Landing page definition
One Landing page is a Thematic target page within the domain of the main website.
Microsite definition
One Microsite is a independentmostly small, thematic website on its own domain or a subdomain of the main website.
The difference between the two is therefore technical (domain) and possibly content-related (scope).
Similarities between landing page and microsite
Both forms of web presence are used to present a single offer, a single service, a single product or a specific event to interested parties and customers on a single page without any distractions and to generate leads via clear user guidance (intended interaction). Navigations outside the presented topic are usually hidden (distraction-free presentation).
Landing pages and microsites usually contain recurring requests for user interaction, such as making contact, a purchase, a booking or a recommendation (lead). From adverts, external blog posts and posts in social networks, you link directly to these websites and therefore to your focus topic.
Which is better, landing page or microsite?
This also depends on the underlying marketing strategy and the scope of the topic.
- Scope of the topic:
- If the topic needs to be presented more extensively in order to cover partial aspects on subpages or if a new product does not get enough attention on the main domain: microsite.
- One page is enough to present the topic: Landing page.
- How do visitors get to the site:
- If the main website already has enough traffic and there are sufficient internal links to the thematic page: landing page. Advantage: Users come to the website anyway and can easily be directed to the landing page.
- Should or must the topic be referred to primarily through social media or Google campaigns, for example because it is about the market launch of a new product that is not yet sufficiently searched for: Microsite.
- Once the user is on the page, the user guidance works in the same way: information, persuasion, call-to-action, lead generation.
- SEO strategy and considerations:
- The existing main website already has a ranking for the target group of the topic and is easy to find. Repositioning the special topic there in the medium term can already be achieved with high quality content and good internal linking. If the content for the Google search is first-class and the topic is comprehensively explained, Google will place it accordingly (ranking to be built up). This depends crucially on the online competition for this topic. Keyword research and competition analyses are therefore useful beforehand when deciding whether to create a landing page or microsite.
- If a topic is to be placed at short notice or if the topic is not yet sufficiently searched for or if the competition is already well positioned online on the topic, there is no getting around additional concerted campaigns to generate traffic. This is where a microsite can be advantageous. It should be borne in mind that the microsite starts from scratch in terms of ranking and trust. First-class, search engine-optimised content and the creation of valuable external links are therefore essential.
Summary
Landing pages and microsites are marketing tools for the distraction-free presentation of a single topic. A landing page exists within the domain of a company website, in contrast to a microsite, which runs on its own domain or subdomain and can present a topic more extensively.
