Home Pages, Landing Pages, and Outdoor Grills…
Now You Can Finally Know the Difference Between These All-Important Pages of Your Website…
So if you are beginning to build a website, or trying to improve what you already have, you might have come across two terms that seem to be the same:
“Home Page”
“Landing Page”
Web designers, marketers, and copywriters seem to make a BIG DEAL about each one.
But at first (and maybe second) glance, it also seems like they kiiiiiinda do the same thing.
Admittedly, there is some overlap. But if you confuse the two, you risk TANKING the effectiveness of your website.
In digital marketing, your website is your perfect, 24/7 salesperson. Its job is to convert all the leads you earn through SEO, ads, social media, etc… all your customer acquisition channels… and turn them into customers.
This means that your website is the solid foundation of your marketing strategy… a “bastion in the mountains”.
But, to keep with the metaphor, if you write a landing page when a home page is needed?
That fortress suddenly has a collapsed tower.
So what EXACTLY is the difference between a Landing Page and a Home Page?
Long story short: the Home Page is about your brand, and the Landing Page is about your sales/marketing strategy.
And before I elaborate, I believe a quick illustration will make the differences all the clearer…
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Every Business Needs an Online Presence
The Difference Between Gas and Charcoal Grills
Let me begin this illustration by stating the obvious: I LOVE grilled food.
If that makes me a basic middle-aged man, I don’t care.
Chicken and vegggies kind of sucks…but if you grill them? And the marinade caramelizes? And get that good char on the outside?
Oooooooo BABY that delicious!
It’s my favorite weeknight healthy dinner
But for the past couple years, I had been grilling less because I only owned a small, two-person charcoal grill.
But the grilling has only been sporadic: there has never been enough space to cook the whole meal, and by the time the chicken is done, the coals are too cold to properly char the vegetables.
But this year, two things happened:
1) I got this TANK of an old steel smoker
2) My law’s got me a gas grill for my birthday,
But here is the kicker: the steel smoker can be converted into a long charcoal grill, where the grate hovers just an inch above the coals (translation: VERY close!).
I’ve been having a blast using both for grilled dinners throughout the summer!
And yes, its important to me to use both, because…
The gas grill stays hot with the lid CLOSED.
The fuel source is gas, not charcoal. And gas does not get hotter when exposed to oxygen. So you want to fire it up with all the burners, close the lid, and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes. Only then should you open it on, quickly assemble your meat and veggies on the grill, and then just as quickly close the lid.
Keep the lid closed as much as possible, controlling the heat by lowering the amount of gas with the dials. You can easily create a “hot” side by keeping the dials on high and a “cool” side by keeping the dials on low.
The upside of a gas grill is convenience: just go outside and turn it on! It is also much easier to control the temperature and flames. However, the internal temperature and heat of the grates has a much lower ceiling than the charcoal grill.
A charcoal grill stays hot with the lid OFF
The charcoal grill is the opposite. Since the coals are on fire, they burn and stay warm when exposed to oxygen. You heat coals in a chimney stack and them dump them in the grill.
\They are already super hot… and will get HOTTER if you leave the lid off. Reducing the heat is not exact and takes some time: you can either put the lid on or open/close the vents.
A charcoal grill has several benefits. It can provide a burnt, smoky flavor to the food. It can also get CRAZY hot, both on the surface of the grates and after you put the lid on. However, it also has to be actively managed and takes more skill to manage. Plus, the coals will lose their heat as they turn to ash.
Of course, there are more differences of all the differences, the point I am trying to make is this:
In summary, both cook food, but do it differently.
Likewise, Landing Pages and Home Pages are important for marketing and sales, but in different ways:
Home Page = Gas Grill = Long Term
A Home Page is the pillar that holds up the entire site. It introduces visitors to your site to your brand and explicitly states how you promise to help them make life easier, happier, safer (etc.). It answers any initial questions and redirects them to other pages on your site. Those pages can be products and services, or provide informational content like an about page or blog.
Customers will reach your home page in several different ways, such as random search, ads, emails, and SEO. This means that it is much harder to determine the search intent of your site visitor. And since you do not know why they are there, it is unwise to be too presumptuous and steer them in a particular direction. As a result, the messaging becomes generalized, focused more on the universal values, promises, and identity that apply to all your products or services. In other words, it is focused on your BRAND. it only changes when your brand changes.
Landing Page = Charcoal Grill = Short Term
A Landing Page is much, much more specific. Its job is simple: customer conversion. It turns potential customers into first-time buyers and previous customers into repeat customers (or, if you don’t want to make a sale, it gets them to sign up for something, like an email list or a discovery call).
The Landing Page is final step in a sales funnel… the “closer”. Your leads have been filtered and ready to purchase… they just need some persuading to act now. It is extremely sales-oriented, full of social proof, FOMO, urgency, CTAs, and benefits.
And given that they are motivated, there is no reason to mince words. A Landing Page is a long scroll with no redirects; you do not want to distract the customer with anything else. Rather, you want them focused on their problem, how you solve it, and how you will help them reach their goals. You want to lead the customer as they scroll and show them why they should purchase/sign up NOW.
Every time your marketing strategy, your Landing Page should make appropriate changes. That is because a Landing Page directs a specific group of people with particular needs that match the services/products you want to offer at a particular time. Depending on the size of your business, your website might have several landing pages. Some of them may be hidden from your search bar at the top!
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Brand-Building Home Pages
And Profitable Landing Pages
In Summary, Here is How Each Type of Web Page is Different…
Purpose:
A Home Page introduces the site visitor to the brand and helps them get the basics before they explore the products, services, or content.
A Landing Page is everything they need to know before making a sale, and is trying to convince them to buy.
Length:
A Home Page is the spokesman for the brand, and for this reason needs to present well. It should be as clear as possible while still being concise, providing just enough information for the visitor to know where to go next to get what they want.
A Landing Page should be as long as possible while still remaining compelling. The more content you have, the more persuasive it will be.
Call to Action:
A Home Page has several varied actions it wants the site visitor to take. Because it doesn’t know what the visitor wants or where they are in the customer journey, it provides several options for them to choose from.
A Landing Page is about closing the deal. You should have a better idea of the levels of awareness of the customer, and can make your biggest, best argument for why they should purchase immediately. Every CTA directs them to one thing and one thing only.
Dwell Time:
A site visitor might visit a Home Page and navigate to another page on the site, and that would be fine.
But if a new customer visits your Landing Page, then you want them to scroll to the bottom and click the CTA.
Tone:
A Landing Page is like an interactive sales letter. Its goal is to be persuasive.
A Home Page is an introduction to the brand. Its goal is to be attractive.
As you can see, are essential for marketing and sales… but do it in very different ways.
Is that kinda like outdoor grills?
I think so :)
And I can write both for ya!
Hit the contact button in the top right hand corner, and we’ll sit down and see if I’m a good fit!
