So, you’re ready to take your business or brand to the next level by opening up a digital storefront? Welcome to the world of e-commerce landing pages.
E-commerce has redefined how companies showcase and sell their products. Shopify estimates that the global e-commerce market is expected to top $6.3 trillion in 2023. You definitely need to get a slice of that pie. E-commerce landing pages play a pivotal role in transforming website visitors into customers.
With an e-commerce page, your focus may be on one or a couple of specific product offers. The design and structure of the e-commerce flow are designed to influence and persuade visitors to take certain actions.
In this 5-minute read, we’ll go through the various types of e-commerce pages and how you can optimize them effectively for conversions.
Table of Contents
What Is an E-Commerce Landing Page?
An e-commerce landing page is a web page specifically designed to persuade visitors to act on a certain offer. Because of their very specific purpose, e-commerce pages usually have a specific call to action. That also means that e-commerce landing pages have higher conversion rates than normal web pages.
Let’s take a practical example. You run a hypothetical custom research paper service that tailors academic content to students’ specifications, provides consultancy, and also crafts e-books, white papers, articles, resumes, dissertation chapters, etc.
You might have a regular website with resources like links, blog content, and a custom ordering service with user input sections. Visitors might not have the time to pore through your entire website searching for what they want.
Instead, you can create e-commerce pages for your website that sell specific revenue-generating items and services. So, a visitor can click the link to the specific resource that they want – for example, white papers, and they’ll immediately be redirected there.
Designing e-commerce pages first requires a base knowledge of the sales funnel, which we dive into next.
Understanding the Sales Funnel
The sales funnel is a model that illustrates the customer journey from awareness to purchase. This model made famous by companies like HubSpot and experts like Neil Patel is a great guide for marketers to understand what type of e-commerce landing page they need to build The sales funnel is typically divided into five stages:
Awareness: At this stage, the customer becomes aware of your product or service. This can happen through a variety of channels, such as online advertising, social media, or word-of-mouth.
Consideration: The customer is now aware of your product or service, and they will start to consider whether or not to purchase it. This is where you need to provide them with enough information to help them make a decision.
Decision: This is the stage where the customer decides whether or not to purchase your product or service. This is where you need to make it easy for them to buy, by offering clear and concise CTAs and a secure checkout process.
Purchase: The customer smashes that “buy” button and your campaign is successful. But not all the way.
Retention: Once the customer has purchased your product or service, you need to focus on retaining them as a customer. Use methods such as excellent customer service, offering loyalty programs, and keeping them updated on new products and services.
As you can tell, you’ll ideally need a different e-commerce landing page for each of the funnel stages, although this depends on the nature of your business. It’s not a one-cut-fits-all approach, especially when considering the diverse nature of digital marketing and businesses.
Five Types of E-commerce Landing Pages
There are different types of e-commerce landing pages, and there might also be subsets or iterations of several different ones, depending on their purpose as per the sales funnel. Let’s examine some key ones.
1. Click-Through Landing Pages
Picture this: you have a new product or merch being rolled out and you need a page where visitors can find some information on the merch or on the campaign you are running. A click-through page works to entice visitors to a pro
This page will be the hub and first pit stop for visitors engaging with your campaign. Afterward, they can click on a link that redirects them to another page, for example, a detailed product page.
A great optimization tip here is to focus on crafting captivating headlines and subheadings. Use high-quality visuals to showcase your products or services. Minimize text and display your products prominently.
2. Top-of-funnel (TOFU) Landing Pages
If you’re using the example above of a custom writing service, providing content, e-books, white papers, etc., then you need to create awareness of your products or services first. ToFu content includes blog posts, samples, webinars, and most of the other services that you’d be providing.
At both the ToFu and MoFu funnel pages, you can use techniques such as providing product features, benefits, and even reviews.
3. Middle-of-Funnel (Mo-Fu) Landing Pages
Mo-Fu landing pages still aim to push leads into purchases. There are different ways to do this, for example, by providing additional product information, by providing free resources like webinars, or by creating a fear of missing out (FOMO) urgency by highlighting limited product or service availability. For example, emphasize a limited number of items available in specific sizes. You can also use discounts or exclusive offers.
4. Sales Landing Pages
Most e-commerce landing pages fall into the category of sales pages, and this is usually at the point of purchase in the funnel. The buyer journey to the sales page might also vary from one person to the next. For example, someone might click on a PPC ad, an email link, or even a Google SERP result and end up on your sales page.
Since it is quite rare that someone will just land on your sales page and make a purchase with a 10% rate of conversion, it is important to nurture the lead until the point of purchase.
5. Testimonial Landing Pages
Testimonial pages serve as bottom-of-funnel content designed to reinforce the buyer’s decision; hence they serve the purpose of retention. However, they may also be used to convert leads into customers by providing social proof and simplifying the purchasing process.
An optimization tip here is to showcase social proof and customer testimonials. Offer discounts, promotions, or free shipping. Ensure the CTA is prominent and straightforward.
Final Thought
Now, you have knowledge about the sales funnel and conversion process, and how these relate to your e-commerce landing pages. You’ll now be able to craft e-commerce landing pages that stand out, enhance your brand, and effectively convert more visitors into loyal customers.
