Different components of bringing your business online play different roles. Just as a salesperson and a receptionist have other jobs, so do websites and landing pages.
Your website might be the face and overview of your website. But what role does a landing page play within your digital marketing strategy?
- The Role of a Landing Page
- The differences Between a Landing Page and a Website
- Reasons Why You Need a Landing Page
- Website vs. Landing Page: Frequently Asked Questions, Answered
- Final Thoughts
The Role of a Landing Page
A landing page is a standalone web page, distinct from your main website, designed for a single focused objective.
This could be to:
- Generate leads for your sales team
- Generate New Email Signups for the waitlist of your new product/feature
- Highlight the benefits of a specific product compared to your “store.”
The critical difference between websites and landing pages is that the latter is designed with a singular purpose in mind: conversions.
To achieve this, every element on the page – from the headline to the form submission button – is geared towards persuading visitors to take action.
The Differences Between a Landing Page and a Website
To help you get a better understanding of the differences between a landing page and a website, we’ve listed the main ones down below.
Landing Pages Focus on One Core Message
A website is a collection of all your:
- Messages
- Education
- About/Story
A landing page usually has one core message or goal, and if it uses any education/Story behind it, it’s to support that core message or purpose.
For example, let’s say you own a personal fitness brand and have a landing page for your new training program.
You might have your weight loss/muscle-building/fitness story somewhere within that landing page to hook the reader IF it relates to their pain points.
Landing pages have fewer options
One of the critical differences between landing pages and websites is that your website is full of other options.
Your website might have links to most of the components of your business. A landing page, on the other hand, is focused on a single conversion goal. This means no links to your main website or any distractions.
Landing Pages specialize in conversions. A Website is focused on branding
The primary purpose of a landing page is conversions. The primary purpose of your website is branding and guiding the user in the right direction.
However, when you know exactly what the user is looking for, it makes more sense to lead them to a landing page.
You’ll often see companies link their Ads or Email Campaigns to their website’s home page. While this might make sense from a branding perspective, it’s not always the best idea if your goal is conversions.
Reasons Why You Need a Landing Page
Let’s break down why having a landing page is so important.
Focus on conversions
This focus can result in higher conversion rates than your website because no other distractions are taking away their attention.
There are several types of landing pages, each serving a different purpose.
On a website, you have a lot of different links:
- Home
- Services
- About
- Privacy Policy
- Categories
- Social Links
All of these are potential chances where you can distract and lose the visitor from where you want them to be.
A landing page = One message = More Conversions.
Match The Message To The Visitor (Increased Conversions)
Every one of your visitors is in a different stage of your funnel.
And more likely than not, you also have more than one audience or product. This means they don’t all want the same product or service right now.
With a landing page, it enables you to match an entire page to each specific:
- Audience
- Stage of the funnel
- Product
- Announcement
For example, BNI USA, a Global Networking Organization, wanted specific professions to qualify themselves as soon as they landed on their Landing Page.
SEO value
Landing pages enable you to rank for more specific buyer-intent terms you can’t target with your home page.
You can’t rank with your home page for every term in your niche, as that wouldn’t match the search intent.
But with the help of landing pages, you can go after more specific terms.
More Cost-Efficient and Targeted Advertising
Your conversions will be lower when you run ads on the home page. By building multiple landing pages, you can run more targeted ads, which makes it easier to scale your ads and business.
Collect More Specific Data
When a user lands on your website, you don’t know which part interests them the most. This makes remarketing harder.
But when your user lands on a specific page, you know what part of it they are interested in. This means you can send a more specific message when you remarket to them through retargeting ads or email.
Website vs. Landing Page: Frequently Asked Questions, Answered
We also wanted to answer some frequently asked questions around landing pages.
Why do I need a landing page if I have a website?
A website is focused on branding and providing general information about your company, while a landing page is focused on conversions and generating leads.
They play different roles within your marketing strategy and have their unique purpose.
Do I need a landing page for my business?
It depends on your business goals. For example, a landing page can be beneficial if you’re focused on generating leads and conversions.
However, for some businesses, a website on its own, including service pages, may be enough. This may be the case for something like a plumbing business in a small town, where the more specific terms get no search volume, and the only term that gets volume is “Plumber + Location.”
Is it better to have a website or landing page?
You don’t have to choose between the two since they both play different roles. Usually speaking, it’s better to have both. However, for some businesses, one or the other may suffice. It comes down to your business type and how you want to market it (channels, audience, etc.)
Can you add a landing page to an existing website?
Yes, you can. You can create a landing page with most website builders and add it to your website as a component.
For example, if you are on WordPress and are using Elementor or Divi, you can use one of the landing page templates and then leave a link to it through the menu.
Final Thoughts
We hope this article has been helpful for you to understand why you need landing pages when you already have a website.
To recap, here are some of the points discussed in this article:
- Landing pages and websites both play a unique role
- Websites are an overview. Landing pages are tailored to the visitor
- Conversions are higher on landing pages because they are more specific
- SEO value and being able to be more specific in the buyer terms you are targeting
For more content like this, check out our blog. Or, if you want us to work with your business, you can schedule a call with us here.
