How to build landing pages for search

What a search landing page is

A landing page is the page someone lands on when they click your result. For search, a good one has two jobs at once. It has to be the best answer to one search, so Google chooses to show it. And it has to help the visitor take the next step, so the visit turns into an enquiry, a booking or a sale.

Most websites already have landing pages without calling them that: the service pages, the main category pages, the page for each location. This guide is about making those pages, and any new ones, do both jobs well.

Start from one search, not from a page

A landing page that tries to rank for everything usually ranks for nothing. Pick one main search, and the close variations people use for the same need. “Wedding cakes in Leeds”, “Leeds wedding cake maker” and “custom wedding cakes Leeds” are one page. “Birthday cakes” is another page, because the buyer and the questions are different.

Our guide to mapping keywords to pages shows how to give every important search exactly one page, so two of your own pages never compete for it.

Improve an existing page before building a new one

Before you add a page, check whether you already have one that Google connects with the search. In Search Console, look up the phrase in the Queries tab and see which of your pages appears for it. If one already shows up, even on the second or third page of results, improving that page is usually faster than starting again. It already has an address Google knows, links pointing to it and some history.

Build a new page when nothing on your site answers the search, or when the closest page is about something clearly different. A new page should then be linked from the pages visitors already use, such as your menu, a related category or a guide, so search engines can find it on their next visit.

Check what Google already shows

Search for your main phrase in a private browser window, from the country you sell in. Look at the first page of results and note what kind of pages they are. Are they shop category pages, service pages, local listings with a map, or long guides? That tells you what searchers want, and what Google expects.

If the top results are all guides and you plan a sales page, you are fighting the search itself. Either build the guide and link it to your sales page, or choose a search where people are ready to buy. Our guide to search intent gaps covers this in detail.

The parts of a good landing page

Every strong landing page answers the same few questions, in roughly this order:

1. Say what it is, straight away. A clear main heading that matches the search, and one or two sentences under it that say what you offer, for whom and where. Visitors decide in seconds whether they are in the right place.
2. Show why you. Real proof: photos of your own work, reviews with names you are allowed to show, years in business, the promises you actually keep (such as a returns policy), qualifications. Avoid claims you can’t back up.
3. Answer the questions buyers ask. Price or how pricing works, delivery or travel area, timings, what is included. If you don’t answer, the visitor goes back to the results and asks someone else.
4. Make the next step obvious. One main action, such as Book a call, Get a quote or Add to basket, repeated where it helps. Keep forms short: ask only what you need to reply.
5. Help people go deeper. Link to related pages: the guide that explains the choice, the case study, the contact page. Those links also help search engines understand how your pages fit together.

Then the basics every page needs: its own title and search description written for this search, a fast load on a phone, and pictures with sizes and descriptions. Our Core Web Vitals guide explains the speed side.

Avoid doorway pages

The most common landing page mistake is making many near-identical pages to catch small variations of a search. Google’s spam policies call these doorway pages. The classic example is a set of city pages where only the town name changes: “Plumber in Leeds”, “Plumber in Bradford”, “Plumber in York”, each with the same text.

If you serve many places but the service is the same, one strong page that lists the areas you cover usually does better than dozens of thin ones.

Pages made for adverts

Pages built only for an advert campaign often repeat a main page with a different headline. If they are copies, keep them out of search with a noindex tag, or point a canonical tag at the main page, so Google is not left choosing between near-duplicates. If an advert page is genuinely useful on its own, treat it like any other landing page.

Measure, then improve

• In Search Console, filter the Performance report to the page and open Queries. Are the searches it appears for the ones you planned? Our guide to reading Search Console data explains how.
• In your analytics, compare visits from search with enquiries or sales from the page. A page that ranks but never converts needs better proof or a clearer next step, not more search work.
• Change one thing at a time, such as the heading, the proof or the form, and give each change a few weeks before you judge it.