A landing page (lead capture page) is the page that appears when a user clicks on an advertisement or a result link produced from a search engine. A landing page should prompt a specific action or result. By changing various parameters to the URL that is being linked to, one can assess the success of a particular pay per click (PPC) campaign. One essential aspect of a landing page is that is has to have a fast load time. Users do not want to deal with the hassles of waiting for your page to load.
If you are tying to convert a sales transaction, it is best if you utilize a vertical flow through the center of the page and implement strong visual elements where you would like the user to be directed toward the most. However, remember to keep it simple. The last thing you want to do is confuse your user and have them abandon your site.
What is the difference between a reference and a transactional landing page? A reference landing page is mainly created to provide the searcher with basic facts, information or entertainment. The effectiveness of this particular type of page is measured by the amount of revenue derived from the advertising on that page.
A transactional landing page is created to immediately provoke an action from the user. This action could be anything from filling out a form to signing up for an account. The main goal of this type of landing page is to generate a sale.
Click here for the 7 Rules of Landing Page Optimization.