Landing Pages Best Practices
Landing pages play a critical role in shaping the traveler’s first impression and influencing their booking decisions. They serve as curated entry points designed to connect potential guests with the right accommodations while showcasing the unique value your platform offers. A well-designed landing page is more than just a pretty interface—it’s a strategic tool that aligns user intent with clear messaging, seamless functionality, and compelling calls to action. By guiding visitors toward booking with confidence, effective landing pages not only drive reservations but also strengthen your brand’s credibility and value in the eyes of your audience.
Why Landing Pages Matter
The primary role of a landing page is to increase booking conversion by offering travelers a qualified entry into the booking engine aligning to their purpose of travel. It should immediately communicate its purpose while offering a compelling reason for travelers to book through your platform. Clear messaging, intuitive design, and strategic content placement all work together to create an experience that resonates with users and encourages them to act.
A great landing page is not only visually appealing but also purposeful. It focuses on lodging—not event details—and highlights the benefits of booking. It should guide users effortlessly toward their goal, reducing friction and making the path to conversion as straightforward as possible.
Types of Landing Pages
There are several types of landing pages, each designed to serve a different purpose and audience. Understanding when and how to use each type helps ensure your landing pages stay relevant, effective, and aligned with your broader booking strategy.
Client Landing Pages
These are general landing pages created for each client. They serve as the primary entry point from the client’s site, highlighting why travelers should book directly through the client’s platform. These pages emphasize the client’s unique value propositions—exclusive rates, local expertise, or special perks—and reinforce the client’s branding to build trust and credibility with visitors.
Event Landing Pages
These landing pages are created for specific events, groups, or affiliate partnerships. They highlight why travelers should book accommodations through the event’s dedicated lodging page, often emphasizing benefits like a curated lodging selection, proximity to the event venue, special offers for attendees, or discounted rates. Event landing pages also serve as an opportunity for co-branding, creating a seamless entry point from the event website and messaging experience that aligns with the event and lodging offerings. These pages are essential for driving event-specific relevancy and ensuring attendees see the value in booking through the recommended portal.
Niche Landing Pages
These pages focus on a particular promotion, value add, featured area, or traveler need. Examples include:
Promotional pages showcasing limited-time discounts or seasonal offers.
Location-specific pages highlighting areas like “Downtown Hotels” or “Ski-In/Ski-Out Properties.”
Amenity-focused pages catering to travelers looking for pet-friendly properties, luxury stays, or budget options.
These niche landing pages allow for hyper-targeted marketing campaigns and can significantly improve conversion rates by directly addressing the specific interests or needs of certain traveler segments.
By leveraging the right mix of these landing page types, you can create a cohesive, user-friendly booking ecosystem that speaks directly to different audiences while maintaining consistency in your messaging and brand identity.
Key Elements of an Exceptional Landing Page
Why Book Here
Your landing page should always answer the question: "Why book here?" Whether it’s exclusive offers, official lodging provider status, or proceeds supporting local events, these unique benefits should be front and center. This messaging is critical in helping travelers understand the added value your platform provides compared to other options.
A Focus on Lodging
The core purpose of the page is to promote lodging options. While event details can provide context, they should never overshadow the primary objective: booking accommodations. Integrating event-relevant value adds, such as discounts or perks, can strengthen the page’s appeal without detracting from its focus.
Visual Appeal
First impressions matter. A clean, visually cohesive design ensures that users feel confident and engaged. Use high-quality imagery that reflects the destination’s unique charm and aligns with your branding. Images should also be optimized for fast loading to maintain a smooth user experience across devices.
Incorporating Value Adds
Value adds are a powerful way to differentiate your platform by offering an exclusive available when booking on your site. From an event-specific gift to bundled exclusives, these offers provide compelling reasons for travelers to book through your site. Introduce these incentives early and reinforce them throughout the booking journey. For clients leveraging Bandwango or similar services, bundling offers can further enhance the appeal of your platform.
Ensuring Quality and Consistency
From the moment that we build your first landing page through every year thereafter, it is important that we maintain high standards through regular audits of your landing pages. These reviews ensure that your pages remain aligned with best practices and continue to meet user expectations. Performance tracking provides valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t, enabling data-driven improvements over time.
We have also found that using landing pages with each of your event/group instances is just as important. Helping these travelers understand why booking through this dedicated portal is beneficial for them, as travelers, as well as the group/affiliate as a whole, benefits not just the conversion on this page, but the travelers’ end-to-end experience.
Additionally, keeping your Knowledge Base updated with examples of high-performing pages and clear guidelines ensures that your team remains aligned on objectives and strategies. By sharing successes and lessons learned, you create a culture of continuous improvement.
Conclusion
A Ripe landing page is more than just a gateway to booking; it’s an opportunity to showcase the best of your destination and provide an unparalleled user experience. By focusing on clarity, consistency, and user-centric design, you can create landing pages that not only drive bookings but also build lasting trust with travelers. When executed well, these pages become a powerful tool in transforming interest into action and ensuring the success of your platform.
Updated 22 days ago