Once upon a time, nothing was more important in retail than your store window.
Back when bricks-and-mortar stores were the consumer’s only option, an eye-catching window packed with irresistible deals was a golden ticket to success.
In the digital age of ecommerce? Well, to be honest, not that much has changed.
If you’re a digital brand looking to make a splash in online retail with a platform like Shopify, your store window is now your landing page. And when it comes to landing pages, it’s all about conversions: AKA getting prospects to take action.
So how do you make this happen? The answer is landing page optimization.
Here are 4 things you should be doing to make sure your landing page is turning visitors into customers.
Optimizing your Shopify landing page for conversions is all about balancing the features and benefits of your product or service.
In a nutshell, features are the things a product can do, and benefits are the ways in which that product will improve the customer’s life. For example, a car may offer a low miles-per-gallon rating. That’s the feature. But the benefit is that it’ll cost less to run and will be kinder to the environment. In our sausage analogy, it’s not the sausage itself that you sell, but its amazing smell and taste – the sizzle!
Put simply, a benefit is the customer asking you directly, What’s in it for me?
When building your Shopify landing page, think about why someone might buy your product or service and how it will improve their lives.
Another key aspect of selling any product is understanding who you’re selling to. The very same logic applies to your Shopify landing page.
If you’re selling beach balls and BBQs, you don’t want your landing page to be full of stuffy, formal legalese and pictures of people working in the office – quite the opposite! Developing a persona for your target customer will allow you to keep them in mind as you design your Shopify landing page.
Whenever you place an element or write a headline, think, How would my customer feel about this? This type of customer-centric approach is essential if your landing page is going to resonate with your target buyer.
As painful as it may be to hear for all you copywriters out there, copy is often the last thing designers think about. This makes it all to easy for designs to ‘break’ once the lorem ipsum is out and the real copy is in.
Visuals and words should really be worked on in tandem to create a cohesive experience throughout the landing page.
While it’s possible to use placeholder copy, you’re really just looking at half the picture if you do it this way.
Instead, by writing the copy alongside the design aspects, you can ensure that everything works in complete harmony. From a branding perspective, this stuff is absolutely essential, and a strong, cohesive brand will always result in better results from your landing page.
No matter your product or service, your Shopify landing page should have one main objective: to make a sale.
It’s tempting to throw ‘Buy’ buttons all over the page and hope for the best – but this really won’t be the most efficient option. Instead, treat your landing page as the big build-up to that final call-to-action, or CTA. The first few sections are there to intrigue and whet the appetite of your potential customer, but by the time they reach the bottom of your landing page, it’s time to give them an offer they can’t refuse.
Of course, all CTAs are different – everything from ‘Get In Touch’ to ‘Place Your Order’ – so only you will know exactly what yours should look like. That said, one great tip is to use a benefit-focused CTA.
So, in our eco-friendly car example above, you might choose to add a lovely big CTA at the bottom of the landing page which simply states, ‘Start saving fuel now’.
Optimizing your Shopify landing page is really just the first step in a journey which could transform your business.
At Blackcreek, we specialize in redefining brands through the power of design-led innovation. You’re already on the right track with your Shopify store, but where else could you brand take you?
Get in touch today, and let’s find out together.
