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Every Page on Your Site is a Sales Page

ByMaAnna Stephenson

Online marketing gurus tell you to make a special sales page for any product or service that you offer. But the truth is, every page on your site is a sales page and you need to format it as such.

Here’s the how and why of it that will help turn your site into a better lead and conversion generator.

What Makes a Sales Page Work

In online marketing terms, a sales page is also called a landing page. It’s where folks land when they click a link to a product or service you offer.

A good landing page is very focused on one thing, which is conversion.

The point is to have folks take action on whatever offer is presented.

This is known as a call to action.

Examples of a call to action are:

  • Subscribe to email list
  • Subscribe to blog posts
  • Make a purchase
  • Register for a webinar
  • Buy an ebook

Focus Counts

Good landing pages have few to no distractions from the call to action.

They usually don’t have sidebars and may only have one link. (Some may repeat the same link a few times, depending on the length of the page.)

The point is to focus the reader’s attention and make it very clear what you want them to do.

Your Whole Site Sells Something

Every page on your site has a purpose and that is to convey to the reader that they are in the best place to find what they seek.

Even if each page does not contain a direct call to action, you are still selling yourself as an expert and building confidence in the reader for you, your brand, and your products and services.

The Least Visited Page on BlogAid

You may be shocked to know that the least visited page in the main navigation of BlogAid is the About page and I’ll tell you why – because every other page on the site has already sold the client.

They don’t need to check my credentials listed on the About page because they have already found what they were seeking elsewhere on the site and were helped by it.

If every site on your page offers a benefit, solves a problem, meets a need, or just presents you as an honest and knowledgeable resource, folks won’t need to check your About page to determine whether you can help them.

What’s in Your Sidebar?

Your sidebar is very valuable site real estate.

For one thing, search engines index it on each page.

And, it’s something that readers see on most every page of your site.

So, make sure it contains only info that deserves that level of prominence on your site. Don’t clutter it up just to fill the space. Make sure that the info it contains is a valuable call to action.

Cut the Clutter

On pages where the sidebar would distract from your call to action in the main content area of the page, leave it out.

Most themes come with a one-column page template. That means that it has no sidebar.

You’ll find all of the page templates that your theme offers generally in one of two places. When you’re in the page text editor, look in the right column for a module titled Attributes. You’ll find a drop-down for the Page Template. Or, if you’re using a premium theme like StudioPress, you’ll find a module below the text editor with small images representing the page templates that are available.

Check Your Pages

Have a look at the main pages on your site.

Here are a few questions to keep in mind as you browse.

  • Are all of the pages formatted to properly promote what you offer?
  • Are they focused and to-the-point, or do they have a lot of clutter?
  • Do all of them have sidebars?
  • Would some be better off without a sidebar?
  • Do you use a special template for product landing pages?

Let me know if you see new ways to improve your site and what you want to change in the comments.

Or Contact Me and let’s have a look at your site together.

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MaAnna is a geek who can still speak in plain English. She helps DIY site owners plus webmasters and designers create sites that are secure, perform well, and get noticed by search engines and readers.

2 Comments

  1. MaAnna, thank you for this. I was just talking earlier with a guy about Pages.
    My problem is my sidebar doesn’t immigrate to the Pages and stays on the Blog Page or Home Page. I was going to try and find a Plugin to move the opt in form onto every Page.

    I have used this as a test site whilst learning the whole aspect of WordPress. I want to start again with Optimize Press shortly and do more in the way of IM.

    If you have any suggestions, I would be very grateful.

    Best Wishes to you.
    Andy Moore

    1. Andy, most themes come with a couple of different page templates. You’ll find those in the Attributes module in the right column when you are in the text editor of one of your pages. Check that and see if it is set to one-column. That would knock out your sidebar appearing. (To have a sidebar, you need two columns, one for content and one for the sidebar.)

      You’ll notice that the BlogAid home page doesn’t have a sidebar, but it has a couple of widgetized areas below the content section and that’s where I placed the opt-in for it. I do the same thing on my “landing” pages too.

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