What is an Entry Page?
Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, not all website visitors come through the front door (or homepage!). As the name suggests, an entry page is the first page a user lands on when visiting your website. This can be any page on the website, not just the homepage.
This occurs when users browse the web and land on a specific page without having gone through the homepage first.
For example:
Say you run a blog about travel and have a popular blog about top travel tips to follow. When a user click on this blog when it displays in the search result, this article is the entry page for that user’s session.
However, entry pages don’t just have to be blogs. It’s any page on your website that a user can access, including the homepage, products, services, contact page and more.
Homepage, Entry Page, Landing Page: What’s The Difference?
While a homepage and landing page can be an entry page, an entry page is not necessarily a home or landing page. While they sound similar these pages serve different purposes in your website. Let’s take a closer look:
- Homepage: This is the main page of your website. A homepage can often be considered the digital front door to your business. It’s where users typically land when they first visit your site when typing in your domain name.
- Entry Page: The first page a user lands on during their session. It can be any page on your site where a visitor starts their journey
- Landing Page: In digital marketing, a landing page is a standalone page that us used for promotional purposes, typically PPC, advertising ad email marketing.
Why Are Entry Pages Important?
Put simply? Because it’s the first page a user sees on your website. In fact, it takes as little as 5 seconds for a user to form an opinion about your website – and by extension, your business or offerings!
Users will look at the design, quality, speed, mobile responsiveness and overall experience. Their engagement will often be a reflection of this opinion. These pages may not always be your direct selling or money pages, but they still play a crucial role in guiding visitors through their journey on your site.
Even if a user arrives on a blog post, product page, or an informational section, their first impression of these entry pages can influence their decision to stay, explore more, or leave.
Tips For Making Sure Your Entry Page Performs
Optimising your entry pages is crucial for improving user experience and increasing engagement.
- Identify Your Popular Entry Pages: To optimise your entry pages, you first need to know which pages are getting the most traffic. This helps you focus your efforts where they’ll have the most impact. In Google Analytics 4, navigate to Engagement > Landing Page.
- Improve Load Speed: Users expect pages to load quickly. If they take too long to load, users are more likely to bounce, missing out on valuable engagement and conversion opportunities,
- Give Them The Best Experience Possible: Today, user experience is everything! Focus on a clean, attractive design, fast loading times, and easy navigation. Make sure your page is mobile-friendly and provides valuable, relevant content.
- Ensure Mobile Responsiveness: A majority of users browse the internet on their phones. That’s why your entry pages must look and function well on all devices. Be sure to test your pages on various devices and make any adjustments to improve their usability.
- Optimise for User Intent: No one wants to land on a page looking for one thing, only to be met with another. Make sure the content on your entry pages aligns with what visitors are looking for.
- Have Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Whether you want them to sign up for a newsletter, explore more content, or make a purchase, make sure your CTAs stand out and are easy to follow.
- Add Relevant Internal Links: In addition to clear CTA’s, encourage visitors to explore more of your site by adding internal links to related content or pages. This can boost engagement by leading visitors to additional information they might find valuable.
