In previous articles, we have talked about the importance of having a PPC ad campaign and a strong local search program. Those articles discussed the importance of “getting found” by people in your local market that are searching for your services. Now let’s discuss the importance of the landing pages that users will be directed to after they click on your ppc ads. Optimizing your landing pages for conversions is one of the best ways to increase the performance of your PPC campaigns and maximize your ROI. High converting landing pages are also and essential part of any digital marketing or direct mail campaign.
1. Align the Goals of Your Ads and Your Landing Page
This should be a pretty obvious point, but you need to make sure that the messaging and the content of your landing page is consistent with the goals of your ad campaign.
When someone clicks on your ad, it should be a smooth transition from the ad to the landing page and it should be obvious to the user that they have landed in the correct place. Offer content should be re-stated and the imagery/graphics should be in line with what was used in the ad.
Also, the elements of the landing page should drive people toward the goal of the ad campaign. If you are offering a free trial, it should be clear how to sign up and receive the trial. The headlines and body text of the landing page should promote the benefits of the trial to the consumer.
2. Keep Contact Forms Simple and Mobile Friendly
If the goal of your landing page is to collect leads via customer form submissions, it is very important to keep your sign up forms clean and simple. Never ask for more info that you need. You want to make it as easy as possible for the site visitor to fill out the form completely.
Site visitors or more likely to fill out forms that do not feel intrusive, so only collect the basic info needed to receive the advertised offer.
Also make sure that your submission forms are mobile friendly. This will make it easier to get conversions from people that are “on the go”.
3. Create a compelling Call-to-Action (CTA)
If collecting leads via customer form submissions is the goal of your landing page, it would be short sighted to fall back on the standard “submit” as your form call to action. A strong call to action can be critically important to convincing a site visitor into converting. Consequently, a week CTA can lead to a high bounce rate.
The form language and CTA should be warm, friendly, and accessible. The CTA should also imply a connecting action such as “Lets Do it”, “Lets get started”, etc…
4. Use the Voice of Your Customer
When crafting the messaging of your landing page, remember to use the voice of the customer. Speaking to customers using their language is far more effective than using marketing buzz words and jargon, and will result in much higher conversion rates.
Your landing page headlines and support text should appeal to your customer’s wants and needs. Emphasize your service’s benefits to them. Show value.
Don’t get caught up in talking about how impressive your business is without pointing out how it directly benefits the customer.
5. Keep Important Information Above the Fold
When someone visits your landing page through clicking on an ad, the important information that directly attributes to accomplishing the landing page goals should be immediately visible to the user. All actionable items should be visible first.
These “above the fold” items include:
- Unique Selling Proposition (Including main benefit to customer
- Offer
- Contact Form
Keep elements that support the USP below the fold, such as; Testimonials, case studies, logos, additional service information.
6. Leverage Case Studies and Social Proof
One of the most powerful ways to earn trust is to showcase the good things that your customers have to say about you and your services. Client testimonials help establish credibility.
Testimonials work because they aren’t slick sales pitches. They come across in an unbiased voice. Think about integrating some of the social platforms that keep reviews fresh, such as Yelp and Google My Business,
