In a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign, being able to entice someone to click on your ad is a battle half-won. The other half of the process is in your Landing Page. Simply put, a Landing Page is the first page your online prospects are taken to after clicking your ad. Ads in your PPC campaign must have undergone a meticulous process to create the most effective message to attract maximum people to click. And after they have clicked one of your ads, your Landing Page should do the job of making them take action and convert.
Landing Pages should receive the same careful planning as your ads and other important aspects of your PPC campaign to ensure that your online prospects stay engaged (lowering your bounce rate) and they take specific action (or convert) which is every business’ goal. So here is a list of 5 Do’s and Don’ts when creating your Landing Page to help you make your PPC campaign more successful and you get maximum ROI for your investment.
Do’s When Creating a Landing Page for PPC:
1. Create a professional-looking Landing Page.
We are visual creatures and what had attracted your online prospects to click on your ad is the interplay of the colors (for banner ads), layout, and message in your ad. Now that you have caught their attention, you should further enhance their visual experience by taking them to a Landing Page that is professional looking and well designed. You can have a professional web designer help you achieve this. But be careful of having too many visual distractions. Keep it clean and simple.
2. Show consistency.
Having a well-designed Landing Page is not enough. It must show consistency in the visual design and message with your ad where they first clicked. This means that you must use the same color theme or template for its design. Your Landing Page should also be expounding on the same message or offer in your ad. Giving your site visitors a continuous visual experience and consistent messages from Ad to Landing Page to Conversion Page.
3 Get to the point and stay with it.
People who clicked on your ad are usually potential new customers. So resist the urge to give them a long background about your company, products, and services. Stay with the original message or goal that your ad is trying to promote. But be concise. Be clear about what you are offering your visitors and what you want them to do – purchase, fill up a form, download an ebook, book a room, etc. This holds true even for returning customers. You have to avoid anything that might easily distract them and make them lose interest. So remove the clutter and stay focused.
4. Speak your target audience’s language.
Your Landing Page must convey the message relevant to your target audience. If your Landing Page is trying to sell to everybody, it is bound to fail. Just like when you launched your PPC Campaign, it has a specific market in mind. The creation process for the ad revolved around this. Your Landing Page is no exception. It has to continue to specifically cater to this market. Hence, you must really know who your target audience is and what makes them tick. It is crucial for your business’ success to have a well-tailored Landing Page. It must show a content that is relevant to them by addressing their specific need. This way, your site visitors will stay engaged and hopefully will convert. This will definitely lower your Bounce Rate and increase your Conversion Rate.
5. Close and convert them with call to action.
If you know your target audience, you can easily identify which of their needs your company can address. If you have a product or service that does this, it’s now all about getting the word out. This is why we need to do marketing and your PPC Campaign is one channel. Getting online prospects to click on your ad is already a “buying” signal. But let’s call it here a “conversion” signal instead. Upon reaching your Landing Page, we don’t want them to leave right away or “bounce” off.
Treat your Landing Page as your last chance to close the sale. Compared to selling face-to-face with your customers, your interaction with them is very limited. In fact, you only have your Landing Page to expound on your message or offer and hopefully, convince your visitors. So you should aim to offer them not just well-designed Landing Page that is pleasing to the eyes but also a page which can be able to communicate your brand’s promise to deliver and fulfill their expectations. After all that has been said, always ask your visitors to take action (depending upon your goal) either by purchasing your products or services, filling out a form, or sign-up for a newsletter. Never miss out on the chance to convert them to become your customers.
Don’ts When Creating a Landing Page for PPC:
1. Don’t sell to everyone.
Avoid the temptation to try to squeeze in all your product offers in one Landing Page. If your market demographics are quite varied, it is advisable to have customized PPC campaigns and Landing Pages for each. Create a tailored PPC Campaign and Landing Page for each of your target markets.
2. Don’t direct visitors to your home page.
After your online prospects click on your ad, never take them to your home page. If you do, they’re more likely to leave or will never convert. They clicked on your ad because it got them curious or they found a solution to a need. But by taking them to your homepage, they may immediately lose interest because they were not brought directly to a page about your product or service offered in the ad. Most likely they will close the page right away. For those who might explore your site, there is a lower chance of converting them because of the long time that has already elapsed since clicking the ad which was the “buying” signal. This leads to a higher bounce rate, lower conversions, and an expensive and wasteful PPC Campaign.
3. Don’t be Gimmicky.
Today’s consumers are very discerning especially because they can access almost any content they need on the web. So it is a big turn off for your online prospects if your Landing Page has a “scammy” look. Create a Landing Page that is straightforward. Stating facts that are verifiable and including logos of your company’s accreditations, testimonials or reference can help reassure your online prospects that you are a legitimate business.
4. Don’t ask too much.
Don’t ask for too much information. Especially with today’s reality of identity theft, don’t ask for too much personal information if it’s not necessary. For example, if you’re offering a free ebook download or newsletter sign up, don’t ask for the Social Security Number (SSN). You will scare people away.
Second, asking a visitor to take action and not delivering your promise is also asking too much. In fact, this is a cardinal sin. Therefore, make sure you deliver your promise always. An unhappy customer will likely tell 10 people about his/her bad experience with your company. And because of social networking, bad reviews travel very fast. Your company will lose credibility and reputation.
5. Don’t forget to track and test.
Don’t forget to integrate your tracking code into your Landing Page so that you acquire valuable data to help you gain insights into your target market’s behavior. This way, you can improve your marketing efforts for better results.
In the same way, don’t be complacent even if you already have a well optimized Landing Page. Always test the various elements in your page to see if they can improve your conversion rate which is the ultimate goal of every website.
In conclusion, your Landing Page has a very crucial role for the success of your PPC marketing campaigns and even your business. It must convert website visitors into paying customers. Therefore, always include your Landing Page when planning your PPC marketing campaign to make it more effective and profitable in the long run.
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.