15 AprEasily Create High-Converting Landing Pages

This article will focus on landing page optimization for Google PPC, so please bear that in mind as you read along.

The purpose of a good or optimized landing page from a PPC perspective, say Google adwords is as follows;

• To convert visitors who have arrived at your page (by clicking on the ad)
• To increase your Quality Score so that you can lower your CPC for the same clicks (the more relevant you landing page is to the selected keyword, the higher your quality score and the less you have to pay Google to bid for the same keyword).

Another indirect benefit is that with a higher quality score than before, you will increase your profits as your ROI is higher. In a virtuous circle, you will in turn therefore be able to bid more which will result in higher positions, should you want a higher position that is.

A word of caution, in my experience a higher position does not always make for a  better converting ad, position 3-6 tend to be more fruitful for conversion. Position 1 tends to cost you dearly as trigger happy searchers click the first thing the see!

Top Tips for Landing Page Success

Have a Great Call To Action

Place a strong call to action in a highly visible and prominent position on the landing page. Ideally place it at the top of the fold of your webpage so that it is visible in the browser screen without the ser having to scroll down, this will increase likelihood of a click.

Remember, the users have clicked your ad and are now keen to buy from you as long as you can fulfill the promises you made, therefore make sure your landing page is highly relevant to the ad, has three ultra specific benefits at the top of the page fold, and don’t burden your visitors with fancy design. Keep the page simple with no navigation so they can’t wonder off somewhere else. Finally keep your call to action simple, a short sign up form or a one page payment page.

Don’t have too many steps, a basic principle is the more steps you have, the more customers you lose and the less sales you have at the end of your sales funnel (think of it as an upside down pyramid). At step 1 you have lots of prospects, by the last step, only a few remain.

In summary, keep the entire sales process or as much of it as possible, on that one landing page.

 Repeat the Keyword for Relevancy

You should aim to repeat the paid keyword several times both on the visible landing page and in the HTML elements. Put it right where the user can’t miss it. Let them know you heard what they were looking for and that this page provides it. Also repeat the keyword prominently in the HTML of the page, just once as you don’t want to be accused of spamming. This assures that the Google AdWords Bot will find it easily.

Stick to ‘one product, one page’ rule

If possible have a landing age for each of your products, this can increase your conversions significantly and improves your Quality Score (so you pay less).

For example lets say you have an electronics website which you promote via your PPC account. If a visitor searches for Casio HX78901 wrist watch, don’t take them to page that lists wrist watches, take them to a page that showcases just that model. List the features and benefits, include good quality pictures and have your ‘buy it now’ button displayed prominently at the top.

Try “theme pages”

This is the opposite to the single product landing page. While single product pages usually convert best, this may not always be the case as results vary from product to product and by industry. If the single product approach does not work for you then try “theme pages.”

For example, if someone searches for “Casio wrist watch” try taking them to your most popular model first rather than a list that gives equal prominence to last year’s outdated, overpriced dinosaur. Then, try to beat that by taking them to a page with your top 3 models prominently featured, etc.

Consider and test the keywords being used also, a user searching buy Casio HX78901 may be more likely to convert on the single landing page than a user who searches compare Casio watch.

Test, Test and Test Again!

You must constantly analyze your landing page optimization results and carry out A/B split testing to improve your results further. As is almost always the case with paid search campaigns, the value of landing page optimization lies in your ability to analyze the metrics and make appropriate adjustments. You will want to minimize any other changes so you can focus your learning on your landing page optimizations.

What are your thoughts on this subject or article, please feel free to share your thoughts or experiences with us by commenting on this post below.