A PPC landing page is a standalone webpage that is used for paid advertising campaigns on Google. It’s a page that is dedicated to where visitors land after clicking on an ad that appears when they make a relevant search query to your business. Effective landing pages for PPC campaigns typically contain just one business objective which is known as a call-to-action (CTA for short). Having a simple, but relevant call-to-action is what makes landing pages one of the most effective ways of increasing conversions from paid traffic. So, if you are new to the world of landing pages, and are thinking of advertising on Google, then keep on reading. We are going to share some insightful information that will be useful for you to get going.
What Do Effective PPC Landing Pages Include?
Before you begin designing a landing page and setting up your PPC advertising campaign(s), it’s crucial to understand what an effective landing page should include. This is typically broken down into 5 different elements:
- Compelling Imagery
- A Clear Call-to-Action
- Company Features and Benefits
- A Headline
- Testimonials and Social Proof
Establish Your Objectives
The first step to creating a quality PPC landing page is to establish your business objectives and online marketing goals. Once you have decided and refined what you are trying to accomplish with a PPC landing page, do some research into your competitors and what they are currently doing online. Take a look at their landing pages and look into some different templates to see how you can design your landing page better than theirs.
Consider Your Target Audience
When it comes to PPC landing pages, having a well-defined target audience is more important than it’s ever been. Targeting a specific audience doesn’t mean excluding a consumer base that doesn’t fit your criteria. Instead, it allows you to focus on your marketing message on a target audience that is far more likely to engage with your business and ultimately spend money with you. Defining your target audience is the hard part.
But, one of the most important elements of running a PPC campaign. Once you know exactly who you are targeting, it is much easier to establish what marketing messages and landing page design will resonate with them.
Ensure Your Ad Content Matches Your Landing Page
Like we have previously mentioned, PPC ads are an effective way of driving traffic to a landing page. However, if your ad coveys a different style of message to what can be found on your landing page, then your target audience will feel like they have arrived on the wrong page. This will more often than not result in them hitting the back button, which will reduce your conversions.
Split Test Your PPC Landing Page
Split testing different variations of your landing page design should be done for a myriad of different reasons. Using PPC to traffic to your landing page in which the objective of newsletter sign-ups can eventually lead to more conversions further down the line. But, on the flip side, getting visitors to buy your products straight away might be a better strategy. But how will you know what strategy will be the most effective? With split testing of course.
To split test your landing page, start by creating the first version. Then change one element, so you have 2 variations, and then set them live to essentially put them up against each other to see which one performs the best. Some split tests might reveal dramatic differences while others may produce less than impressive results. However, you’ll have the real data to help you make future decisions.
Allow Your Visitors to Share
Lastly (and this may seem a little bizarre) but, the strongest marketing messages will not actually come from you, they will come from those who buy your products or services from your landing page. Make it easier for your customers to share their experiences by including links to social media on your landing page. Customers who share their positive opinions of your business helps build trust like no other marketing strategy or tactic.
