Landing Pages

You spent hours putting together a thorough lead generation PPC campaign in Google Ads, and you think you’re ready to go live. But not so fast! How is your PPC landing page? A well-crafted landing page can help push traffic to become leads for your business. This is a fundamental aspect of converting qualified traffic from your PPC campaigns. If you get this wrong, you won’t be seeing many leads from your ads. Let’s discuss landing page best practices that drive more conversions aka LEADS for your business.  So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started! What is a Landing Page? A landing page is a standalone web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign. The goal is to create a guided experience that directs the visitor to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or requesting a consultation. A high-performing landing page will produce a 20-40% conversion rate. Landing Page Best Practices Now that you know what a landing page is, let’s dive into how to build high-converting landing pages. 1. Use Keywords on Your PPC Landing Page You’ll want to sprinkle your keywords throughout your landing page to increase relevance. You get rewarded for relevance within Google Ads with more affordable clicks, so be sure to include keywords with high volume.  Additionally, the traffic from your PPC ads get to see specifically what they searched for on your landing page, and it matches their intent who means more of a reason to take the next step to becoming a lead! When you put your keywords on your landing page, Google will know what the landing page is about, and the visitor will know they are on the right page. Pro tip: Put them in the H1 or Meta Description of your landing page or website builder. This also helps with relevancy. In the example below, the goal is to target people looking for a bankruptcy law firm in Indianapolis.  Notice that the keyword is front and center and incorporates persuasive and emotional phrases like “top-rated” and “looking for a fresh financial start?” Warning: If you awkwardly insert keywords just for the sake of trying to be relevant, this will likely do more harm than good. You still want to make sure that the headline is readable and engaging. Write for your audience and NOT just the search engine. 2. Keep Your Forms Short (for the most part) Forms are one of the most critical elements on a landing page, as they are the primary way for users to input their information to become a lead. See the example below of an orthodontist’s landing page used for PPC that requires First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Email, and How Can We Help You fields. It’s simple and attractive. There’s no need to ask for address or insurance information because the more info you ask (especially personal info), the less likely one will be inclined to take action. Long forms can be off-putting to users, as they may appear time-consuming or complicated, leading users to abandon the form altogether and resulting in a loss of potential customers or leads. You have to strike a balance between having enough fields to collect critical user information and keeping the form as short as possible. An Argument for Longer Forms:  While shorter forms are typically recommended, there’s an argument for longer forms, and this is recommended to increase the QUALITY of the leads. Some businesses may get inundated with leads and spend lots of time sorting through leads that are not as high of quality. A way to decrease the number of less qualified leads would be to add more qualifying form fields. Remember, as you add form fields, the number of leads will likely decrease, but the quality of the users who take the time to fill it out will likely increase. It’s up to you to find that happy medium! 3. Keep External Links to a Minimum (or better yet, don’t use them at all!) Do you have links to your Facebook, Instagram, or Yelp page on your landing page? You should reconsider those links if you do. Users who click on an external link are kept from your landing page and may not return. Many people make the mistake of including links to navigate to their main website or their social media pages. Links to other pages are holes in your landing pages for users to escape! You need to make sure the landing page has a solid foundation, and it’s typically recommended not to link anywhere else, or users will get distracted and not become a lead. This is why it’s essential to keep all the links on your landing page internal so that users can stay focused on converting. External links can also be distracting and take away from the call-to-action on your landing page. If there are too many links, it can be overwhelming for users, and they may need help knowing where to click.  Plus, you paid good money for that traffic to arrive there. The last thing you want is to drive that traffic somewhere else after they go to your landing page. 4. Create a Strong Call-to-Action Including call-to-action (CTA) buttons on your landing page cannot be overstated.  What do you want the user to do now that they have clicked on your ad? Good CTAs are clear and concise, with a strong verb that commands attention.  Some examples are: Schedule a consultation! Request a free estimate! Download your e-book! For many lead generation campaign landing pages, users are encouraged to either call or fill out a form, but it’s really dependent on your campaign goals. You want to keep it focused. Too many CTAs can confuse the user. The CTA button should also stand out on your landing page. In the example below, the turquoise color of the button stands out against the background. No matter your goal, including a CTA button on your landing page is essential