So you’ve spent a small fortune on Google AdWords, Facebook ads, or other advertising online and your website statistics are up. But where are you sending visitors?
Equally important as the wording of your online ad is the webpage that the ad is linked to. This is known as a ‘landing page’ because it’s where people ‘land’ when they click on your ad.
Land them on a landing page
Your ‘clicker’ isn’t yet convinced that your product or service is worth buying, they’ve just shown curiosity, and you’ve paid for their web visit.
Land them into single-mindedness
Many people make the mistake of linking their ads to their website homepage. This is the wrong place to send them for the very reasons that make a homepage so good. Great homepages are digital honey-pots with lots of enticing options for diving into the website. They give far too many options – and distractions – for the person who clicks on a specific ad talking to their specific desire.
Each of your online ads should have a corresponding landing page with streamlined, clutter-free design outside of your normal website menu and layout. It should efficiently usher your web visitor towards an inevitable conclusion – whether that is to fill out a form, join your social media network, pick up the phone, or make an online purchase.
Features of a landing page
Landing pages differ according to what they are for. If you want people to submit details for an upcoming event or release, you’ll be looking to include a brightly-coloured contact form and an incentive for people to give you their details. If you are asking people to purchase an expensive course or product, you will need to provide much more information, with benefits up front and centre, testimonials with full names and pictures if possible, guarantees if relevant, and the opportunity to purchase peppered throughout the page.
All landing pages should start with benefits, include frequent, bold headlines, one-directional wording, address any common concerns or hesitations, and end with a compelling call to action.
From good to great
Don’t waste your money advertising one benefit and then selling something different. If your Google ad is about your full and varied yoga timetable, your corresponding landing page should be all about the benefits of your full and varied timetable – with an offer to purchase a monthly or annual class pass now and save X per cent.
Don’t risk the clicker getting confused, annoyed, forgetting why they clicked and ‘bouncing’ away. The premise that led your web visitor to click on your ad should be persuasively woven throughout your landing page – from opening headline to call to action. After all, you’ve paid for their web visit, so spend some effort on your landing page.
