After clicking the ad, the page we send to customers, commonly referred to as a landing page, can significantly impact our advertising effectiveness and budget. In fact, this is the page that will determine whether you convert your new visitor into a sale or lead.
By following a few landing page best practices, we’ll see our ad bid prices drop, users spending more time on our site, and hopefully, more overall sales or leads generated. And, as if that wasn’t enough, you’ll lower your website bounce rate which will, in turn, increase your Google PageRank.
Why landing page optimization is important?
Landing page experience refers to the quality of a customer’s knowledge while they are on the website. The easier it is for customers to find their way to shopping, the more likely customers will complete their purchase.
Here’s how landing page optimizations can affect ad performance and overall budget:
Decreased Bounce Rate
The better tailored the landing page is to a specific audience, the less likely they will be to click away or bounce immediately. If we drive traffic to a general landing page instead of a more relevant one, we're going to pay more for clicks and receive fewer conversions.
Improved Ad Position
Google notices when people find the landing page more relevant than others. The longer people stay on the page or website after clicking the ad, the more likely the ad will show in a higher position and ultimately gain more traffic.
Improved Quality Score
Landing page relevance plays a large part in how Google Ads calculates quality scores. The more relevant the landing page is to the chosen keywords, the higher the quality score will be.
Increased Links & Authority
The more relevant and exciting content the landing page provides, the more probable it is that people will share it with others, increasing the web traffic without paying for clicks.
What are the best practices for landing page optimization?
Google is focused on providing the best possible and most relevant results for their search users, and you need to think like Google. Take a step back and consider your landing page from a user point of view.
Customers want a landing page that is:
Relevant
The web page they click on should be helpful to and applicable to what they're looking for. If not, they're more likely to leave the website for a more relevant one.
Trustworthy
If the landing page is poorly designed or lacks product or service explanations, this may signal to users that the brand or website may not be completely honest or credible.
Easy
A landing page should be simple – this includes the mobile experience on devices.
Reliable
The landing page must be consistent and accessible, no matter the platform. Issues such as a slow page load time can make people impatient, often causing them to click away prematurely.
How can you make your landing page more relevant?
Digital marketers agree on the following time-tested and proven methods of adding relevance to your landing pages:
Send traffic to the most relevant landing page based on the referrer.
Instead of sending users to a generic home page, we can direct them to a tailored landing page so that they don't have to click around to find the content they're looking for. For example, if the user is coming from a Google Ads campaign that targets productivity courses and apps, be sure they are sent to a landing page designed and written specifically for that. Never simply send primed and targeted traffic to your general homepage.
Keep all CTA (call-to-actions) consistent.
A call to action is what we'd like users to do. "Buy," "Act now," and "Sign up" are all extreme and simple calls to action. Use the exact wording on the landing page as we do in our ads.
Ensure that every element on the page supports the ultimate goal.
For example, if our goal is to sell black dresses on our website, then our landing page should not suggest that users view men's shoes or baby clothes. Stay focused on keeping users engaged and on the path to conversion. Keep them targeted and only put relevant content in front of them.
Use the same value proposition on the landing page.
This also ties into the trustworthiness of the website. If we're offering free delivery in our ad, our landing page should also highlight free delivery.
How do you make your landing page reliable?
Reliability is important in relationships, and life in general, but it’s also important when you’re directing paid traffic from Google Ads. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
The landing page must load as quickly as possible.
The page load time plays a significant role in ensuring a good user experience. If a page takes too long to load, users will often get frustrated and leave the page, indicating to Google that the page isn't the best option.
Are you providing a consistent experience?
Customers expect to find the same brand experience on all the landing pages, whether on a tablet, desktop, or mobile device. Ensure we're either using a mobile version of a mobile ad landing page or that the website has a responsive design, where the page will automatically adjust to the screen size. Remember, consistency and reliability go hand-in-hand.
Is your landing page consistent with your brand identity?
Users expect a seamless experience, and delivering a landing page that does not align with brand standards indicates an unreliable business.
Does your copy sound natural with a warm and encouraging tone?
The landing page is the equivalent of a face-to-face salesperson. Customers should feel welcomed and encouraged to buy the products.
Final Thoughts
Any page on the website can be used as a landing page. While the ad campaign landing pages should be the focus of the optimizations, we should aim to optimize the core web pages for a better user experience. Consistently check and minimize the bounce rate, improve the quality score, and increase conversions.
