You've probably heard the terms "mobile landing page", "mobile website" and "mobile microsite" a thousands times by now. What's the difference between these three, and in what situations should each be used?

A "mobile website" is typically used to display general information about a business, and is targeted at a general mobile visitor who may be looking for anything related to the business.

A "mobile landing page" is designed to display specific information the visitor expects to see, and is used as a destination in a specific campaign and with one purpose. A landing page is typically one page (unless it is followed by a second "thank you" page displayed to the visitors after they take action).

Here are a few examples where a mobile landing page can be used:

• In an SMS campaign - the SMS message is "Get 30% off today! See more.", where "see more" is a link to a landing page that contains the coupon information.


• A QR code with a call to action "Scan me to win an iPad!" taking the visitor to a mobile landing page with a form to enter the contest.

Why focused information? Because relevancy improves conversions. By eliminating informational distractions you guide an interested visitor on a focused path to buy, sign up or contact your business.  In a nutshell, your landing page should be a seamless extension of your ad, SMS message or QR code.

A "mobile micro-site" is very similar to a landing page, but typically contains more information, designed for a situation where an interested visitor may require a few more details before she feels comfortable to take action. For instance, a dentist may run a Google adwords campaign about a teeth whitening offer linking to a microsite built specifically to market their teeth whitening procedure. This microsite would contain a few pages describing the details (how the process works, how long it takes, testimonials, perhaps a video or two) to educate potential customers and make them feel comfortable, and a call-to-action to get the visitor to schedule a consultation or call the business.

Linking to a microsite specifically about the teeth whitening offer (versus a full site that lists all the other services) decreases the chances of the visitor getting distracted by clicking on an irrelevant link, or even worse - not finding the information promoted in an ad.

Mobile landing pages and microsites are about following the concept of "less is more". Note that any rich features, such as beautiful image galleries, mcommerce or videos, can still be present on the landing pages, as long as they don't distract from the desired experience.

To sum it up:

• a mobile website is for serving general information about a business


• a mobile landing page is for offering focused information, serving one specific narrow purpose


• a mobile microsite is for offering focused information, but in situations where more details are needed for a visitor to take action.