Creating PPC Landing Pages That Convert

Does this scenario sound familiar?  

Your campaigns are set, ads are generating clicks and visitors are on your landing page. You finally believe you efforts are paying off! Then visitors browse the page for a few seconds and it doesn't convert. Worse, you are seeing this happen a few times per day and since you paid for that click, you are left wondering why or what needs changing.

First off relax and take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

Paid search, when not designed around the user, is expensive. If you have set up your campaigns accordingly they will be organized into tightly themed campaigns with groups. Your next step will be to focus on creating landing pages targeted to the specific offer stipulated in your campaign.

Tips for creating landing pages that will convert can include:

• Developing custom landing pages - Don't drive visitors to your home page, while it may be nice looking, home pages typically display too much information for our landing page purposes. Having targeted landing pages not only helps increase the chance of converting a visitor into a customer, it makes reporting easier, as less code will need to be placed on the site in order to track a conversion.

• Keeping content simple - Since most users scan through a website in a few seconds, you have little time to make a good first impression. Keep content simple and above the fold so the user will not have to scroll down or read through an excessive amount of copy. Devote time to creating content that is brief and gets to the point using bullet points and attractive headlines.

• Issuing a “Call to Action” – Get straight to the point making sure to mention the offer stated on your ads. Make sure your call to action is in bold and repeated throughout the page.

• Be trustworthy- Customers need to know your site is trustworthy, products are top notch, and that your services have generated results. To accomplish this include product reviews, client testimonials, SSL certificates and guarantee seals. Include contact information on your landing page in case your customer needs more information to make a decision and decides to call or email.

• Use the KISS principle with forms– Best practices dictate that it’s best to place your headline at the top of the page and sign up form on the right hand side. Make sure to put symbols next to required fields to explain how fields should be entered in the form (02/13/13 vs. 2/13/2013 for example). Try not to have too many required fields. Only collect information that is absolutely essential to completing the sale and converting the visitor.

• Keep quality score in mind: The higher your quality score, the less you will pay per click. Quality score is based on the ad performance history, ad relevance to the user keyword and the quality of the landing page. 

Remember to experiment, research and continue perfecting your pages until they are not only appealing but also applicable and enticing to the traffic and desired conversion rate you are looking for. Think of it all as the "science of fishing" where you are constantly trying new bait, different lures and changing location to reel in the "Big Fish" every time your hook hits the water.