--- name: build-a-high-converting-landing-page description: >- Guides the construction of a new dedicated landing page for lead-gen or SaaS campaigns: lock the offer first, size the page to the visitor's awareness level, structure the persuasion sections, write message-matched copy, and verify tracking before traffic flows. Use it when a new campaign needs its own destination, when a generic website page is doing landing-page duty, or when a new offer launches. VigilDog supplies the keyword and ad-copy inputs (gads_get_keyword_performance, gads_generate_rsa_copy) and verifies conversions fire (gads_list_conversion_actions, ga4_run_report); the page itself is built by a human. Not for ecommerce destinations - use build-a-high-converting-product-page for PLA/product traffic or build-a-high-converting-ecommerce-landing-page for promo LPs - and not for improving a page that already exists (audit-and-optimize-an-existing-landing-page). --- # Build a Lead-Gen / SaaS Landing Page ## Purpose Takes a campaign from "we need a page" to a live, conversion-focused destination in a fixed order: offer first, structure second, copy third, design fourth, launch checks last. The ordering is the point - most weak landing pages were built copy-first or design-first on top of an undefined offer. ## When to run - Launching a new Search, Demand Gen, or Display campaign that needs a dedicated destination. - Replacing a homepage or generic site page currently used as a paid-traffic landing page. - A new offer, service tier, or product launch needs its own page. - monitor-landing-page-performance or an audit concluded the existing page needs a full rebuild. ## When NOT to run - The destination is for Shopping/PMax product traffic → build-a-high-converting-product-page. - You need a stripped, promo-focused ecommerce page → build-a-high-converting-ecommerce-landing-page. - A workable page exists and needs improvement, not replacement → audit-and-optimize-an-existing-landing-page. - The Quality Score landing-page component is the specific complaint → improve-landing-page-experience. - The offer itself is undefined or uncompetitive → create-an-irresistible-offer first; a page cannot outperform its offer. ## Prerequisites - A defined offer: value statement, differentiation, extras, proof assets, and a risk-removal element. - Target audience and their awareness level (drives page length - see decision rules). - The ad copy or campaign brief that will drive traffic (for message match). - Validated target CPA/ROAS from unit economics (calculate-and-validate-unit-economics). - Brand assets and access to a landing-page builder or developer. ## Procedure 1. **Confirm the offer is complete.** Check five components are written down: a value statement a stranger grasps in seconds, a reason to pick you over alternatives, extras that raise perceived value, proof that claims are true, and a mechanism that removes the visitor's risk. If any are missing, stop and resolve with the business owner (create-an-irresistible-offer). 2. **Pick the primary conversion action** - one per page: form submit, call, booking, trial signup, or demo request. Everything on the page will point at it. 3. **Pull the keyword input.** Use `gads_get_keyword_performance` (or the campaign plan) to identify the primary keyword theme per ad group that will target this page. The dominant theme belongs in the page headline for Search traffic. 4. **Set page depth from awareness level** using the decision rules below, and outline the sections: hero, benefits, credibility, customer proof, objection handling, urgency (only if genuine), and a repeated CTA. Note the key message per section before writing anything. 5. **Write the copy.** Draft section by section using a persuasion arc that fits the traffic - a problem-agitation-solution opening for pain-driven audiences, an attention-interest-desire-action flow for colder long-form pages, or a before/after/bridge frame for transformation offers. Keep language visitor-first, outcome-led, and specific (numbers beat adjectives). The model can draft; final copy approval is a HUMAN STEP. 6. **Draft the matching ad copy.** Use `gads_generate_rsa_copy` with the page's headline promise and primary keyword so the ad and page say the same thing in the same words. Any ad creation or update that follows is a Google Ads write: consult `gads_policy_guardrail` before the first write of the session, preview with validate_only first, and apply only after explicit user approval. 7. **HUMAN STEP (outside VigilDog):** design and build the page. Non-negotiables: CTA is the most visually prominent element, real photos over stock, mobile-first layout, navigation and footer links stripped to legal essentials, form reduced to the minimum fields needed to qualify and follow up. 8. **HUMAN STEP (outside VigilDog):** technical pass before launch - page loads in under 3 seconds on mobile (PageSpeed Insights), form delivers to the CRM, thank-you state works, tag fires on conversion (Tag Assistant), legal links open in new tabs. 9. **Verify tracking on the VigilDog side.** Use `gads_list_conversion_actions` to confirm the intended conversion action exists, is enabled, and is set to the right counting mode. After launch, use `ga4_run_report` filtered to the new page path to confirm sessions and key events are recording. 10. **Message-match check.** Side-by-side: ad headline vs page headline, ad offer vs page offer, ad CTA verb vs page CTA verb. For Search, confirm the primary keyword appears in the page headline. 11. **Launch and watch 48 hours.** Point the campaign's final URLs at the page (any final-URL change is a write: preview first, apply only after user approval). For the first two days, confirm via `ga4_run_report` and `gads_run_gaql_query`-style conversion pulls that real submissions arrive and are tracked. 12. **Hand off to optimization.** After 2 weeks / 50+ conversions of baseline data, route ongoing work to audit-and-optimize-an-existing-landing-page or run-a-landing-page-a-b-test. ## Decision rules - **Awareness → page depth:** retargeting or branded traffic → short page, offer-forward, light proof. Comparison/competitor traffic → medium page, heavy proof and differentiation. Generic solution-seeking traffic → full-length page, heavy benefits and objections. Pain-keyword traffic → long-form page that educates before it sells. - **One page, one goal:** a single primary CTA, repeated; remove every link that is not the CTA or a legal requirement. - **Form fields:** each extra field costs conversions; keep only what qualification and follow-up strictly require. - **Speed floor:** under 3 seconds on mobile before launch; fix images and scripts until it passes. - **Urgency:** include only when tied to a real constraint (date, capacity, stock); fabricated scarcity damages trust and is not worth the lift. - **Launch gate:** offer complete + tracking verified + message match confirmed. Any one missing means no traffic yet. ## Common failure modes - **Starting with design or copy before the offer.** Produces a pretty page that argues for nothing. The offer brief comes first, every time. - **Writing before outlining.** Rambling pages come from skipping the section outline; lock structure, then write. - **Message drift.** The ad promises one thing, the page leads with another; visitors assume they misclicked and bounce. Mirror the ad's exact promise in the hero. - **Competing CTAs.** A demo button, a newsletter box, and social icons split intent three ways. One action wins; delete the rest. - **Launching with unverified tracking.** A week of traffic with a silent pixel is unrecoverable data loss. Verify before, and re-verify 48 hours after, launch. ## Related skills - **Before:** create-an-irresistible-offer, calculate-and-validate-unit-economics, research-keywords. - **After:** audit-and-optimize-an-existing-landing-page (ongoing improvement), run-a-landing-page-a-b-test (structured testing), monitor-landing-page-performance (recurring watch). - **Siblings:** build-a-high-converting-product-page, build-a-high-converting-ecommerce-landing-page (ecommerce variants).