by SEO Info
on July 21 2010
in Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
In my previous blog “Ads and Ad Groups”, we discussed ads and the importance of grouping them with relevant adgroups and keywords. Next we’ll be discussing the importance of landing pages and what makes a good landing page. We will look at the theory behind landing pages and than apply it to some practical examples!
6 Landing Page Optimization Techniques for PPC/SEM
- Keyword that you’ve bid on should be on your landing page
- Keywords in your advertisement should be visible on your landing page
- Any promises made in your advertisement should be visible on your landing page
- This includes the promises made in advert techniques such as call to actions, soft offers, limited time offers, and promotions. These were covered in my “Ads and Ad Groups” blog
- If you listed a price on your advertisement, this price should also be listed on the landing page
- The product that is mentioned in the advertisement should be present on the landing page. If it’s a generic product with numerous models, the landing page should list the different models in an organised fashion
- Actions which you want your visitor to partake in should be clearly displayed
- Sign up for a news letter? Purchase a product? etc
Let’s take a look at some practical examples. We will be critiquing the landing pages based on the ads and not the ads themselves.
Search Query: "Video Cards"
Positives
- Free shipping is shown on top
- Video Cards is listed on top
- Video card products listed below
- Filter tool used to narrow results
Negatives
- “Huge Selection” should be given a numerical value. i.e. over 9000 video cards
- “Air Shipping” appears to be associated with the “fast shipping” promised in the ad which is NOT free
Search Query: LCD Sale
Positives
- Sale is listed prominently
Negatives
- Where are my TVs? I queried LCD sale…rethink your keyword selection for this adgroup (this includes negative matches)
- The rest of the page is hidden since this horizontal cut off makes it appear as if that page ends
- Where is my 50% off?
Search Query: Boats for Sale
Positives
- There are boats on this page
Negatives
- Horizontal cut off makes it appear as if the page ends
- No lists of boats
- Where is my $1000 off?
- Where are the “sale” prices?
Chris, aren’t you being a little harsh? You didn’t even scroll down or navigate through their website.
Visitors should be able to find what they are looking for within 2 clicks. Furthermore, shopping online is different than shopping in a store. Exploring different options is just a click away instead of a car ride. Users have grown impatient which increases chances of bounce rates if you don’t present what you promise.
As consumers, we’ve been exposed to countless underhanded marketing techniques that employ the bait and switch method. We have grown resilient to these schemes and are sceptical of any offers that may appear to be misconstrued. Therefore, if we select an ad that does not deliver on its promises when we visit the site, we will leave instantly and see if the next advertisement (that is 1 seconds away) will deliver.
Next! Send me YOUR advertisements and landing pages and I will create a blog post that critiques submissions. E-mail me at chris@zeroin.ca