A referral landing page is a page on your own website written for the customers one partner, or one type of partner, tends to send you. It names the referrer, describes the job that customer probably needs, says who will call and how fast, and discloses any arrangement in plain words. We're a marketing service and not a contractor, so our work stops at the words, the page and the tracking.
Why the page matters
A referral is borrowed trust. The customer believes you're worth calling because someone they trust said so. That trust fades if the next thing they see is a generic homepage with a stock slogan and no mention of the person who sent them.
A good referral page keeps the thread going. Compare two first impressions:
- Generic: "Quality plumbing since forever. Residential and commercial. Call us today."
- Referral page: "[Partner name] sent you our way for the plumbing on your kitchen renovation. Here's how we usually fit in with their schedule, who will call you, and what to have ready."
The second one tells the customer they're in the right place.
What's on each page
- The referrer, by name, and how you know them, in one sentence.
- The likely job, described in the customer's words rather than trade jargon.
- What happens next: who will contact them, by when, and how the visit or quote works.
- The disclosure, in plain words, if any fee, discount or reciprocal arrangement exists, matching your written referral terms.
- Ways to reach you: call, text or email, with the partner's tracking number where you use referral tracking.
- A few honest facts about your business, such as the municipalities you cover and your hours. Nothing you can't back up.
What isn't on the page: invented reviews, star ratings, borrowed photos, or claims about the partner that they haven't approved.
One page per partner, or per type?
| Situation | Better choice |
|---|---|
| One partner sends most of your referrals | A page for that partner |
| Several similar partners, such as three kitchen designers | One page per partner type, with the referrer named by tracking number or code |
| A professional practice with regulated referral rules | One neutral page, after checking with the regulator |
| A partner unwilling to be named publicly | A page with a private address that isn't linked anywhere |
Search engines and partner pages
These pages exist for people, not rankings. We normally keep them out of search results, so they don't compete with your main service pages or look like doorway pages.
If a partner chooses to link to you from their website, that's fine, provided it's there to help a customer and isn't traded for anything. Google's spam policies describe excessive link exchanges and partner pages made only for cross-linking as link spam, and say paid links should carry a sponsored or nofollow marker. We don't write link requirements into referral terms. Our guide on partner links and Google covers this properly.
Timeline
- Week 1: agree which partners or partner types get pages; collect what each partner is comfortable having said.
- Week 2: draft pages; the partner reviews their mention and the disclosure.
- Week 3: publish, connect tracking, and hand each partner the address and a one-line description to send with it.
How results are measured
For each page we look at referred visits, the share that call, text or email, and the share of those that book. A page that gets visits but few contacts usually has a next step that's unclear. One that gets contacts but few bookings points to an expectation gap between what the partner said and what you offer.
Mistakes to avoid
- Overpromising for the partner. Don't write "[Partner] recommends us above all others" unless they've said exactly that in writing.
- Hiding the disclosure below the fold. Put it near the top, in a normal font size.
- Duplicating your main pages. A referral page should be short and specific, not a copy of your service page with a partner's name pasted in.
- Forgetting to update it. If a partnership ends, take the page down the same week.
Plan levels are on the pricing page; what to include when you get in touch is on the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just send referrals to my homepage?
Your homepage speaks to everyone. A referred customer already knows who sent them and roughly what they need, so a page that says so, and shows exactly how to reach you, wastes less of the trust they arrived with.
Will these pages rank in search?
They aren't built to. Most are deliberately kept out of search results, because their job is to serve visitors a partner sends, not to compete with your main service pages.
Does the partner need to link to the page from their site?
No. Most partners share the address in a text, an email or on a quote. If they do link from their site, that link exists to help a customer, and it should never be part of a deal.
Who writes and hosts the pages?
We write them, and they live on your own website, which you own. If your site can't host them cleanly, we'll say so and suggest the simplest fix.