01/07/2022
๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ?๐ฅ
Everything depends on what they are intended for. Focus is the main distinction between a website and a landing page. Additionally, there is a demonstrable increase in conversionsโwhether they be sales, signups, leads, or any other action you want visitors to take.
Landing pages are so successful for marketing because they are focused. Unlike websites, which encourage browsing, landing pages direct users to a single call to action. They are tailored to a particular campaign or offer. Simply put, landing pages are created with conversion in mind.
๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐
๐จ๐ซ
Websites are fantastic for what they do, which is to promote exploration and offer general information.
A website serves as an introduction to a company's name, logo, goods, services, core beliefs, target market, contact information, etc. It's intended to create a "first impression," include everything a business has to offer and point website visitors to other areas where they may learn more.
A website has to appeal to the widest possible audience in order to fulfill its high-level introduction function, including individuals who may not even be familiar with the company, let alone know what it does or why it is valuable. All of this makes for relatively generic messaging, multiple page goals, and a whole lotta links, buttons, and navigation for visitors to take various actions.
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While thatโs perfectly aligned with a website's goal of exploration is not so much for effective marketing.
Exploration = distraction. When it comes to marketing, that distraction erodes your campaignโs focus with diluted messaging, competing links, and options to stray away from a specific conversion goal. In other words, if that PPC ad for 15% off organic cat food sends people to your website, the chances theyโll end up on the About Us page instead of making a purchase (and wasting ad spend) are a lot higher.
Simply put, a website canโt do it all. Let them focus on informing and directing trafficโand landing pages focus on turning traffic into conversions.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐
๐จ๐ซ
We've discussed how the main distinction between a website and a landing page is the focus. However, let's discuss why that focus is crucial for converting traffic into leads, purchases, and customers.
Letโs go back to the organic cat food example. If you get an email promoting 15% off cat food, your expectations are aligned with that offer. Clicking through to a landing page dedicated to that exact promotion, with a gallery of different types of organic cat food, and a call to action to buy before the sale ends, not only meets those expectations but guides you directly to the offer youโve already expressed interest in by clicking through in the first place. Whereas if youโre sent to the Bowtie For Dog website, that customized, streamlined experience is instantly broken and puts it on you to locate the offer amongst all of the other information, links, and calls to action. That interrupted momentum and lack of focus make it way more likely youโll abandon the offer out of confusion, frustration, or simple distraction.
Again, there are several elements of focus that give landing pages their conversion power:
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๐ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐น, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. A website is like a bucket, and the traffic you send is like water. One hole (the call to action) is drilled into the bottom of a landing page bucket, through which a trickle of water naturally runs and can be directed to a location of your choice. The sides and bottom of a website bucket are perforated with numerous holes. You can pick which tap that water comes from (Instagram, email, a Google Ad), but you can't pick which hole it will flow through or where it will settle once it's in the bucket.
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๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. As discussed above, whatโs necessary for a website is inherently distracting in the context of a marketing campaign. Website navigation, extra links, information unrelated to your offer, and multiple different calls to action to encourage exploration to compete for attention and draw it away from your conversion goal.
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๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. The ability to entirely tailor a visitor's experience from an advertisement to a click-through to conversion is one of the main differences between a website and a landing page. So you may apply the required focus right down to the last pixel, at a very fine level. Sending people to a landing page that is specifically tailored to match the advertisement, email, or social media post with targeted messaging, a unified design, customized content, and that one call to actionโcaptures their expressed interest and provides them with the exact experience, or better yet, what they unconsciously anticipate from that first click.
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๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด. More accurate audience targeting is made possible by that tailored experience. To communicate to different members of your audience and focus on what's relevant to them, one landing page can be copied, modified, and even A/B tested. For instance, if you've developed an e-commerce landing page offering a discount on running shoes, you may further segment your audience by creating landing pages for women's, men's, or children's shoes, certain brands of running shoes, or whatever else they might be looking for.
Hope this explanation helps to differentiate between a website and a landing page.