Even the smallest PPC mistakes can result in wasted spend, poorly targeted traffic, and a negative ROI. Many times pay per click campaigns are optimized very well and they drive extremely targeted traffic but the business still experiences little to no return. Traffic is hitting the website but there are no conversions. You could have the highest quality traffic, but if your landing page is not set up properly it can result in a disastrous campaign. Here are five common landing page mistakes businesses make.
1. Not Optimizing With Quality Score in Mind
Many businesses that are new to PPC will create a beautiful landing page that is one large graphic, with little to no content. They assume that since they are using it for PPC advertising that content isn’t important. This is not true at all.
It is important to optimize the page title, the heading, and content based on the target keyword. You can even take this one step more and create a separate landing page for each keyword group, as this will allow you to create content that is highly focused around your keywords. The relevancy between your keywords, ad copy, and landing page content is what contributes to your quality score. The higher your quality score, the more your ads will be displayed and the lower your cost per click will be. There are so many benefits of high quality scores, so take the time to make sure your landing pages are fully optimized.
2. Visible Navigation Menu
When you send PPC traffic to your landing page you want to make sure that you have the best chance at converting that visitor into a lead. If your navigation menu is visible you are giving that visitor so many options along with your call-to-action. Instead of completing your lead form they might click on other areas of your website and start to browse around until they leave without turning into a lead.
Disabling the navigation menu from your landing pages gives them one single option when they land on your website. If your campaign is properly optimized your visitors are clicking on your ads because they have a genuine interest in what you are offering. If your ad copy, landing page content, and offer are all relevant you should be converting a high percentage of those visitors into leads. Don’t give them any other options except for the offer that you presented them in the ad they clicked on.
3. Multiple Calls-to-Action
As we just explained above, you want to eliminate your navigation menu from your landing pages because it gives your visitors options that can distract them from your call-to-action. It is also important that you have just one single CTA on your landing page. Some businesses will give the visitor the option of completing a form for a digital download product and then another option to fill out a contact form on the same targeted landing page.
Providing multiple options will actually lower your conversion rate. Focus on just one strong offer per landing page. When your visitor has only one option their options are simple. They will either complete the offer or leave your page. As soon as you introduce multiple CTAs you greatly reduce the chances of them completing one of them. Your PPC lead generation will be more successful when you focus on only one offer per landing page.
4. Lack of Offer Image
It is important that you include an image related to your offer. If you are offering your visitors a downloadable eBook then make sure you have an image of the cover, clearly showing them what they are receiving for submitting their information.
Many landing pages are text only and they will not convert as well. Consumers are visual, so make sure you have an enticing image of the offer. If the landing page is offering information about a specific product make sure that there is an image of the product right next to the form. The consumer searches a keyword, sees your ad because it is relevant to their search, clicks on the ad and it then taken to your landing page. If there is an image related to what they are looking for don’t you think that will increase the chances of them completing your offer?
5. Failing to Split Test
Paid search marketing requires constant split testing. It is not something that you can set up once and just let it run. If you do this, your metrics will never improve and can actually drop quickly. You need to constantly test different offers, layouts, and calls-to-action. Making the slightest changes will often lead to the greatest campaign performance improvements.
Many businesses opt to have a PPC management company handle their campaign, benefiting from the knowledge and experience as well as their ability to split test several different options, resulting in a high converting campaign.
These common landing page mistakes are very easy to fix and can drastically improve your PPC success and ROI. Take the time to make these changes and watch your conversion numbers rise.
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