In the previous articles, we’ve talked about the advantages of using affiliate network templates and offer templates.
The topic of today’s article is creating a lander template. Since this topic is quite extensive, we will break it down into several parts and briefly explain each one of them:
- The definition of the term “lander”;
- Hosting your landers;
- Uploading the lander template code;
- Lander template code editor;
- The structure of the lander template;
- Automation techniques using a lander template.
The definition of the term “lander”
Sometimes there is some misunderstanding in the definition of the term “lander”. Zeustrack uses these two definitions:
A lander – the web page that precedes an offer page.
An offer page – the web page where actual conversion (a performance of the desired action) occurs.
This does not mean that you cannot use Landers tab to load offer pages, but with this approach there are some nuances that are not relevant to the topic of this article.
Hosting your landers
Zeustrack offers two ways to host your landers: Zeustrack Cloud (Directly in the system) or External hosting (Your own hosting).
The recommended option is to place the lander code directly in the system via Zeustrack Cloud. In this article, we will explain how to set up this option.
Uploading the lander template code
In Zeustrack there are multiple ways to upload your lander coding. You can choose from the following 3 options: type or copy/paste the code manually, load a ZIP archive, or load a lander by URL.
Before uploading the code as a ZIP archive, you need to properly prepare it. It should have the following structure: an index file with the HTML markup of your lander (file extension .html). There should be a folder next to this index file, you can call it “assets” for simplicity. This folder should contain all the media resources of your lander (images, styles, scripts, etc.) without breaking such files into subfolders. You will learn more about the technical aspects of creating a lander in Zeustrack from the documentation.
Lander template code editor
Since manually implementing the lander code is the most popular way of setting up a lander, Zeustrack has a built-in convenient code editor with all the necessary functionality: code syntax highlighting, quick search and replace, and more.
Please note that at the very bottom, under the code editor, you will find the Assets section. This is a kind of folder for your media assets (images, script styles, etc.). You can find more information on working with the Assets folder from the documentation.
Here you can upload the files you need directly to this folder. Also, Assets will contain the lander files that you upload via a ZIP archive or URL.
The structure of the lander template
Zeustrack’s lander template must always follow a specific structure:
- HTML markup in the code editor;
- Media files (images, styles, scripts, etc.) in the Assets section;
- File paths must always be in the following format, for example: <img src = ”assets / filename.extension”>
All of the links leading to the offer page should look like this: http://{trackingdomain}/click/?origin={origin}
Pay attention to this element http://{trackingdomain}/click/?origin={origin} – this is the template of the link to the offer page. This link template will be automatically replaced with the actual offer URL you specified in the Destination tab of the Campaign settings when your lander loads in the user’s browser. Thus, you can combine the pairs “lander – offer page” directly in the campaign settings without having to make changes to the lander code!
Automation techniques using a lander template
Lander templates have a big potential in automating the day-to-day work of any affiliate manager. Below are some examples of how to use templates:
- It is possible to create an unlimited number of pairs “lander – offer page” without changing the code of the lander itself. This functionality is possible due to the fact that when creating such a pair, you bind the templates, not the hardcoded webpages. This allows you to achieve maximum flexibility in setting the path of your visitor;
- Possibility to build landers from code snippets only. Snippets are pre-prepared chunks of HTML code. Firstly, you will be able to independently create unique landing pages, which will be limited only by your imagination, and secondly, unload your web developer, because the dev just needs to create a few snippets, instead of coding the entire lander again and again. Read more about the lander snippets here;
- By hosting your landers on Zeustrack Cloud, you completely free yourself from the extra work with SSH, FTP, hosting fees, hiring a system administrator, and so on. Having prepared the lander template once you can reuse it numerous times just select it from the lander template list;
- And, of course, the most important thing – by placing your lander in Zeustrack Cloud, you get completely redirect-free tracking;
These are just examples of how to effectively use landing page templates. We are sure that you will find the right approach to apply this tool.
Follow this link to find the tech docs related to the topic. We surely wish you to keep increasing your productivity with Zeustrack tools. Stay tuned, there are a lot of interesting things ahead!
