Landing Page vs Homepage?
OOOPS! That's a landing plane, not a landing page.... Real photo
What is a landing page and does it differ from a Homepage? Isn’t it all the same? That is a question we hear a lot and there are some enormous and very important differences.
Using dedicated landing pages in a funnel instead of a homepage will have a big impact on your bottom line!
If you are not sure what a funnel is, please read this post first.
A Homepage is a window
A homepage is the ‘window’ of a website/business and homepages have LOTS of links to just about EVERYWHERE.
That is what homepages
If you are running paid ads, it's a capital sin to direct people to a page with lots of distractions!
Landing pages have a single objective
A landing page has ONE link only, ONE, a Call To Action (CTA) button.
Everything on a landing page only serves ONE goal, getting people to do ONE thing, which is to click that CTA button. All text, videos, and content direct the visitor to that one thing you want them to do,
A landing page
This is your first part (first step) in your sales/leads magnet
The SINGLE
Landing pages need a Value Proposition
People are not just going to hand over emails (or other contact info) to you for ‘free’ so you need to offer something of value to them through a Value Proposition. This can be a free E-book, a cheat sheet, a free consultation, a free trial, a discount coupon, etc.
The copy of the page should be clear and concise;
Example of not quite...
In this example it already starts right with the ad. This Facebook ad is not offering a value proposition why I should sign up. The way Facebook works is simple, the ad was 'served' to me, so the advertiser is getting charged regardless of what I do (or in this case) not do.
When clicking it, the landing page has no clear area for the user to leave contact details to start the funnel. The below landing page also has lots of other links that will guide the user away from what you want from them.
A value proposition in the ad could have been an enticing, catchy attention grabber such as GROW YOUR CAREER. It is part of the landing page copy where this ad directs the user to, so why not use that? The header on the page should
The copy of the landing page should also be much more value and benefit driven
Examples of almost...
Here you can see he got it, almost. The ad promises 5 link building strategies.... hmmm, sounds good, I want those.....
and after clicking on Learn More you end up below. Do you see the good AND the bad?
The Good part..... straightforward and very prominent on the page where to leave your email to get the ‘book’ BUT ...
The Bad part... he includes a header menu on his page with “How It works” and “List your site” and as curiosity killed the cat, you invite people to check that out and
All that info on How it Works and What to do, should come later, once they are in the funnel, with automated and personalized emails where you build trust and call for a different action later down the line (BUY for example).
Examples of how it should be...
Here it is clear what the user
In the spirit of full disclosure,
This landing page has a slightly different aim, and there are 3 links on this page. But.... they all do the same, sign people up (or in) for the FREE product and nothing else. In the CTA (to sign up), the user has to leave an email address so they are in the funnel as a hot lead.
One
and Busted!
This pretty much how it should NOT