Are you struggling to convert visitors from your PPC campaigns Are you looking at ways in which you can increase conversion rates and sales
If you are then hopefully this article will set you on the right track. Read On
With pay per click marketing now a key part of many search engine marketers promotional mix we have seen a dramatic rise in competition for the top sponsored listing slots in the search engines. This has resulted in higher bid prices meaning us marketers now have to work doubly as hard to ensure the campaigns we run are still generating a positive return on investment.
So what can we do to try and make the most form each visitor we drive to our site. The answer lies in creating highly targeted web site landing pages.
Is there a difference between writing a landing page and any other web site page Yes and no. But mainly, yes.You still have to work within the fundamentals of good writing and copywriting. And you still have to recognise the differences between writing for paper and writing for a website visitor.
However, there are some important differences to consider when it comes to writing a landing page.
You know what you want your visitors to do
For many of our web pages we are writing text to help people find what they want, either on that page or a different one. This may involve writing careful descriptions, using images and providing descriptive links to help our visitor move forward to the right page.
In other words, a lot of the time the pages we are writing are not the final destination pages for many of our visitors. So we deliberately help them leave the page, pointing them in the right direction. This is often referred to as a click path and we often think about the various click paths a user may want to take before designing our site.
With a landing page, everything changes. When a visitor hits your landing page, you know what you want them to do and you dont want them leaving that page until they have decided to make that purchase, sign up for an e-newsletter, download a white paper, or, whatever else it is you want them to do.
Now youre in the realm of direct marketing
A landing page is a direct marketing piece, pure and simple. You have attracted someone to that page via a sponsored link from a PPC campaign. You know what keyword they will have typed in to arrive at your site so now all you have to do is help them achieve their goal, by giving them the information or product they are looking for. If you do this, then youre more likely to convert that visitor. If you dont then they simply hit their back button and return to the search results to view your competitors offering.
When direct marketing with a landing page, remember these points.
- Its about the copy, the words. Its the text that will bring you success or failure.
- Simple Design The purpose of the design is to support and showcase the text. If you want results, your visitors must read the text. This influences your choices of colours, your use of images, the layout on the page.
- Shall I include lots of navigation links No thank you. On a regular web page, there are plenty of links to make it easy for people to move around and find what they want. On a landing page, there is only one link you want people to click on, and thats the one that is going to get the result you both want.You dont really want them to navigate away from that page until they have acted or else they may get distracted. You want to give them just the one way forward. In some cases it may be practical to guide them through to other highly targeted pages where you may have supporting material that can motivate them to act, but in general it is best to keep the page focused on getting the user to fulfil your goal, and that goal, if you have done your homework will be the same goal for your visitor.
- Shall I offer multiple choices Not if you can help it. If you have three or four things to sell or promote, create separate campaigns and separate landing pages. Too many choices on a single page dilutes attention and reduces response rates. Like I said above, keep it focused and simple. Too many choices can often overwhelm visitors.
Concluding thoughts
Many large and medium sized companies struggle with creating landing pages that are unashamedly built to maximise conversion rates. Perhaps they dont have the skills in-house to write and design these types of pages. Perhaps they feel uncomfortable about direct marketing through their site pages. But whatever the reason, its the companies that have the will and the resources to build high-converting landing pages that will come out the winners and build a highly profitable online channel.
Damon Lightley is a search engine marketing consultant at Site Visibility Ltd. Site Visibility is a UK based search engine marketing companythat helps clients increase online customer acquisition and retention using search engine optimisation, pay per click and online marketing campaign measurement techniques.
I should be upfront with you and say that in some respects my use of the word Biggest is a tad deceptive.
Why
Well, as you will discover during the course it is often the little things that make the big difference when it comes to keyword research. Let me say as a brief side note that I find this to be one of the overlooked aspects of online sales & marketing.
For instance, one little tweak to your websites copy might not produce an avalanche of new sales or leads. But itll help a little bit, right The trick is to put 100 of these little tweaks to work for you, each one making the overall system just a little bit better. Now youre talking!
Okay Ill climb down off of the soapbox. Lets begin with ...
KEYWORD MISTAKE NUMBER ONE: Not understanding (or realizing, perhaps) just exactly what keywords really are and what they actually represent.
Please allow me to explain a bit.
Keywords really are, IMHO, the mirror into your markets psyche. They are the clues your market is readily supplying you, the online marketing person, about who they, the market, truly are and exactly what they care about.
Keywords tell you what your market is searching for or attempting to do or buy online at any specific moment.
OK, now maybe your thinking John, thats so obvious. It doesnt take a keyword genius to figure that one out. I hope the rest of this course is going to be a bit better than this!
Yes, youre right. It doesnt take a keyword guru to realize this. However, I have found that all too often many folks overlook this fact. Many, many online marketing people including some keyword gurus, seem to forget this fact as they scurry about performing all of the necessary tasks one needs to do in order to build & operate an online business.
Now, it may seem like Im digressing a bit (or even a lot) in the next couple of paragraphs so please bear with me for a moment.
Any truly good salesperson will tell you that your sales efforts need to be market driven not product driven. Have you ever heard the phrase Sell the sizzle not the steak Thats simply the salesmans way of remembering to be market oriented rather than product oriented.
Think of your market first; make yourself think like them. Figure out for your market exactly whats in it for them in relation to your product. And then tell em about whats in it for them and give it to them. To put it in even broader strokes, the key to a successful online business (and offline business as well) is simply to find out what your market wants and give it to them.
Key Evoy, the author of the book Make Your Site Sell and the excellent Site Build It! website development software/program says it like this. Its my lawn, not your grass seed meaning its their needs and wants that concern them, not your product. I use this quote to remember to keep myself in my customers shoes.
OK, so how do you find out what your market wants Simple. You start by doing your keyword research. You strive to uncover the keyword phrases that your market is typing into the search engines on a daily basis. These keywords or keyword phrases are gifts from your potential customer to you.
Keywords are telling you exactly what your customer wants. If you, the online salesperson, wearing your keyword gurus hat for the moment, simply listen to what your market is telling you that they want, youll find yourself miles ahead of your competitors who do not.
Thats why I equate keywords with the manifestation of my market in my mind whenever Im doing keyword research. For me, keywords literally are my market.
Once you understand that .......
Keywords are simply your market talking to you .......
youll no longer be making the first (and most serious, in my opinion) mistake that many keyword researchers make.
All you need to do now is to listen. Are you listening
John Mann, The KeyWord Mann is the President of MannMade Software, LLC
Hes been doing online sales & marketing for over 10 years now, starting back before Windows 95 came on the scene.
Doing keyword research Visit to see the first piece of keyword research software that youll want and need in your websites arsenal of tools if youre serious at all about doing keyword research.
For more information about Ken Evoys products (highly recommended!), simply visit