You may be wondering why you need a landing page if you already have a Web site. A Web site can offer you a lot of exposure, but if you want to know exactly where your visitors are coming from, whether your offer is generating interest, and if your visitors are converting into customers then you need a landing page.

Do you have all the right online marketing ingredients, including pay-per-click ads and email blasts, but you still aren’t clear where landing pages fit into the mix? Before we discuss the best landing page ingredients, let’s review what a landing page is. Essentially a landing page is used to capture leads from traffic that is sent to the page to perform a transaction of information. It can also sometimes be used as a reference page.

Last week we discussed how landing pages are the online version of direct mail response forms, and how we can apply what we've learned from direct mail theory to our online marketing strategies. This week I'll elaborate more on the relationship in terms of practical application. Let's get right to it!

It's true, online marketing, especially email, is well on its way to overtake direct mail in terms of annual ad spend. While some people may be predicting the end of print media in general, I see online marketing as the evolution of direct mail. But don't fret! There's no reason for marketers to feel like we have to reinvent the wheel. In fact, there's much we can learn from direct mail to help us succeed with our interactive advertising efforts.