The Essentials of Landing Pages

Ecommerce websites typically have numerous pages, including a homepage, an “About” page, product pages, and product category pages. While the homepage is often considered the first page visitors see, the reality is different. With search engines being so prevalent, any page on your site could be a visitor’s first encounter.

Every time someone lands on your ecommerce website, they anticipate engaging content. To guide them towards a purchase, your website needs to build adequate motivation and project credibility. This assures visitors that making a purchase is safe, going beyond simply assuring them about data security.

Therefore, all essential information influencing a visitor’s immediate trust judgment should be visible on their first point of contact with your site, regardless of the specific page. This concept of direct access to any webpage led to the idea of a “landing page” – the page a potential customer first encounters.

Prospects can arrive at landing pages through various channels: organic search results, social media posts, paid advertising campaigns, emails, and more. Although technically every webpage can be a landing page, the most crucial ones are designed to receive traffic from paid search or PPC campaigns.

The importance of PPC landing pages stems from the fact that you’re paying for ad traffic. This traffic isn’t free, and like any investment, store owners expect a positive return on their paid ad campaigns in terms of both revenue and customer acquisition.

With this in mind, let’s delve into ecommerce landing pages in the context of conversion rate optimization (CRO) for PPC or paid search campaigns. A fundamental principle, advocated by a prominent number of leaders in the field, is that each PPC campaign requires its dedicated dedicated landing page.

SaaS vs. Ecommerce Landing Pages: What’s the Difference?

You’ll come across numerous articles discussing landing pages, particularly those focused on software-as-a-service (SaaS) landing pages.

These landing pages are specifically designed to promote a single product or offer. This singular focus simplifies the content creation process, as the page only needs to include information directly related to converting customers. Additionally, promoting a single-product landing page (even one with customizable features) through PPC is much more straightforward.

This Wistia landing page has a single objective: encouraging users to sign up for a free trial. Ecommerce websites, conversely, often feature a wide range of products (sometimes hundreds or even thousands). Replicating the single-product landing page approach would necessitate creating a dedicated landing page for each product and corresponding digital marketing campaigns to drive traffic to each individual product page.

This is why most ecommerce websites opt to utilize their existing product pages as landing pages.

From a search engine perspective, product pages are the most practical choice for landing pages.

When searching for products online, most potential customers begin with a product name. In fact, according to one study reports that 60% of potential buyers initiate their product search on a search engine.

Therefore, a well-optimized product page with relevant content, particularly in the page headline and product description, is more likely to appear in relevant search engine results.

Key Considerations Before Investing in Paid Traffic

By directing potential customers directly to a page featuring a product they are interested in, you are presenting motivated prospects with relevant content. This strategy significantly increases the likelihood of conversion.

Your primary focus should be ensuring that your offer is clear, credible, and as frictionless as possible. Friction, which manifests as reluctance from prospects to complete the conversion process, can significantly hinder customer conversion. It can stem from various factors, including technical glitches, usability issues, or inadequate page content.

Your aim is to make purchasing from you a simple and effortless experience compared to your competitors. Keep in mind that 61% of buyers research products online by reading or watching reviews, and a similar percentage will compare the same product on three different websites before making a purchase.

This is where your website can differentiate itself by demonstrating a straightforward, transparent, and secure purchasing process. A significant portion of potential customers (69%) will abandon their carts if they encounter a complicated checkout process, and over half will leave if they have concerns about payment security.

Shipping costs and delivery speed also play a crucial role in ecommerce sales. The aforementioned study revealed that 6 out of 10 online shoppers would abandon their carts if free shipping is not offered, and 51% would leave if shipping is not fast enough.

Once you’ve addressed these critical factors, let’s explore the essential elements of an effective ecommerce product page that doubles as a landing page.

6 Key Elements of a High-Converting Ecommerce Product Page

1. A Headline that Aligns with User Search Queries and Highlights Product Uniqueness

The headline is a vital element of your product page due to its prominent visibility. On product pages, the headline often consists of the product name itself. Strive to align the product page headline copy as closely as possible with the way potential customers would search for your product.

As KISSmetrics emphasizes,

“A weak headline deters readers from engaging with your copy. Without readership, your call to action goes unnoticed.

This highlights the paramount importance of the headline. Renowned advertising expert David Ogilvy observed that only 20% of those who read a headline proceed to read the accompanying copy.”

When launching a campaign, particularly a PPC campaign, ensure consistency between your ad headline and product page headline.

Additionally, your headline should instantly communicate the product’s unique value proposition to visitors, setting it apart from competitors.

2. Compelling and Informative Product Description Copy

At a minimum, your product landing page copy should:

• Provide a detailed product description, including its construction, materials, overall appearance, and size.
• Illustrate the product’s potential uses.
• Clearly explain its advantages and benefits, emphasizing how it addresses customer pain points and improves their lives.

In a blog post on the Portent blog, Chad Kearns advises:

“After capturing your potential customer’s attention with a compelling headline, leverage a unique value proposition to differentiate your offer from the competition. What sets you apart from other advertisers? Why should customers choose your product or service over others?”

Beyond its role in promoting your product, a well-crafted product description can serve as a foundation for your PPC campaigns. Incorporating elements of your product copy into your ads can make it easier for customers to locate the product and encourage them to click on the ad.

3. High-Resolution, Professional Product Images

Compelling product images are essential for building credibility. These images must accurately depict your product and should be high-quality, professionally captured photographs.

Product images should aim to alleviate any distrust and foster a desire for ownership. To achieve this, you need to convince customers that the product is genuine, allow them to examine it in detail, and demonstrate your website’s readiness to deliver the product upon purchase.

Presenting the product in context, showcasing its real-life applications, can further enhance its appeal. For instance, display clothing items on models or depict a stain-removing product alongside a washer and dryer.

Consider incorporating video content on your landing pages, either as a replacement for or in conjunction with still images. According to BigCommerce:

“Visuals inherently capture our attention due to our brains processing images faster than text. However, an aesthetically pleasing website extends beyond color schemes and typography. Product images wield significant influence over purchasing decisions.”

4. Transparent and Convincing Shipping and Inventory Information

As previously discussed, shipping policies heavily influence purchasing decisions. Fast delivery and free shipping options are compelling incentives for customers.

If your store offers these perks, highlight them prominently on your product pages, particularly if you’re driving traffic from a PPC campaign.

If offering free shipping on all items is not feasible, consider offering it for orders that meet a minimum value or for multi-item purchases.

Indicate limited product availability by displaying the number of items in stock (if inventory is genuinely low). This creates a sense of scarcity, potentially prompting customers to purchase before missing out.

5. Trustworthy Payment Policies and Security Indicators

A lack of trust in an ecommerce store’s payment options or website security can deter a significant number of prospects. To address this, offer a diverse range of payment methods.

Include at least one third-party payment system, such as PayPal, where customers are not required to disclose their personal information to your store. Comscore reports that PayPal boasts a significantly higher conversion rate compared to other billing methods.

Offering guest checkout options can also enhance customer more likely to trust the payment process.

Clearly communicate the availability of guest checkout and third-party payment options on your product page.

6. Reviews and Social Proof

While all the aforementioned elements are crucial, this final aspect is paramount.

Recall the study that revealed 61% of prospects actively seek out online reviews? Streamline the customer journey by featuring these reviews directly on your product page. Include both positive and negative reviews from real customers, or provide links to reputable external review platforms.

Integrating reviews, social proof, and other trust symbols effectively conveys the product’s value to potential customers. Testimonials from their peers significantly increase the likelihood of conversion.

Aligning a PPC Campaign with an Individual Product Page

When launching a PPC campaign linked to a product page, adhere to these fundamental principles.

Message Match is Key

When crafting an ad campaign that directs users to a product page, ensure consistency in messaging (both copy and design) between the ad and the product page, and vice versa. This principle, known as relevance or message match, reassures customers that they’ve found what they’re looking for and can improve your Quality Score.

Let’s illustrate this with an example. A search for “Canon EOS Rebel T6i” yielded PPC ads from both QVC and Best Buy.

QVC’s ad features Canon digital cameras in the headline but displays a generic message in the body copy, linking to various products instead of aligning the copy with the specific product.

This exemplifies poor relevance/message match in a PPC ad.

In contrast, Best Buy’s competing ad adopts a different approach:

This ad provides relevant camera information.

While both ads successfully incorporate the specific product name in the headline, Best Buy’s ad excels by featuring the product name in the body copy and including links that direct visitors to the relevant product pages.

Comprehensive Keyword Coverage

Aim to incorporate as many relevant search keywords as possible into your PPC campaign. A wider keyword net increases the chances of potential customers discovering your products. Conduct thorough keyword research to identify the words and phrases your target audience uses to search for your products and incorporate those keywords into your PPC campaigns.

Expand your PPC keyword coverage by adding variations of existing keywords and removing those that are less effective or irrelevant. These keywords should be integrated into the product description copy to enhance Quality Score and reinforce the message conveyed in the PPC ad.

For further guidance on keyword research for PPC, explore these resources:

• The Big, Easy Guide to Keyword Research for Businesses
• 5 Tips for Dominating Your E-Commerce Keyword Research
• Finding The High Converting PPC Keywords That Are Right Under Your Nose

Transforming Product Category Pages into Successful Landing Pages

Product pages, while seemingly obvious choices for landing pages, have a significant drawback. They isolate individual products, making it challenging for visitors to explore other options that might better suit their needs. As Demac Media points out, “Product-specific pages segment individual products from the entire product line.”

However, there’s another potential landing page goldmine: your product category pages.

Product category pages are indispensable for ecommerce stores offering a diverse product range.

These pages allow potential customers to efficiently access and compare different products. They are also more likely to appear in search engine results when prospects use broader product search terms.

Category pages offer an additional advantage as landing pages. Since they feature multiple products related to the prospect’s initial search query, they increase the likelihood of customers finding suitable products and converting.

Moreover, category pages can showcase shipping options, discounts, and trust indicators. In the absence of direct social proof (like reviews) found on individual product pages, you can incorporate indicators within product thumbnails or display social proof on the category page itself.

For instance, you could feature star ratings or numerical ratings near each product, as illustrated here:

Aligning Your PPC Campaign with Your Product Category Page

The same fundamental principles of PPC ad content that apply to individual product pages hold true for category pages.

However, instead of targeting specific keywords (and linking to specific products), your PPC campaign for a product category page should focus on keywords related to a broader, yet relevant product line. For example, instead of a specific camera brand or model, link to a category page from a PPC ad when users search for “DSLR cameras.”

Remember to highlight any applicable discounts or offers on the category page, especially if they apply to the entire category.

Approaching Every Page as a Landing Page

Leveraging PPC campaigns to drive traffic to your ecommerce store is effective only if you direct visitors to a page where they can take action, which is rarely your homepage.

By featuring a single call to action on your individual product page, you encourage prospects to make a purchase decision.

Consider adding an “Add to Wish List” button on your product pages instead of a single “Buy” or “Add to Cart” button to avoid losing customers who browse on mobile devices but prefer to purchase later on their desktops. To streamline the process, allow users to sign in using social media logins like Facebook or Twitter and encourage email list subscriptions.

You might have encountered advice to limit navigation options or links on landing pages in articles focused on SaaS landing pages. This approach is not suitable for ecommerce stores. While restricting navigation can minimize distractions, visitors might want to explore other products and sections of your website. Sometimes, the information provided on a product or category page isn’t sufficient.

A simple yet effective guideline for ecommerce store owners: Treat every product and category page as a landing page, following the aforementioned guidance, to avoid costly mistakes.