Last Updated on June 25, 2021 by

They have to start somewhere. For wineries and across industries, every digital customer journey begins includes some entry point to the website. Building the right landing pages is your way to control those entry points and maximize your chances of sales success.

Your homepage is likely your audience’s most popular entry point, but it’s far from the only one. In fact, it accounts for only 50% of total page views. Where the others go depends on your landing page strategy. This guide will help you build those landing pages for your winery’s website.

Step 1: Determine the Optimal Number of Landing Pages

It’s always good to start with the structure. Before building individual pages, take a step back to determine just how many pages (and what types of landing pages) you actually need. 

There is no magic formula or straightforward answer to this question. The exact number depends both on the wine products you offer and the audiences you serve. These tips can get close to the ideal number:

• Count your total number of products, from wine club subscriptions to individual bottles and types of vintage. Each needs its own landing page.
• Think about your audience as a secondary layer. If, for instance, your wine club typically attracts two different demographics, each of them may need their own landing page for its details.
• Consider your location(s). In the eyes of your audience, a visit to your tasting room is, in itself, a product and reason to visit your website.

Count them up, and you have the number of landing pages you want to integrate into your website. Each of the steps below then becomes an action item for every one of those landing pages.

Step 2: Map Out Your Landing Page Content

The benefit of the first step is above is that, ideally, you already know your audience by the time the second step comes into play. Content is where your landing pages shine; this is your chance to get the first-time or returning visitor deeper into your page and sales pipeline.

These tips can help you started in mapping the content for your page:

• Pay attention to the layout. Audiences tend to read web pages in F and Z patterns, so placing your most important words and visuals in their path is crucial.
• Focus on visuals. Including images and videos on your landing pages can significantly increase conversion rates. A simple picture of a bottle of wine may be all you need.
• Get the headline right. It’s your audience’s first hint on whether or not they should keep reading. Action words matter, but so does a clear description of what the page is all about.
• Write in snackable chunks. Short sentences, 1-2 sentence paragraphs, and plenty of bulleted lists and subheadings make the page easy to skim without losing the takeaway.
• Include testimonials. Social proof, in the form of reviews and testimonials, can boost your credibility and make your audience feel safer in continuing to browse.

Step 3: Optimize For Search Engines

Technically, this is part of the second step. But it’s so important, it needs to be pulled out: the best landing pages are always optimized for keywords that your audience would actually search for.

Perform some comprehensive keyword research into the words and phrases most associated with the product(s) you’re featuring on this page. Then, optimize the entire landing page for a major keyword and between two and five supporting keywords.

That way, you go beyond just hoping your audience finds you or promoting your page through other channels. Instead, you offer a natural path for it every time a member of your target audience searches for a related term.

Step 4: Include a Natural “Next Step” For Your Audience

After they arrive on your landing page, what do you want your audience to do? Whatever the answer, it needs to be clear throughout every facet of the page. Every piece of content, every visual, and every layout decision should drive towards that next step.

For landing pages, that could be a simple contact form prompting your audience to leave their email address for more information and future offers. But it could also get more in-depth.

Product pages themselves are often landing pages, and the next step here is probably an actual online purchase. For a location page, that next step may be scheduling a visit or pulling the coordinates of your winery into the phone’s navigational map.

Define that next step early for each landing page you develop. Now, you can make sure that the entire build of the page points towards it.

Step 5: Integrate Landing Pages Into Your Overall Sales Pipeline

Finally, it pays to make sure that every landing page you build plays a crucial role in the buyer’s journey of at least one core audience segment. In other words, it should not be a roadblock on their way to becoming customers or visitors, but a helpful resource in getting there.

Mapping out your buyer’s journey is a great start. It helps you understand just where those natural conversion pieces are, and where in the research phase your landing page might fit. 

Another step: ensuring that each landing page helps you either bring in new prospects or drive those prospects further down the funnel. That means every page of this type should at least have one contact form that your audience can use to leave their information. 

Are You Ready to Build Your Winery Website Landing Pages With the End Goal in Mind?

Modern websites are complex. They never offer a linear experience but have to account for the various ways in which would-be and current customers can interact with them. That means landing pages have begun to take an outsized role in trying to convert your customers and help your winery succeed.

Are you ready to prioritize landing pages in that process? If so, contact us. Our experience in the wine space makes us a perfect partner for helping you ensure success, not just for the pages themselves but in the larger goal of driving customers to your winery.