Do You Always Need a Landing Page?

Landing pages are designed to convert visitors into leads or customers. They're standalone web pages focused on a specific goal, typically free from distractions like site navigation. But do you always need one?

The answer depends on your audience and goals.

And the best answer might surprise you.

At SplitBase, we've built landing pages for top ecommerce brands like Kiehl's, Laundry Sauce, Dr. Squatch, and Level Home. So you might expect us to say, "Yes, you need a landing page." 

But that's not always the case. 

Landing pages serve one primary purpose: to funnel visitors toward a specific action. This could be signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or for most DTC ecommerce brands, making a purchase. They work by:

• Focusing attention on one offer
• Removing distractions
• Matching ad messaging to page content
• Providing a clear call-to-action (CTA)
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Successful brands use landing pages effectively. For example, De Lune, a women's health brand, uses a landing page for its Cramp Aid product to educate visitors about the dangers of painkillers, present their solution, and build trust with social proof. The page leads with a fear-based headline, uses red to catch the eye, and directly challenges the idea that painkillers are the only remedy for period pain.

Another example is Sandland, a health and wellness brand, which employs a mobile-optimized landing page that emphasizes product benefits and includes trust-building elements like expert endorsements and customer testimonials. Their page focuses on what their products do, using language that appeals to those who prefer natural remedies.

Want to see a more in-depth analysis of effective landing pages? 

Check out these video reviews I've created - in my DTC Landing Page Review of Delune, you can see how a women's health brand uses fear-based headlines and social proof to educate and convert visitors. 

Another review focuses on Aavrani, showing how a skincare brand optimizes its hero-style landing page for maximum impact. These reviews provide valuable insights into the strategies and tactics that successful ecom brands use on their landing pages. I break down what works, what doesn't, and why - giving you actionable takeaways you can apply to your own landing pages. Feel free to give it a likes and thumbs up while you’re there!

Understanding the Customer's Buying Journey

Based on the examples, we can say that one of the reasons for the decision to use a landing page depends on which stage of your customer's buying journey you're targeting.

There are typically 5 stages in this journey:

1. Awareness
2. Need Awareness
3. Solution Awareness
4. Product Awareness
5. Purchase
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Each stage represents a different level of customer understanding about their problem and your solution. The earlier the stage (that is, the first two stages), the more education your customer needs.

When we talk about education in ecommerce, we're referring to the process of informing and guiding potential customers. This could involve explaining the problem your product solves, showcasing how your solution works, or demonstrating the unique benefits of your offering.

Education is critical in the earlier stages of the buying journey when customers are still discovering their needs or exploring potential solutions.

This is where landing pages can play a vital role. They provide a focused environment to deliver this educational content, free from the distractions of a full website. A well-designed landing page can walk a customer through the problem-solving journey, building awareness and desire before asking for the sale.

Audience Temperature: Cold vs. Warm

Aside from knowing the buying stages, the temperature of your audience is also essential when deciding whether to use a landing page. The "temperature" of your audience refers to how familiar they are with your brand, product, or solution, and it significantly impacts how you should approach them in your marketing funnel.

This brings us to two types and what they are: 

Cold Audiences:

• These are typically top-of-funnel customers.
• They have little to no awareness of your product, solution, or even the need you're addressing.
• They require more education before they're ready to make a purchase.
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Warm Audiences:

• These customers are closer to making a purchase.
• They may be existing customers, newsletter subscribers, or people who've interacted with your brand before.
• They need less education and more of a push towards making a purchase.
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When to Use a Landing Page (And When Not To)

For Cold Audiences

Landing pages are often more effective, especially when you need to educate customers. They allow you to guide customers through the earlier stages of the buying journey before they're ready to hit the "Add to Cart" button.

• They provide space for education about your product or service.
• They can guide the visitor through the early stages of the buying journey.
• They allow for a more controlled narrative about your brand.
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Exception: If you're selling something very visual that doesn't need much education (like fashion or home decor), you might not need a landing page even for cold audiences.

For Warm Audiences

A product page is often sufficient and can be more effective. These customers already know about your brand and products. There's no need to "sell" them on something they're already sold on. A well-designed product page that entices them to add to the cart and buy is often the best approach.

The more you need to educate your customers, the more you might need a landing page.The warmer your audience, the more appropriate it is to send them directly to a product page.

Remember, these are guidelines, not hard rules. There are always exceptions, which is why A/B testing is your next strategy to know what’s best for your ecom store. Always test different approaches to see what works best for your specific audience and products.

At SplitBase, we’ve formulated what we call the Trifecta method for A/B testing that has helped many brands to boost their revenue and tailor-fit their landing pages at every step of the buyer’s funnel. 

Other Examples of When to Use Landing Pages

While we've discussed some specific customer-based examples, it's important to understand that landing pages have a wide range of applications across various marketing strategies. Let's explore some additional scenarios where landing pages can be particularly effective:

1. Affiliate Marketing: Landing pages are crucial for affiliate marketers promoting ad campaigns that aren't their own. Many ad networks and traffic sources require landing pages rather than direct links to affiliate offers. These pages help warm up the audience and build trust before directing them to the final offer.
   
   
2. Special Promotions and Discounts: Landing pages are ideal for promoting offers to specific segments of your audience. For instance, if you're running a shoe store and want to offer a unique coupon code to your email subscribers, a dedicated landing page allows you to track the effectiveness of your campaign. You can monitor how many subscribers received the email, clicked the link, and made a purchase.
   
   
3. Targeted Campaigns vs. Main Website: While your main website caters to a broad audience, landing pages can be tailored for specific campaigns or products. For example, if you're selling shoes and running a paid search campaign, creating separate landing pages for different shoe brands or types can yield better returns than sending all traffic to your homepage.
   
   
4. Traffic Source Segmentation: Landing pages help you customize your message based on where your traffic is coming from. A visitor from a search engine might have different expectations than one coming from a social media link. For paid traffic especially, having dedicated landing pages is crucial. You can create different pages based on geographic location, device type, or demographic factors like gender.
   
   
5. Simplifying the Call-to-Action: Landing pages allow you to focus on a single call-to-action, removing distractions and increasing the likelihood of conversion. This is particularly important for lead generation campaigns where you want to guide visitors toward a specific action.

So, Do You Need a Landing Page Or Not?

The decision to use a landing page isn't one-size-fits-all. It's a strategic choice that depends on various factors unique to your business, product, and audience. To make the right decision, always refer back to these key questions:

What Stage is Your Customer In?

•  Are they in the Awareness or Need Awareness stage? At these early stages, a landing page can be crucial for educating your audience about their problem and your solution.
  
  
• Are they ready to purchase (Product Awareness or Purchase stage)? For customers closer to making a decision, a well-optimized product page might be more effective.
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What's the Temperature of Your Audience?

•  Is your audience Cold (new to your brand)? Cold audiences often benefit from the focused messaging a landing page provides.
  
  
• •Or are they Warm (familiar with your brand)? Warm audiences might convert better when sent directly to a product page or a simplified landing page.
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How Much Education is Needed?

• Does your product require detailed explanations or benefits to be showcased? Complex products or services often warrant a dedicated landing page to fully communicate their value.
  
  
• Is your product straightforward to understand? Simple products might not need the extra step of a landing page.
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What Type of Product Are You Selling?

•  Is it a visual product (e.g., fashion, home decor)? Highly visual products might perform well with a gallery-style product page, even for cold traffic.
  
  
• Or is it a complex product (e.g., tech, skincare)? These products often benefit from the focused messaging and education a landing page can provide.
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Remember, the goal is to create the most effective path to conversion for your specific audience and product. Sometimes that means using a landing page, and sometimes it doesn't. The key is to continually test and refine your approach based on data and customer feedback.

By carefully considering these factors and analyzing your results, you can create a more effective funnel that guides customers smoothly from awareness to purchase, whether that journey includes a landing page or not.

‍Work with SplitBase

When you understand these factors, you can create a more effective funnel that guides customers smoothly from awareness to purchase.

Every brand's needs are unique, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to using landing pages. At SplitBase, we've helped 8 and 9-figure DTC brands implement effective landing page strategies that drive steady improvements and breakthrough wins.

If you’re ready to take your landing page strategy to the next level and boost your ecommerce conversions, click here to get your proposal.

Want to learn more about our approach to conversion optimization? Check out our comprehensive guide to CRO.