Let’s say you place a Facebook ad promoting your new handbag line, (if done correctly) someone is going to click on it. Once they click on it where do they ‘land’? Easy! On your website home page, right? WRONG! This is perhaps one of the most common mistakes website owners make. It’s an understandable mistake, but a mistake none-the-less. This pitfall is fueled by the mistaken belief that once the prospect lands on your home page they will be overwhelmed by all of the amazing things you have to offer and begin clicking around with delight. Statistics say….not so, my friend. And here’s why:
~AN EFFECTIVE LANDING PAGE FOCUSES ON ONE SPECIFIC PRODUCT OR SERVICE~
Anything else is a distraction and will take the focus off what the prospect has come looking for. Some may argue that bringing a potential buyer to the home page will then show them things they may not have KNOWN you have to offer. That’s’ what the links on the page are for. The links are usually on the top or the side of every page and lead the prospect to other areas of the store. If they WANT to look around, they can. But what they are looking at right now is the product they came here for in the first place.
Think of it this way: If you see an ad for a sale on shoes at a particular store, you will go to the store with the intention of purchasing the shoes you liked from the ad. You are what is known as a target consumer at this point; you know what you want and you’re here to buy. Upon entering the store, which do you prefer: to walk in the store and have to look around for 10 minutes….or to be greeted with a large, visually intriguing étagère full of the advertised shoes as soon as you walk in? Clearly, you will want to find what you are looking for quickly. (It’s the theory of the purchase path. The less time it takes to get from item to register…the more likely to convert a sale). That said, if you NEED other things at the store, you’ll grab the shoes that you wanted then start looking around. In fact, now you have some idle time since you found what you were looking for immediately. If the store is smart it has complimentary items close by (for website purposes, strategically placed subtle links to similar items on the same page). When you can walk in and see what you were tempted to come in for quickly, you also tend to have a sense of confidence in the store because you don’t feel duped by a sales tactic.
Now: on the other hand, if you have to spend too much time looking around, chances are you will grow tired of it and leave disappointed. Not only having NOT made a purchase…but also mildly agitated at the store for making it a game to find the item.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS….
Having items featured on the landing page other than the advertised item may also seem like a good idea, but most of the time …. It isn’t. You may feel this is an ideal time to show the prospect all of the wonderful things your shop has to offer, but this isn’t the place. The logic is that it forces the buyer into the dreaded ‘paradox of choice’. Economics shows us that when one is forced to make a decision between more than one item, the choice is generally to choose neither. Additionally, when one has made a decision in favor of another item, the decision generally feels diluted and inevitably brings self- doubt to the buyer (Should I have gone for the other item? Did I make the right decision? Maybe I didn’t need this after all.) By now you have the point: A landing page is not an advertisement for everything you sell. It’s a page to focus specifically on something you are promoting or something you already sell a lot of. A dedicated page, if you will.
Now let’s look at a great example of a landing page done right. Here the shop is advertising digital elements for sale. She has SEVERAL different styles as well as a plethora of other items for sale, but for this advertisement, that’s not relevant. We are focusing ONLY on the product we are featuring. The seller is targeting buyers interested in purchasing downloadable digital graphics for commercial use, thus the verbage in the ad. So, if I am searching for vintage metal digital graphics for my designs, and see THIS advertisement for downloadable digital graphics on Facebook:
When I click it, ideally, I should be brought to a page like this: http://www.theavalonrose.com/item_494/Ornate-Vintage-Metals-Digital-Graphics-Collection.htm ‘Well, that’s just a product page’, you say. Sort of. But what makes it an excellent choice for a landing page is the fact that not only does it focus on ONE product, it has a link DIRECTLY to the shopping cart. AND (this is the kicker) upon purchase you are taken to directly to Paypal, and then to a URL where you can instantly download the graphics. No waiting. No email contacts. Just what you want, when you want it. You pay, You get. Nice.
Conversely, if she were to send people to a ‘home page landing page’, people would find themselves here: http://www.theavalonrose.com Sure, it looks pretty and there’s lots to see. But here we are again: the buyer is left to navigate the site. Its not unlike walking into a department store. You stand at the entrance and wonder what you came in for or become overwhelmed at having to walk around searching for what you are looking for. It’s the old ‘purchase path’ theory again. The fewer clicks to the shopping cart, the more likely it is you will have a sale vs. an abandoned shopping cart.
Some side notes on creating great landing pages:
Don’t Oversell PLEASE…
whatever you do, avoid kitschy graphics, clip art, flashing ‘SALE’ signs and campy phrases. No hard sales language. Do you like feeling like you’re being SOLD to? Me either. So the ideal is to let the product/service sell itself. Visually present the product in the most favorable light, give them the information in a well formatted, SEO friendly, soft sales manner…and let them decide. Hand holding is much nicer than shoving, dontcha think?
Keep it Consistent:
Esthetics has a lot to do with… everything. I ‘m a HUGE proponent of fluidity and consistency in marketing. Your landing page should have the same visual design as the rest of your website. Not only does it ensure the prospect that they are on YOUR page and not some affiliate site you may be promoting, but it also serves to unwittingly tattoo your branding on the mind of the prospect, thus gaining you relevance and credibility.
Also, keep in mind:
A landing page doesn’t HAVE to be for SELLING something. It could be an informational page or a page to gather information or indications of interest on an upcoming event etc… Whatever you are promoting - give your prospect the perfect place to ‘land’.
Melissa Bolton, Copywriter & Internet Sales Strategist | Designherbrands.com | melissa@designherbrands.com
No comments:
Post a Comment