Do I need a landing page or a website?

So you think you need a website, but you’re not really sure. You’ve also heard of landing pages – is that what you need? And what does it all mean, anyway? Here we outline the differences between a homepage and a landing page, so you can see which fits your needs, and why – and how you can create a super-effective landing page or website.

Lots of new businesses think – rightly – that they need a digital presence. It’s common just to put together a website with a homepage that gives a general overview of who you are and what you can offer, and encourages visitors to look around. But what you might actually find more useful is a landing page. If you’re confused about the purpose of your landing page or homepage, your digital shopfront won’t be effective at turning visitors into customers.

But what’s the difference?

A homepage provides an introduction to your brand, who you are, what you do and why. It gives a brief overview of your business and your product or service, and then signposts you to other pages that you might find useful. A homepage needs to speak to a whole lot of different people and the messaging will be fairly general. So it’s great for providing information and encouraging visitors to explore further.

But it’s not so great at converting that visitor. A landing page, on the other hand, is a standalone page that’s built especially for a marketing campaign, with a specific goal or call to action. And it’s far superior at converting your visitor.

A landing page’s content can be much more targeted and customised – vital for securing that all-important conversion. Your visitor will arrive there after choosing to click on a link, and you generally want them to do something, whether that’s buy your product or service, sign up to something or arrange to speak to someone.

One of the reasons that a landing page is so good at converting visitors is that your messaging can be very specific and tailored. People might click through from an advert, email or from social media, and it’s important that your content and language mirrors what they’ve read there – what has made them want to read more.

You can tweak the wording to suit different audiences, and can run A/B testing to see which seems to resonate more. Once you have a landing page that you know works, it’s simple and cheap to run campaigns that direct potential customers to that page.

What makes an effective landing page?

There are lots of things to think about before you create your landing page if it’s to be successful. What should I say? What should it look like? How do I drive traffic my way? How do I boost my conversion rate? The first thing to do is have a good think about what you want out of the page – and what your potential customer might want out of it.  

Planning your landing page content

1. Have a specific goal or aim. Be very clear about what you want them to do. For example, you might want them to:

• Sign up to your newsletter
• Book a consultation
• Download a brochure
• Watch a demo of your product
• Buy what you have to offer

2. Think about your visitor’s needs and motivations. What’s making them visit your page? What do they want or need from you? What do you think is most critical to them at this time?

3. Show people why they need what you have to offer. How will it help them? Will it make their life easier, more fun, help them learn or do something? Will it solve a challenge or a problem for them? You need to very clearly state your value proposition. Remember to focus on benefits rather than features.

What about design and content?

Carefully consider the design. Use bold colours for call-to-action buttons so they really stand out. Split up text with bullets and headings. Leave plenty of white space and make sure there aren’t lots of dense blocks of text that are hard to wade through. Images are incredibly powerful, so use pictures of your product, infographics, videos and screengrabs to show what you’re offering at a glance.  

Write an impactful headline. First, you want an attention-grabbing, punchy headline that immediately tells the reader what you’re offering or how you can help them with a problem. You can also use a longer sub-head that gives extra information, if you like.

Words that work. Make sure that the wording you use links to the copy that brought them here – it obviously snared their interest. Mirroring the message is essential for success and means people are more likely to stay on your site and keep reading – and then act. Some common copy mistakes on landing pages include generic, past tense language, brand taglines that lack the “What’s in it for me?” element, and overly demanding calls to action (Buy now!) or a call to action that’s too soft and lofty (Say hi!)   

Include social proof. Us humans love to read reviews and hear what other people think – we’re all influenced by our peers. So include brief case studies, testimonials, reviews or quotes to show what real people thought of your product or service. If you can, find ones that focus on a particular benefit or problem that you fixed for them. But whatever you do – don’t make them up or twist them to suit your narrative – it’ll put people right off.

Less about you, more about them. A lot of landing pages read a little like a resume. They provide a good sense of the knowledge and experience that qualify the provider, but don’t entice the web user because they fail to bridge the gap between “What I can do” and “Why you need me.” Appeal to your visitors’ sense of self-interest by conveying your unique selling proposition (USP) right at the top. The words in your headline are the most important on your post-click landing page because they’re what convince your visitor to stick around. Let them know, in big bold letters at the top of the page, why your offer is ideal for them, and why you’re better than the alternatives. How do you do this? With a hook. Without a hook that convinces people to skim the remaining content, you simply can’t convert via your call to action.

Is your call to action optimal? Your call to action is your biggest tool for conversion. Make sure it’s every bit as good as it could be. Rather than simply writing something dull like ‘Sign up’, try something tailored like, ‘Get your free trial here’. Make it as simple as you can. Businesses conversions can skyrocket simply by changing one word in the call-to-action. The smallest tweaks here make the biggest difference, so it can be a good idea to run testing on a few different options to see which performs best.

Why less is more

So, you’ve never had a genuine lead from your website? It’s beautiful though. We get it, we hear it all the time. 

It’s hard when you’re in charge of a business that specialises in multiple services or offers. When you’re building a website, your inclination will be to celebrate and promote it all equally. But this will backfire. 

Asking web users to know and do several different things on your webpage is overwhelming and dilutes the intended journey, which is to get them to connect meaningfully - with their data - and communicate to you what they want.  

Once you build a digital relationship with the web user, then you can tailor a product or service to them. But if you ask them to browse and understand all your offerings, and fit that to their scenario, all you’ve established is a sure-fire way to limit your conversions.

Are you using these 12 words on your landing page? Is so, they’ve got to go

It doesn’t matter what the product, service or offer is - visitors to your website will naturally find reasons not to click, not to engage, not to subscribe, not to buy. So you need to choose your words carefully. Just one misused or tired phrase can send prospects scrambling for the “X” in the corner of their browser.

Your web users are scanning for words and phrases that help them include or exclude your business from their shopping list. Here’s 12 words that will see your product left on the shelf;

1. Unique. The original definition of 'unique' meant 'one of a kind'. You’re not one of a kind, you have competitors who do offer something pretty similar. It doesn’t offer any clarity. Elaborating the benefits of your offer will be more informative than using this word.
2. Excellent customer service. Firstly, it’s boastful. Secondly, compared to whom? Finally, are you certain that each customer describes your service as excellent? It immediately poses doubt in the mind of the reader. You’re far better off describing the customer experience, and reinforcing it with real customer reviews.
3. Ultimate. This word actually means the 'last' in a series but is often mistakenly used to mean ‘the best’. Don't use it in your ads, unless your product is the last of a collection of products being released in a series.
4. Next generation. You want your products to appeal to this generation not just people from the future. People are regularly being made to feel like they don't belong in this generation or the next. Don't participate in this exclusion.
5. Industry standard. If your business is legal, it has to be industry standard. No one will admit if their products don’t meet industry standards.
6. Amazing. This word is so overused that there’s little left in the truly amazing stakes anymore. Only use this word if your product or service will genuinely leave your customers nothing short of being amazed.
7. Ultimate. This word actually means the 'last' in a series. People seem to think it means the best. Don't use it in your ads, unless your product is the last of a collection of products being released in a series.
8. Groundbreaking. Nobody believes phrases like this unless it's coming from a scientific journal.
9. Once-in-a-lifetime. Can you guarantee that no one else can make this offer in the customer's lifetime? 
10. Opportunity. The customer is at your landing page, sensing an opportunity. Don't explain the obvious.
11. Connectivity. Seen everywhere on social-based businesses. It repels more sales than it attracts.
12. No-obligation. This expression is an attempt at clever advertising that doesn't work too well, especially on observant customers. Business transactions usually involve obligations. Customers who ordered are obligated to purchase (unless it's a defective product). Your business is obligated to fulfill the promises made on a landing page. 

In summary…

Hopefully the point of a landing page is now clear and you now understand the difference between a homepage and a landing page – and how to get the best out of one. A homepage is there to give readers a bit of insight into your brand and encourage them to explore further. A landing page is a standalone page that’s used as part of a particular marketing campaign and is great for converting visitors. As a quick recap, a landing page should:

• Have a particular goal
• Clearly offer a specific benefit, or solve a specific problem
• Mirror the messaging of the link that brought them there
• Have a high-impact and tailored call to action.

Need a bit of help?

So you’re convinced – you need a landing page. Now you know the theory behind it all – it’s ‘just’ a case of putting it into practice. Which, as we know, isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds. There are lots of different elements to juggle and questions to answer. Sometimes it’s quicker, more effective and easier to leave it to the specialists.

Chat to us. We can advise on whether you need a website, a homepage, a landing page, or something else – and if you need a hand with the words, you’ve come to the right place. At Writers Who, we’re experts at writing websites to inform and engage, and at creating effective landing pages that turn your traffic into conversions and leads.