Before you start your PPC campaign, it is important to think about your buyer persona.
Let me first assume that you have at least a basic understanding of how to set up and run a targeted pay-per-click campaign. If that is not the case, it might be worth spending some time in the Search Engine Journal’s paid search 101 library.
Otherwise, let’s begin…
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is a separate web page from your main website that is designed for a single objective.
The remainder of your web application is likely to include features such as strong navigation, links to other content, resources, frequently asked questions, blog feeds, news and events, social media call-to-action buttons, etc.
A landing page is aimed at a singular goal, conversion of a user, and everything on the page supports that goal. There should be no distractions on the page that takes away from that goal.
Elements of a Landing Page
For a landing page to be effective, it must have the following features:
1. A Unique Selling Proposition
The main challenge in creating successful landing pages is to engage the visitor from the moment they click through to your page, until they decide to take action or leave. The success of your page will be determined by your unique selling proposition (USP).
A USP has four main elements:
- A headline
- A description
- A list of benefits
- A closing argument
The headline is the most important part of the text. It’s the first thing that the reader will see, so it will determine whether they read on or leave the page. The headline needs to be catchy, informative, and enticing enough to make the reader want to learn more.
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The next section is the list of benefits, also known as the reinforcement statement. This part lists every reason why the potential customer will enjoy the product or service. It highlights the key benefits of the item being promoted. A visitor who has gotten this far just wants to know what they’ll gain from following your call to action, so it’s important to keep it brief but also very persuasive.
The final point is the closing argument, which summarises everything the visitor has already seen. It briefly mentions the main benefit of the item on offer and recaps why they should follow your call to action. The best closing arguments are brief, clear, and emphatic.
2. Intriguing Copy
The most important thing on the internet is the content, and the quality of the text on a landing page can make it successful or not. internet users want something that is educational and entertaining. Businesses need text that can make potential customers into actual customers. The perfect balance is reached when the text can do all of these things at once.
A good landing page will keep the user engaged throughout the whole page. It should convince the user to take the desired action by stressing the benefits they will gain from doing so. Additionally, it should answer any questions the user may have and address any concerns.
If your landing page’s copy doesn’t work to bring in conversions, it can negatively affect the page’s ability to function.
3. Enticing Visuals
If you want to communicate something quickly, visual media is the way to go. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since a good landing page needs to be brief, visuals can be very helpful in getting a sale.
The terms “money shot” and “hero shot” in relation to online marketing refer to images or videos that grab the attention of prospective customers and persuade them to buy a product.
A successful landing page uses a minimal amount of text to describe the benefits and relies heavily on visuals to show the product being marketed. This is a effective way of grabbing the attention of potential customers and giving them a clear idea of what they will be getting in exchange for their money or information.
4. Perks
” A landing page’s most important task is answering the question, “Why?” Why should I buy your product and not that of your competitor? Why should I provide my information? Why should I register for an account? Why should I visit your website?
What are the benefits to the customer for doing what the page asks?
A product page is one type of landing page. In order to create an effective product page, it is important to list the benefits of the product in a concise manner using bullet points. This makes the information easy to scan and quick to read, which will help to grab the reader’s attention.
It is important to be brief, but it is more important to create understanding. Each benefit on a landing page should have a brief description next to it so that visitors know what they are getting. Without detailed explanations, simply listing the benefits of a product or service is not enough to persuade visitors to take action.
5. Social proof
People today trust reviews and testimonials as much as they believe word of mouth. In the highly digitized business landscape, this is very important because it is difficult to convince someone to buy something online without social proof that other people have bought it and benefited from doing so.
A successful landing page must contain elements that new customers can use to gauge whether or not they can trust the brand. On the internet, it is not wise to spend money on anything without some guarantee that it is not fake.
The two types of social proof required in a landing page are:
- People who have subscribed to or purchased from a brand, and benefited from it, will not hesitate to wax poetic about how it has changed their lives. These testimonials are powerful influencers, especially when they come from an authoritative voice, such as an industry leader or a famous personality.
- Reviews are the bread and butter of online shopping. Not one customer is willing to spend a dime on a product or service that has yet to prove itself as legitimate. What is the quickest way to verify legitimacy? Seeking advice from others. Reviews are honest, which means everything to a prospective customer who wants an unbiased perspective of what your product or service can do for them.
If a landing page doesn’t have any social proof, people might think it’s a scam. Also, people are more likely to trust companies or brands that have a human element to them. Social proof gives businesses that human element.
6. Call to Action
The most important aspect of a landing page is the call to action. Without a specific conversion goal, a landing page is purposeless.
The call to action is any request made to the reader of a landing page. The purpose of the call to action depends on the goals of the business that created the landing page. Some common examples of calls to action include attending an event, submitting information, or purchasing a product.
The call to action should be easy to understand in order to convert visitors to leads or customers. It can appear in many forms, although some experts say it is more effective at the top of the page. Others believe that providing information first and then calling visitors to action is the better approach.
7. Responsive Design
When setting up your PPC campaign, you may want to consider optimizing your landing pages for mobile devices. Responsive pages automatically resize and rearrange content based on the browser or device being used. This eliminates the need for a separate mobile landing page if you’re targeting mobile users.
8. Quality Score
The more relevant your landing page is to your ad copy and target search term, the higher you will rank and the less you will spend per click. Quality score, a calculation Google uses to determine your relevance to the key phrase you’re bidding on, is impacted by how well your page copy, title, and URL coincide with your target key phrase and ad copy. Other ad platforms do a similar calculation.
This is another reason to properly segment landing pages by ad group.
9. A/B Testing
In order to properly optimize your landing page, you need to constantly test it. This includes testing things like the ad copy, specific offerings, pricing, media, form size, etc.
10. Clear and Descriptive Page Title
The page title “Simple Project Management” is self-explanatory, while the subtitle “Smart sheet is a project management and collaboration tool all in a simple spreadsheet” explains what the offering is in simple terms.
11. Prominent, Singular Conversion Point
The only action that can be taken on the page is to fill out the sign-up form or other call to action-but there should be only ONE action to take.
12. Media-Based “Hero” Pitch
It is important to have a video on your landing page because it can improve conversion by up to 80%. Also, people who view a web video are 64% more likely to purchase.
13. Value Proposition and Offer Details
The text is laid out in a way that makes it easy to scan and browse. The use of bullet points and icons helps make the information more engaging and easier to understand. For the type of user, who is interested in practical applications, tables, charts, and comparisons are also effective ways of presenting information.
14. Social Validation
Even if you don’t have a big brand name, you can use social validation to qualify your offering.
15. Trust Building
One way to build trust with potential customers is to show them other brands that are already using your product. This builds trust by association and social validation, and illustrating that many organizations already trust your product for their needs. Another way to build trust is to use a feature like Google sign-up in your conversion form.
Final Takeaway
These tips will help you create an effective PPC campaign that converts leads into customers. In the long term, make sure to maintain the same message across all platforms for consistency and from your advertising into your landing pages and calls to action. This will not only help increase conversion rates, but will also help increase retention rates and build trust with potential customers.