Optimized PPC campaign landing pages can make or break your online marketing.

July 9, 2018 – By Aaron Hockel

Your PPC ads are half the sales effort, so what happens if visitors land on a disjointed, broken page? They bounce losing you money and sales potential.

You should place as much effort into the PPC campaign landing pages as you do tuning the ads and bidding. Some 72% of digital marketers are not satisfied with their conversion rates.

Here’s a question: Are you? If that’s a “no” then follow along. You’ll learn how to improve landing page strategy with best practices and ROI tips.

A Better Pay-Per-Click Campaign: How to Optimize PPC Campaign Landing Pages

There are many factors contributing to your landing page conversion rates:

• Split testing features
• Copywriting and structure
• Usability and personalization

Optimization begins by selecting a single element for testing. The selection prevents data corruption by removing external factors. An example includes trying too many headlines before knowing how the prior performance. Go into the following with this single-item mentality.

Optimization Tip #1: Continuity

Imagine an ad promoting a $19.99 service but it’s $29.99 on the landing page.

This is a break in continuity — and it causes an instant negative reaction. This gets people bouncing before they’re any further into the offer. To ensure continuity do the following:

• Repeat common features like the color selection and media types
• Verify the PPC ad reflects landing page copy and vice versa
• Keep the same tone and authority through the experience

Optimization Tip #2: Make It Fast

The faster the page loads the better as this lowers frustration and resulting site bounce. Set a baseline using Google’s site speed tool — then improve:

• Upgrade web hosting solutions
• Fix web code errors
• Optimize image file sizes
• Use site caching
• Minify HTML/CSS

People make a conclusion in approximately 2-seconds. Optimize site speed so those 2 seconds aren’t staring at a blank or half-way loaded page.

Optimization Tip #3: Remove the Clutter

Cluttered landing pages make it harder for visitors to find key information and contact your contracting business. When redesigning you landing pages, consider removing these items that quickly clutter pages:

• Website navigation
• Too many options (e.g. pricing tiers)
• Interlinks and/or anything pulling people off the page

Your efforts are to create an immediate impact to engage the user. This is accomplished with a strong headline and graphic. The two creates engagement pulling visitors further down the page toward its call-to-action. Clutter disrupts this flow.

Optimization Tip #4: Work the Emotional Angles

Envoke emotions to create a response vs applying logic. This taps psychology seen in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Use emotional trigger words and testimonials throughout the page. Adding trigger words creates an emotional response. Testimonials projects visitors into a similar lifestyle and/or situations.

The emotional engagement is statistically proven to increase sales.

Optimization Tip #5: Use Video

A video is easy to digest and leverages sounds and visuals to increase engagement. Consider swapping long-form copy for short, video-heavy pages.

1. Condense the page into a 2-3 minute pitch or 10 – 20-minute presentation
2. Include snappy graphics and cuts to keep viewers engaged
3. Add call-to-actions and call-outs pointing people to inbound forms

Test the text and video pages for performance. Use the one showing a higher conversion rate.

Landing Page Optimization for the Technically-Uninclined

PPC? CRO? CTR? A/B what? Marketing has its fair share of acronyms and jargon. But:

PPC campaign landing pages are as important for labor businesses as they are for high-tech companies. Great campaigns create positive sales. This is one thing all business can agree upon.

Want to explore your business’s potential with Pay-Per-Click? Give us a call or get in touch. Let’s work together to build an incredible digital marketing campaign!

Aaron Hockel

Aaron Hockel is a Partner and the VP of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) alumnus, Aaron expertly crafts digital marketing strategies that drive success for clients, leveraging his deep industry knowledge and innovative approach.