Shopify Landing Pages – Why They Work and What You Can Learn From Them

Shopify is not only one of the leading ecommerce platforms, it's also a favorite data stream of the SumAll community and vice versa with Shopify naming us one of the top 10 apps of 2012. As SumAll users connect their Shopify data to their other streams like Google Adwords, Facebook, and Twitter, ways to improve conversion optimization is always a hotly debated topic. 

In this post, you will learn the benefits of having custom landing pages, the impact it can have on conversion optimization and what specific elements you can implement into your own landing pages to increase sales.

Benefits of Custom Landing Pages

1. Better rankings in search results for a highly targeted customer base.

When I was searching for an ecommerce solution for my husband's photography business, I was greeted with what seemed like an endless amount of options. So instead of searching for just "ecommerce solution", I searched for "ecommerce solution fine art" instead. 

This is how I discovered Shopify’s landing page specifically aimed for those selling fine art. Unlike the original search I had performed, I now had only one option in the first page of search results. If your business can be the only option for a specific customer base, you’re likely to get more clicks and more conversions.

2. Better return on investment for advertising.

When you have customized landing pages aimed towards a specific audience, you can use them to create highly targeted social ads for your business. Take Shopify’s landing page for musicians. They could easily create a Facebook ad targeted specifically towards musicians.

This approach can be used with any online advertising including Google AdWords. With this landing page set as a destination, Shopify can greatly increase their revenue with advertising.

3. Have the perfect response for online questions.

It’s not often that you can answer a question on social networks, forums, and Q&A networks like Quora with a link to a sales page. But with customized sales pages, you can.

In this example, answering a question about selling t-shirts online with a link to Shopify’s landing page for t-shirt sales works perfectly because the answer is relevant. It’s not just someone spamming in a homepage - it’s 100% targeted.

The Anatomy of Shopify’s Landing Pages

What makes Shopify’s landing pages work? Let’s walk through their landing page top to bottom to identify key elements in their landing pages.

At the top of each Shopify landing page is the main menu for the site which includes links to the two things people will want to know most about their ecommerce solution: features and pricing. There is also a green button that calls your attention to a free trial offer.

Next, you will see images (and sometimes videos) specific to the audience the landing page is targeting. In the above example, they are targeting businesses who sell coffee. Immediately following the visual that captures their target audience is a sign up form for a free trial of their platform.

Beneath the sign up form, Shopify goes on to show how they understand the needs of businesses selling coffee. Then they again offer a link to their free trial.

Further down the page, you will get to see examples of coffee businesses already on Shopify. You can click directly through to see the stores in action and really get a feel for how your competitors are already succeeding on the Shopify platform.

Right when the target audience may start to wonder how they will set up such a great storefront, Shopify reassures them by displaying custom applications for their business. 

Beneath the application, business owners are then shown more great features of the Shopify platform that will make it simple for them to start their online store quickly. 

Finally, they close out each landing page with testimonials including a mix of well known names and small business owners. Then they add one last call to action to start a free trial.

What You Can Learn from Shopify Landing Pages

So what can your business learn from Shopify and apply to your own landing pages? 

• If you have a clients in a particular industry or niche that generate a lot of revenue for your business, create custom landing pages to target them. Shopify has over 50 targeted landing pages - you can see them all using this Google search.
• Demonstrate how your business understands your customer’s specific pain points and how your product or service will solve them.
• Make your call to actions clear - and often. Don’t make customers have to scroll all the way down or back up a page to get to your opt-in, purchase, or free trial buttons.
• Show your product or service in action with similar business types if at all possible.
• Include testimonials that your target audience can relate to.

Using Shopify as your ecommerce solution? SumAll connects your Shopify data along with data from Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, and many other platforms to give you the whole view of your business.

Create your free account and start discovering how your website visitors and social engagement affects your bottom line today.

Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.