photo depicting the likely age audience, ensuring the target audience feels seen and encouraged to act.
The brand statement, “seeing the world with confidence,” is presented boldly and clearly. This concise statement effectively conveys the value proposition and instills confidence in potential patients.
Design-wise, brand attributes like “experts in eye care” and “patient-centered” are presented side-by-side, enabling a quick visual scan and making it convenient for visitors to grasp key attributes without much effort.
The landing page provides a wealth of information that patients may need, including testimonials, information about cataracts, details about expertise, and FAQs. This comprehensive approach ensures visitors can find the information they seek without leaving the page, streamlining conversion.
What Could Be Improved:
The “get started” CTA could be clearer. Changing it to “Request an Appointment Today” would give visitors an understanding of the action they’ll be taking, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
Swapping the first headline with the second, “See Your World with Confidence,” and its subtext can create a more impactful introduction. Starting with a brand statement that isn’t just explanatory but also compelling will resonate with visitors and set a strong foundation for the rest of the page.
The thin non-header text combined with a white background may hinder readability, especially for the target audience with vision impairment. Additionally, breaking up long paragraphs and incorporating bullet points or other formatting elements can make the information easier to scan and comprehend. The copy is quite lengthy, requiring visitors to click on a plus sign for expansion. Shortening it and focusing on critical points will prevent visitors from feeling overwhelmed and ensure they obtain the most relevant decision-making information.
This page peppers links to other pages of the website throughout. The homepage of a website is designed to encourage visitors to other parts of the site; however, a landing page is best when focusing entirely on guiding potential patients toward completing the desired conversion action. On that note, instead of having “To learn more about your vision options, text SWEI to 519519. . .”, the final CTA should direct visitors to take the specific action outlined earlier in the page.
Finally, we recommend placing the appointment form, which is currently a separate page, at the end of the landing page to streamline the conversion process.
In conclusion, landing pages are crucial in medical digital marketing by enhancing the patient experience and driving conversions through targeted and focused information. To create effective landing pages, healthcare organizations should follow our best practices and use real-life examples to gain inspiration. While all this information may seem overwhelming, remember you’re not alone in this endeavor. Most medical digital marketing agencies use their expertise to craft landing pages as a part of their advertising solutions.
Want to learn more? Let’s talk.