Batman vs Superman. Rocky vs Apollo Creed. Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Some battles are truly epic.
However, when you’re a digital marketing nerd like us, you tend to look at slightly different skirmishes!
Today, we’re investigating landing pages vs homepages. These pages are essential additions to any good website. However, which should you be using to generate conversions for your business?
Let’s start by looking at the difference between a landing page and a homepage.
What is a homepage?
The homepage (also known as a main page) is the primary page of your website and is typically the page that appears when someone types your domain into their browser.
The homepage of a website serves multiple purposes, including:
- Showcasing your brand
- Telling customers about the products and services you offer
- Signposting web visitors to relevant pages
- Showing customers why you’re a trustworthy business (for example, through reviews, testimonials, and accreditations)
Essentially, the aim of a homepage is to capture prospective customers’ interest and encourage them to find out more, especially if they’re entirely new to your business.
For example, here is our homepage for Bubblegum Search.
It explains who we are and what we do and tells customers about our services, with links to all the different sections. It’s a fantastic example of a homepage, if we do say so ourselves!
Many people think you can only have one homepage for your website, but this isn’t necessarily the case. You might have multiple home pages to target different audiences. For example, if you operate an international site, you might have a separate homepage for your UK, US, and Australian customers.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is a standalone page on your website with one fundamental purpose: to encourage customers to carry out a specific task. This page will have been thoroughly tested and tweaked to maximise the number of conversions it receives.
A landing page is likely to have:
- One clear and consistent call-to-action to encourage customers to convert. While it might be tempting to have multiple call-to-actions, this can have a negative effect and confuse page viewers. Putting more than one offer on your landing page can decrease conversions by up to 266%
- Clear, engaging copy and a visually appealing design
- As few distractions as possible, for example, no internal or external links, and minimal navigation
A landing page can be used to support a wide range of different goals you have for your company. For example, let’s say you run a furniture business and you want to target businesses that are looking for office furniture. You could set up a Google Ads campaign targeting keywords like ‘office furniture near me’ or ‘best office furniture uk’.
The ad would take your customer to a landing page, telling them more about your furniture range, with a call-to-action encouraging them to download your brochure or to sign up for a business account.
You can also use landing pages to target organic traffic in the search engines. Here’s another example of a landing page for one of our most popular downloads, our small business SEO guide.
It has a clear call-to-action where you can download the eBook, with minimal distractions to keep customers on the page. While there is a navigation bar at the top, there is a less complicated navigation structure than on our homepage, to encourage people not to wander off!
Can you use a homepage as a landing page?
We wouldn’t recommend it. Here’s an example of why this is the case:
Our team carries out free PPC audits for small and medium-sized businesses that use Google Ads and want insights into how they can improve their campaigns. One of the most common errors we see is when companies drive ad traffic to their homepage rather than a bespoke landing page.
This is a wasted opportunity, as you should encourage customers who click on your ads to carry out a specific action. If you direct them to your homepage, you’re showing them lots of different messages and call-to-actions. Click on this link, visit our social media profiles, sign up for our newsletter, and so on.
As a result, you risk confusing your customer and losing out on a potential conversion.
However, if you drive customers through to a landing page with one call-to-action in mind and nothing to distract them, you increase the chance of a successful conversion.
Are there some circumstances where a page can serve as a landing page and a homepage? Yes.
For example, you might have a website promoting a single product or service, with one page designed to provide information to customers and encourage them to convert. However, these pages are exceedingly rare, and need to be carefully planned and tested to serve both distinct purposes.
So a homepage can technically be a landing page, but it shouldn’t be. In the same way that a tomato is technically a fruit, but you wouldn’t put it in a fruit salad!
Landing page vs homepage: which page wins the battle of the conversions?
When it comes to getting conversions, landing pages win out against homepages, hands down!
As these pages are specifically designed with a single purpose in mind, they’re perfect for appealing to your target audience and convincing them to convert.
However, while homepages might have lost the battle of the conversions, don’t count them out entirely. A well-thought-out homepage is imperative to the success of your website and is critical when it comes to guiding your customers around your different pages.
Not sure how to design your landing page to get the right results for your business? Bubblegum Search is here to help.
We specialise in landing page design services, meaning you get a high-quality, tried-and-tested page, bespoke to you, and developed to get you leads and sales.
Sign up for your free marketing plan today and see why we’re the experts in landing page creation.
Landing page vs homepage FAQs
Got any additional questions about the differences between landing pages and homepages? This landing page vs homepage FAQ will answer any queries you have!
What is the difference between a landing page and a homepage?
Here are three examples of differences between a landing page and a homepage.
- Homepages have internal and external links, while PPC landing pages don’t
- Homepages have multiple purposes in mind, while landing pages have a singular focus
- Homepages have lots of content, while landing pages have more focused intent content
Can a page serve as both a landing page and a homepage?
While a page can serve as both a landing page and a homepage in rare circumstances, it’s important to remember that landing pages and homepages have specific purposes.
As a result, it’s best to have standalone homepages and landing pages.
Do I need a landing page for my website?
While every website doesn’t need a landing page, we recommend having at least one if you have a specific goal in mind.
For example, if you are running a targeted advertising campaign, want people to sign up for an event or webinar, or offer a lead magnet in exchange for personal information.
How many homepages and landing pages can I have on my website?
As many as you need to target the right customers and achieve your goals.
For example, you might have a separate landing page for each of your ad campaigns, and different homepages to appeal to various target audiences.