The Long Tail of Landing Pages isn't just for paid advertisements.

Both with organic search engine optimization (SEO) and social media "viral" tactics, landing pages can be employed to target very specific niches. For instance, if I want to own the phrase "landing page ratio" in Google -- in addition to my blog post -- I can create a landing page that speaks directly to that topic.

For example: http://paths.ioninteractive.com/landingpageratio

I can then submit that URL to Google to be crawled. Or I can share it with people on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Mixx, del.icio.us, and other social media hubs where it's relevant to a particular audience.

Why not just share the original blog link?

In this case, the original blog post becomes the central reference point. However, different landing pages can be created to frame that content for more specific niches. For example, if I would like to present landing page ratio as a concept to search engine marketers -- maybe even Google AdWords advertisers, to be even more specific -- I could put together an introductory landing page with that audience in mind.

For example: http://paths.ioninteractive.com/semlandingpageratio

That particular page hasn't been customized much, as I only spent a few minutes on it as a quick sample. But even a few key choices of words and examples can make it more relevant to that particular segment. And it's easy to see that I could invest 15-20 minutes on a version that would go even deeper.

Great blog posts take a lot of investment of time, and you don't want to copy the exact same thing over and over again with only minor tweaks. Introductory landing pages in front of your best posts are a great way to extend the life of those posts and evangelize them to many different niches.

This is The Long Tail of Landing Pages for organic and viral web marketing.

Of course, as with all good web marketing, your landing pages have to be genuine and authentic. This isn't about trying to "trick" search engines or social networks. This is about authentically framing your content in the best possible light for the collective whole of niche audiences.

-- Scott Brinker