Eloqua Training: 104 Creating Eloqua Landing Pages using the template editor
Creating Eloqua Landing Pages using the template editor
1 Introduction
Landing pages are often the first significant part of a campaign that a contact will see. A contact may be directed to your landing page from a link in an email that was sent as part of a campaign. The landing page could then provide the contact with more information and options related to the email.
Eloqua allows you to set up landing pages within the platform.
This playbook will go through how to create a landing page using these templates in Eloqua. It will also explain how to modify the templates (for advances users only).
Note, landing pages should only be created in Eloqua and used when the page is intended for temporary use, e.g. as part of a campaign. For pages that are intended to be there on a permanent basis, you are strongly advised to set it up outside Eloqua.
For Oracle’s generic documentation on landing pages in Eloqua, please follow this link; https://docs.oracle.com/cloud/latest/marketingcs_gs/OMCAA/index.html#Help\\LandingPages\\LandingPages.htm%3FTocPath%3DLanding%2520Pages%7C_____0.
There are three different ways to build Eloqua landing pages:
- HTML
- Responsive drag and drop builder
- Eloqua landing page template editor
There are arguments for an against each approach so to help you work out if the Eloqua landing page template editor is the correct choice.
Below is a matrix which should help you decide which one will work best for you:
HTML Eloqua landing page editor is best used by people that know what they are doing (more or less) with code. If you use an agency/central team for deploying landing pages this will give you your best flexibility.
You will have absolute control of the design and you can customize it any way you want. Most marketing teams though will not possess the skillsets for this so the other two options are generally advised.
The responsive drag and drop Eloqua landing page editor is an interesting one. It allows marketers to create landing pages using layouts and modules. There is another article on this so if you are looking to use the Eloqua responsive landing page drag and drop builder you will find how to use it there.
It helps if a user knows a little bit about landing page design but you are tied down to the Eloqua way of doing things more or less. The end result without a load of tweaking and CSS added in is a bit blocky and looks like it.
This approach also has severe limitations on controlling branding and can result in individuals deciding they prefer different colors or fonts.
The Eloqua landing page template editor allows you to have your agency or web team develop a template and then set up with regions that can be edited or deleted.
You can lock down all aspects of an Eloqua landing page that you do not want marketers to have access to, for example, styling, colors, responsive, the footer block, etc.
This approach speeds up the development of landing pages and makes sure they are just as good as if an agency was t create them, fully responsive and fully on brand.
2 Setting up your Eloqua landing page template
Before using the Eloqua landing page template editor you will need to set up your Eloqua landing page in a way that it can be used within the Eloqua template editor.
Eloqua landing page templates can be set up in a number of ways:
- Individual Eloqua landing page templates
- All you can eat Eloqua landing page template
For the purposes of this lesson I have created an “all you can eat” Eloqua landing page template. This method means that you just have one landing page template that users can select. From there they then delete out areas of the landing page, trimming it down to the design that they require.
This is what the landing page template looks like when you first start building your landing page using the editor:
It looks like there are two landing pages. That’s because there is. If you delete these two sections here:
You would get left with the initial landing page that you are going to add your form to:
So you can use this tutorial I have set up an Eloqua landing page template that you need to import into Eloqua as a landing page template. To do this go to create an HTML landing page as normal. Drop in the code that I will send you if you fill out the form below. And then click File > Save As Template…
Next give your template a name and save it.
You may need to go into template manager and once again save the template so it locks in the protected areas. If you need to do this click Assets > Landing Pages and then click on Manage Templates.
Open up the template you have created and click Save again.
3 Using the Templates
This section will explain how to use Eloqua landing page templates in Eloqua to create new landing pages. Extensive HTML skills are not required. However, as it will most likely require you to edit within snippets of HTML code, it is important to follow the instructions closely. If the code is broken, the landing page will not work as expected.
To create a landing page without using the templates please see Oracle’s generic documentation on landing pages by following this link; https://docs.oracle.com/cloud/latest/marketingcs_gs/OMCAA/index.html#Help\LandingPages\LandingPages.htm%3FTocPath%3DLanding%2520Pages%7C_____0.
4 Create a new landing page based on a template
First, navigate to Assets > Landing Pages
Click Create a Landing Page.
You will now see the template editor.
The page has been designed so that you can create your own pages by simply deleting or editing sections. Whilst there are three layout options you can remove sections to tailor the look and feel very easily with minimal technical skills.
When you first open up your Eloqua landing page you will notice that your landing page has sections in it with a blue dotted line. These blue dotted lines denote either editable regions or regions you can delete or both.
When you right click in one of these areas you will see a command telling you what you can do with this section.
You can either Edit them:
Delete them:
Finally Edit or Delete them:
4.1 Deleting Page Sections
Once you have your design in mind, you first need to remove any sections that you do not require.
To remove sections that you do not require hover to the far left or right of any of the content blocks, right click on the area.
And then click delete
You will see that your content block has disappeared.
Continue to delete all blocks you no longer require, so you have the page elements you need.
4.2 Editing Content in Sections
Remember this is a landing page, not your website. Keep your content short and snappy, you want the form to be filled.
There is three parts to each content block with the exception of the form:
- Text blocks
- Buttons
- Images
4.2.1 Text Blocks
To edit a text block you need to right click on the blue area and click edit.
You will now see the text editor. Change the text to what you need it to be, remembering that with text on a landing page, less is more.
Edit the text and then click save.
4.2.2 Images
To add in an image you need to click your mouse in the area that you want the image to be
Then double click on the image you want to add in.
4.2.3 Field Merges on Landing Pages
You may also add field merges, a field merge will populate a value held in either a custom object field of contact field.
To add a field merge click on the field merge icon.
All your available field merges will be in the right hand side. Click on the area in the text that you want to see your field merge and then double click the field merge.
You will now see that the field merge has been added.
4.3 Links in text or images
To add a hyperlink click on the hyperlink tab.
You will see some greyed out commands on the right hand side.
Highlight the text or select the image that you wish to set a link on.
Then click enable as a hyperlink.
You now have several options:
Option Name | Option Description |
Landing Page | This will link directly to your campaign landing page |
File in File Storage | This will link to a file stored in Eloqua storage |
Webpage | This will link to an external web page |
System Action | This will allow you to use a system hyperlink, i.e. Unsubscribe |
New Email Message | This acts as a mailto and opens a reply email to an address with the subject line of your choosing. |
4.3.1 Landing Page
Select the option for landing page and then click on the folder icon.
Now select the folder.
Navigate to the landing page you want to choose and then click choose.
For your convenience links will automatically change color. Click on Save.
You will now see that your link has changed to the correct color.
4.3.2 File in File Storage
In the editor select the highlighted text or an image, click on enable as a hyperlink and select the option of file in file storage.
Then click on the folder option and select the file you wish to link to.
Then click save when you are finished editing.
4.4 Using the Source Editor
You can also edit the source code if you are more technical; however, the landing page template has already been styled for you.
Open the editor again. To view the source mode click on Src in the top left corner.
You can now edit the source code and click save.
4.5 Using buttons in the template editor
To change buttons in the template editor, right click on the button area and click edit.
The click SRC and change the button label and URL.
4.6 Using Image in the template editor
To change an image in the template editor, right click on the icon and click replace.
Search for the new icons, then select the new icon that you wish to use and click replace.
It will now be changed.
As a personal preference for any Eloqua admins there that are going to set up template landing page you should set this up as an editable region rather than as a editable image. The reason for this is that if a marketing Eloqua user uploads an image that is the wrong size they can break the image part. Also if you want the image to be a hyperlink this function will not work using this way either.
4.7 Adding Forms in the Template Editor
There is a special area devoted to forms at the bottom of the template.
To create a form you need to go through the playbook for creating forms, this playbook is based on the user creating a form beforehand.
First, you need to remove the form space area so you have the background grey that you need to use for your layout.
Then you need to enter the teaser text in the area above the form.
Right click on the teaser text area and click edit.
Now you need to add the form. For your convenience, the form is automatically formatted by the css in the page and any validation that you set in the Eloqua forms module will also work.
In another tab navigate to the form you wish to add to the page.
Click on the settings arrows and the click on view form HTML.
Click anywhere in the box with the Eloqua form code. Then CTRL-A (Select all), CTRL-V (Copy)
Now go back to the Eloqua landing page, right click in the area that says Drop form code here and then click Edit.
Open the code editor by clicking Src.
Highlight any code you see in the code editor.
Then paste in the form code and click save.
You will now see the form displayed in the builder, do not worry about form formatting, this has been dealt with for you.
4.8 UTM Tracking Parameters
Finally, you need to update the script that automatically picks up your utm tracking parameters and sets them for subsequent reporting.
Right click on the area with the text “this is the tracking script” and then click edit.
Now click on the code by visiting view by clicking on Src.
Highlight the text on the first line “this is the tracking script <!–_script_disabled”
and add in “<Script” so it looks like the image below. Make sure not to close the tags.
You will see that the code now changes colour, go to the bottom of the code and highlight </_script_disabled_–>
And change it to “</script>”,making sure to close the tags.
Lastly go back to the tab you have with your form open and select and copy the html form name.
Go back to the tab you have open with the script editor open and paste the html name on line 31.
Finally click Save
You will get an error message, do not worry about the message, the script remains “hidden” so does not affect responsiveness, click Save.
4.9 Saving a Landing Page to a Microsite
Select the microsite that you wish to save the landing page to.
Then set the vanity URL (this is what you want to page to be called) i.e. http://go.amce.com/VANITY_URL
If the vanity URL is free you will see a green tick. This is because you can’t have different pages with the same URL.
Click on the URL that has been generated just to the right, it will open up a speech bubble, click on the URL.
If the vanity URL is free you will see a green tick. This is because you can’t have different pages with the same URL.
Click on the URL that has been generated just to the right, it will open up a speech bubble, click on the URL.
This will now open up your finished landing page in a new tab.
Go back to the page editor, you have the option to track outbound links from this page. Click on Actions and go down to Manage Links.
Check any links that you want to track (this is for Eloqua reporting only) and click Done.
Finally click Save
5 Creating a utm parameter URL for your landing page
“utm” stands for Urchin Tracking Module, after Google’s tracking cookie (named Urchin) and is required for Google Analytics tracking.
This section walks you through the process of creating a utm parameter URL from Eloqua.
A utm parameter URL should be shared with contacts rather than the vanity URL created in Eloqua. Using a utm parameter URL enables Eloqua to collect additional information about the form submission. E.g:
Utm_value |
Type of information |
Campaign Source |
Search/ Newsletter/ Webinar |
Campaign Medium |
Banner/ Email |
Campaign Name |
FY18Q1Webinar |
Campaign Content |
BigBanner / SmallBanner/ CTATop/ CTABottom |
The recommended utm builder is the Google Analytics’ version: https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/
Go into Eloqua to collect your Eloqua vanity URL from your chosen landing page screen in Eloqua. Clicking on the URL on the right, then the left.
The landing page will now open in a new tab, copy the URL from your browser.
In the UTM builder website, paste your Eloqua vanity URL into the Website URL field and add your chosen values to the Source, Medium, Name and Content utm parameter fields.
The builder will create you a new URL at the bottom of the page.
The link at the bottom is the link you should share and link to in emails sent via Eloqua and in others such as banner ads.
These utm values are then input into the Eloqua database and can then be reported on using Google Analytics.
To check the UTM values are being populated, find the relevant form for your landing page and navigate to Actions > View Submission Data.
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This is the best guide I’ve found out there, thanks! I’m finding the Responsive Builder really limiting when trying to build anything halfway decent, so am trying the Source Code Editor. Did you work out a way to make the hero banner background image editable without having to paste the URL into the code? I’ve not been able to work that out yet.