Mar 18, 2009

What is a landing page?

It's amazing! People in the business of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google AdWords keep talking about "Landing Pages" and the importance thereof. And guess what? Just like every other industry that has it's own gobbledygook speak, we do too!

Many of the people that I speak with on a day to day basis are being bamboozled with speak that is foreign to them! I was asked yesterday (St Patrick's Day!) what a Landing page is and why it is important.

Here is a definition of a Landing Page for an AdWords campaign: A landing page is used in Google AdWords, or pay-per-click (PPC) marketing as the web page that appears when a searcher clicks on an advertisement. This landing page should reflect what you are saying to the searcher in the advert - for example, if you are advertising Twitter Services, then bring the searcher to a Landing Page that talks about Twitter Services - do not bring them to a page that offers them a whole range of Online Marketing Services! I would suggest that

You must make an effort to constantly test at least two (and possibly multiple) landing pages and optimize them to improve conversion. The goal of a landing page, therefore, is to provide content relevant to the searchers search phrase or to persuade the visitor to complete a transaction. So, why is this important? Google is interested in providing relevant results. Therefore, think like the searcher. if they are looking for Twitter Services, then the Advert should offer them Twitter services and the Landing Page should offer them Twitter Services!

Simply follow the thought process. It all makes common sense, really! Now, when Google Starts to look at the QUALITY of the advert and give you a Quality Score (a high quality score may well be reflected in a lower cost per click and an increase in Click Thru Rates), it looks at all of these three factors - Search Terms that you are bidding on; Content and Quality of the Advert; and Landing Page. So, get familiar with quality and focused Landing Pages!

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