If You Build a Poor Landing Page They Won’t Stay

Google Adwords is an excellent tool for driving traffic to your website. The challenge is can you keep them there?  During the first three seconds of arrival on a page a decision  is being made. Am I in the right place? Is the information I am seeking here? At this critical time, you must connect with the viewer and convince them to continue exploring your site. Miss the connection, and they hit the back button and are gone! Today, I want to talk about tips to improve the relevance of your landing page, and how to keep viewers away from the dreaded back button.

It’s called a  landing page for a very simple reason. When you do a Google search, and click on a result, you are taken to a specific page for that result, a/k/a the “landing page”. Two very important things are going on with your landing page. Up front, someone is making that split second decision  to stay or go. In the background, Google is ranking your landing page for relevance which is part of the formula used to determine your keyword quality score and eventually the cost to you to bid on a keyword. Let’s start with the person conducting a Google search.

The Little Pink Dress

Let’s say it’s almost Easter and you need to find a little pink dress for your daughter or granddaughter . You are very busy and need to find and order the dress on your lunch break. After searching Google, you receive a page full of search results. Clicking on the first result takes you to the About Me page of a small dress shop. The owner is telling you how important customer service is to them and how they value your business. Three seconds gone. No Pink Dress . Hit the back button.

Second result lands you on a dress shop home page. You find a picture of the shop and a map with directions to the store. Also on the page is navigation that could take you to the Little Pink Dress, but three seconds have gone by and you hit the back button and are gone!

Third result takes us to a landing page designed for Little Pink Dresses complete with pictures and pricing. This is what you are looking for. Pick the size, complete the order form and proceed to check out. Dress purchased, and you still have time for lunch!

All three shop owners are very good people. They all had the pink dress for sale. The difference was the last shop had a landing page tailored to your search and made it easy for you to make the purchase. That is the power of a good landing page.

Points to Consider

• Keywords – What words does your prospective customer use when they conduct a Google search? Make sure you have those words on the page answering the question “Am I in the right place”. As an example “We have pink Easter Dresses”  in the headline leaves no doubt in the prospect’s mind. They found the dress!

• Clarity – Now that you have their attention, provide the information they are looking for. Be careful not to overload them with buzzers and bells. Remember that the purpose of this page is to deliver information to the prospect, not showcase your design skills.

• Call to Action –  You provided the information, now give them the way to convert from prospect to customer. Do not make them search for the next step. Make sure the path to purchasing or downloading something is clear to see. A contact form or shopping cart with a checkout button should be in plain sight.

Next Post ” What Google is doing in the background.”

Please check back soon for Part Two on the importance of relevant keywords in your search ads and using those words on your landing page!