Challenge: Visitors to your website are nice, but how do you turn them into buyers?
OK – so you now have your ad groups, key words and offers working well for you. You should see your click thru rate (CTR) increasing nicely. Are your prospects converting on your website? Can you get them to fill out a form and opt-in to communicating with your company? Can you get them to convert to a sale on your website? Here is where landing page optimization comes into play.
When your prospect clicks on an ad, where will you take them? Best practice dictates a landing page that encourages a sale or conversion, not your home page. In some cases this may involve a two step process to qualify and then convert, but most frequently you will want to ask them for the sale or the form registration on that first landing page. How to structure this page? There are several key elements to consider.
The first step to is your headline – or the large words listed on the landing page. These need to reinforce the value proposition from the keywords the prospect used and your ad text. Inclusion of the keyword in this headline is a best practice, but can only be implemented if your ad groups are tightly organized for relevancy (see the entry on account structure).
Next you want to consider a large image of the offer for this page. What will the prospect get if they register or buy from you on this page? Show them a large image of what they will receive – either the product, the whitepaper, the video demonstration, etc. This large image is effectively your advertisement to encourage them to register – with supporting text.
Certainly the landing page copy needs to be well written text giving a description of the asset or product and what the prospect will learn or receive from registering. I prefer brief text that supports both the ad that the prospect just clicked on and also supports the image on the page. This tight linkage should confirm that they have arrived at the right location to learn more or purchase the product. My bias from past campaigns has been for driving new leads for the sales team. It is important to note that you may have a sales process where you need more education before a registration or purchase. In this case you may need a landing pages focused on education versus lead generation.
Finally, you need to have a simple and clear form for the prospect to complete. Typically the landing page text will be on the left with the form on the right. This layout is common because people read web pages from top to botton and from left to right. Ideally we hope that they will first read the text on the left and then fill out the form on the right. Combining this with a clear call to action and a button draws the eye toward your objective and will help move more visitors from prospects to leads.
Here is a good example:
Lesson: Put yourself in your prospects shoes when reviewing your landing page? Does it sell the product or materials in a clear and compelling way? Would you fill out the form or complete the sale?
Special thanks to Lindsey Walsh for her assistance with this post. You can contact Lindsey at: contact@searchengineppc.com.
Practical Strategies for B2B Technology Companies 