It’s the worst fear of every ecommerce marketer. Or, at least, it oughta be.
You’ve got a great new product—khaki pants for dogs—and you’re ready to unleash it on the market. Early research says you’ve got a winner. (Sure, you’re mom’s opinion counts.) If your competitors over at Jack Russell Trousers knew what was coming, they’d shutter their online storefront and hop a train to the Bitcoin mines.
Your launch campaign is set. The Google and Facebook ads. The product page on your website. All you’ve gotta do is hit that big red button—which, after dramatically hovering your finger for effect, you do. And…crickets.
Where’d you go wrong? Why isn’t every dog owner buying a pair of your puppy pants?
Everything You Need to Know About Ecommerce Landing Pages (But Were Afraid to Ask)
If your online store isn’t generating a ton of sales, it might have something to do with where you’re sending your traffic.
As an ecomm marketer, there’s a good chance you’ve advertised a product through paid search or announced a seasonal promotion via email—and, maybe, been less than delighted with the results. These campaigns can sputter for all sorts of reasons, but there’s a common blunder that tons of marketers make: they send their traffic directly to product pages on their ecommerce storefront. And that’s a problem.
Here at Unbounce, we want to answer some of the most common questions about poor ecomm performance (plus explain how landing pages can help), including:
Why Isn’t My Ecommerce Website Selling?
First things first. Why doesn’t your ecomm storefront convert as well as you’d like?
Your website (and the product pages within it) has a ton of distractions that can throw your prospects off course and away from purchasing. Think top-level navigation, related merchandise, external links to follow, and a dozen other shiny redirections. Ideally, you only want to present one path for your shopper to take—not the thousand options your website inadvertently presents.
Your online storefront’s messaging will also tend to be pretty broad, lacking the sort of persuasive details that different segments of your audience need to make a purchase decision.
Consider a pay-per-click (PPC) use case. If a potential customer was searching for “bikes for commuters” and clicked on your paid ad, they’d expect to land on a page showcasing bikes built for riding on the road, plus a clear way to redeem the 15% discount that you promised. Instead, they find themselves on your homepage, swamped by a ton of products they weren’t ever looking for: bike helmets, outerwear, and other sports accessories.
Where are the commuter bikes from the ad? How does this visitor claim the 15%-off discount? As you can see below, the message falls apart.
Research suggests that you’re better off sending traffic to ecommerce landing pages, which have been shown to double conversion rates and average order value. Landing pages focus on just one conversion goal at a time—and because you can build them separate from your ecomm store, you can launch promotional campaigns and test new products faster. In combination with the ads or emails you’re running, landing pages help you learn what type of messaging your visitors need to convert.
What’s an Ecommerce Landing Page?
An ecommerce landing page is a page that has been specifically designed to drive sales by matching your visitors’ search intent, showcasing the benefits of a product, and prompting conversion with a clear call to action. By building a unique landing page for each of your paid ads or ad groups, you can dramatically improve the chance that any given visitor converts.
Remember our PPC use case? Let’s look at an improved experience:
In the example above, your visitors are directed from your ad targeting “bikes for commuters” (the keyword you’re bidding on) to a dedicated landing page that aligns perfectly with the search term and the visitor’s intent. From the slick imagery that screams “commuter bike” (as much as a bike can) to the descriptive copy and sticky bar focused on ordering now, your page gives visitors exactly what they expected to find. With fewer distractions (there’s no top-level nav and all of the links point to purchase), you’re far more likely to make the sale.
Landing pages aren’t just for paid search and social ads, either. Because they’re separate from your storefront and so quick to build, the ecommerce use cases for these pages are practically limitless. Linking out to a seasonal campaign from your website, or promoting a new product through an email blast, are also great opportunities to boost your sales with conversion-optimized landing pages.
Unless you’re working with one of the top-cheese ecomm platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce, implementing changes to your storefront can require some serious technical know-how. There’s also a certain amount of risk in making tweaks without truly understanding the impact they’re going to have. With landing pages, your ecommerce brand can build pages and validate new products or promotions in a jiffy.
What Makes a Great Landing Page for Ecommerce?
“Hey, that’s great, Unbounce,” you say aloud, prompting concerned looks from nearby coworkers. “I want to build my page. But where can I learn more about incredible landing page design?”
We’re so glad you asked.
The team here at Unbounce is pleased to bring you The Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook, which includes some of our favorite landing pages from ecomm marketers in apparel and footwear, home decor, food and beverage, and everything in between. We’ve got spectacular examples from loads of brands you may already be familiar with, including wedding marketplace Zola, shirt brand Twillory, and sweet, sweet Drizzle Honey.
The Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook is presented in partnership with our friends at KlientBoost, an agency that specializes in helping your ecommerce company get more from your PPC ad spend.
Inside the lookbook, KlientBoost’s Director of Ecommerce, Reese Garcia, shares some of his best suggestions for creating a landing page that sells—and we’ve got a quick preview for you below.
A Great Ecommerce Landing Page Is:
#1. Perfectly aligned with your paid advertisement
This is all about message match, which we touched on earlier. When someone clicks through one of your search ads (or social post, or promotional email—whatever), you’ve already shaped their expectations for what they’ll see next. Ensure the copy that motivated their click is mirrored on your landing page. That way, you can indicate to potential customers that they’ve found what they’re looking for.
#2. Easy to follow with straightforward and concise messaging
It’s pretty unlikely that your visitors are going to read all of the copy on your landing page. Instead, they’ll skim for the information they want to see: your product’s differentiators, your promised benefits, and your price. Stick to the value of your offer. Keep things digestible with section breaks, headers, and bullet points.
#3. Optimized for desktop and mobile visitors alike
More of your visitors are on-the-go than ever before, and you need to make sure that your landing page delivers a positive mobile experience. If you’re not building separate pages for smaller screens, you need to at least make sure the pages you do have are responsive. Use a simple layout and keep load times as short as possible.
#4. Laser-focused on its primary goal: conversion
Every element of your landing page should be nudging visitors towards making a purchase decision. Remove unnecessary navigation and exit points to keep potential customers on the page. Consider using additional calls to action (like sticky bars or popups) to keep your offer top-of-mind.
What Are Some Awesome Ecommerce Landing Page Examples?
It’s one thing to read tips for how to create an awesome ecommerce landing page. It’s another thing to see those principles come together in a way that not only looks great but also prompts action and drives revenue. That’s why the Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook (from Unbounce and KlientBoost) includes 27 jaw-dropping and high-converting examples from the top bananas of online retail.
Here are just a few ecommerce landing page examples from brands you’ll find in the lookbook. Follow their lead and you’ll be well on your way to building like the best of ’em.
Alps & Meters
Industry: Apparel
Model: Storefront
Page Type: Click-Through
One look at our example from Alps & Meters and you’ll instantly understand how landing pages can elevate your product in ways your storefront rarely does. The luxury sportswear brand uses this opportunity to tell a story, imbuing their clothing with the emotional power of pioneering female athletes. Pair that with striking photography, plus big-name social proof, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
SnackNation
Industry: Food & Beverage
Model: Subscription
Page Type: Lead Generation
This example demonstrates how you can use landing pages to run limited-time promotions and crank conversions into overdrive. SnackNation captures our attention with an unbelievable offer above the fold, then tackles objections by explaining exactly how their subscription service works and what’s included. Add in bold, colorful visuals and this whole page feels like a celebration.
This is just a taste of the insight you’ll find in The Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook. Download the full thing for Unbounce-certified critiques and reccos on 27 top-notch pages.
Alchemy Fine Home
Industry: Home
Model: Storefront
Page Type: Lead Generation
Even with sparse copy, this landing page from Alchemy Fine Home (built by KlientBoost) does an amazing job of attracting new customers with a 15% first-order discount. Not only does it incentivize a purchase, it gets visitors onto the email list regardless of whether they actually buy something. Smart.
This page also makes terrific use of photography, visually conveying the sense of elegance that’s central to Alchemy’s brand.
Want to Build Ecommerce Landing Pages Like the Pros?
“Good ecomm marketers copy; great ecomm marketers steal.” — Picasso, probably.
Creating a masterpiece is a lot easier once you’ve found a little inspiration, and landing pages are no different. That’s why we created The Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook: to help marketers like you find your ecomm Erato, your online retail muse.
What’s Inside the Lookbook?
- Our hand-picked selection of 27 ecommerce landing pages from a bunch of different product segments and retail models.
- At-a-glance insights into what makes these pages work so well (plus recommendations from the marketers who built them).
- Heaps of amazing ideas for your own landing pages, including persuasive copy tips and gorgeous design techniques.
Don’t let your next ecomm product launch or promo campaign fizzle. Download The Ultimate Ecommerce Landing Page Lookbook and get the inspiration you need to build beautiful, high-converting pages that turn looky-loos into customers.
