SuperTip #2 (Part 1/2)
Use Site Pages for Information & Landing Pages for Conversion
The Tactic
Think about the last few times you had guests over to your home.
What were the occasions? Friendly gathering of families? Kid’s birthday party? Poker night?
Depending on the occasion, when you invite someone to your home, you use different tactics for different occasions. If, like me, you’re in the state of life where you might be inviting other kids over for a child’s birthday party, you might send Frozen invitations (yes, that’s still a thing…).
Inviting a few buddies over for a poker night? Probably an email & a few texts.
Once someone gets to your home, however, chances are there’s a few things that all of your guests will need to know, such as:
- Where the bathrooms are
- Where the kitchen is
- Where the social gathering areas are (basement, family room, yard)
- Any “rules of the house” (shoes on or off?)
Your Website Is Analgous To Your Home.
For most people, their website is their digital “home.”
This is the area where people – most likely with some familiarity about who you are already – come to find the kind of information we might consider “essential” to doing business with you.
Instead of asking where your bathrooms are, though, it might be your hours of operation. Instead of “where’s the kitchen,” it’s “what’s your location?” The “rules of the house” are your “frequently asked questions.”
And so on.
The point is that, by the time someone comes to your website, you’ve already succeeded in getting them there! Now, it’s just about providing the kinds of information that really anyone who might be a guest needs to know.
This kind of information should be reflected in your site pages
What Are Site Pages?
We’re now ready to back into a definition:
Site Pages are the informational pages on your website that highlight the information and messages that you want to make sure all visitors know about you and your business. These are very often the pages that people have in mind when they think of a website.
One example of a site page might be something like a pricing page, which intends to provide information about website pricing.
You likely wouldn’t drive traffic here, though.
Other examples might include your contact page, an about page, or a services page.
Because this information often matters to your visitors/customers, these informational pages are typically made available in your top navigation bar, where access to information is easy to fine.
How Many Site Pages Should I Have?
A man once asked Abraham Lincoln, “How long should a man’s legs be in proportion to his body?”
To which the illustrious former President replied: “I have not given the matter much consideration, but on first blush I should judge they ought to be long enough to reach from his body to the ground.”
The number of site pages you “should” have is similar.
For really small businesses & startups, there might not be more than a handful of pages – a home page, an “about us,” “pricing,” etc.
For large or complex companies, the number of site pages is likely more numerous – investor pages, executive team biographies, industries served, portfolios, and the like.
It all depends on your site goals, and how much information your prospects & customers need to have in order to be able to do business with you and understand your value propositions.
A Core Part Of Your Website Architecture Plan
Because your site pages intend to convey the most important pieces of information relevant to your audience, they are a core part of considering your website architecture – that is, the number, kind, and structure of pages your website should have.
On to part 2/2 – The Landing Page »
The Template
Here’s a handy template to start thinking about how your site pages are organized. You can use it as you start to plan out your content offers and site architecture.
Your Task for the Week
Look at your current website. What site pages are available through your navigation bar? Are there other pieces of information you find yourself – or your team – constantly providing your customers that should be reflected? Schedule a meeting with your developer to discuss adding those pages.
