Best Practices for Search Engine Marketing

 

Landing Pages

Because certain campaigns will bring visitors to a specific landing page, the number of visitors, web forms and phone calls will be totally visible.  There will be little guesswork if the campaign is working, but how well it is working needs is the real question.  So let’s talk about working hard to maximize results.

Many Web professionals invest the majority of their time and budgets acquiring visitors through PPC advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing. However, the response that a visitor makes when he is on the website is so very important, and for good reason: It is the easiest way to improve response rates, generate conversions and meet key performance indicators like time-on-site and page views.

Landing Pages that are established correctly include limited paths for users; display images and trust elements prominently; and feature strong calls to action. These approaches have become best practices, but stop short of revealing essential principles to successful testing after the click.

The variable that changes most frequently on websites is the conversion tactic employed -- the approach used for converting a visitor into a buyer. Some enterprises put up a simple calls to action, while others used more elaborate techniques.

Getting started with landing page optimization campaigns or post-click marketing requires a close inspection of business objectives and a critical review of how to go about achieving them. The following is a basic guide for generating results today and in future campaigns.

Commit to Start Slow With A/B testing

A/B or bucket testing is a method wherein a control sample or baseline is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples. In other words, test the performance of a landing page already in use against a landing page with one subtle difference -- a new image, an add-to-cart button, calls to action, the positioning of sidebars, or even something as simple as background color. The advantage of A/B testing is in identifying the elements that produce the greatest improvements. A/B testing also allows you to learn from mistakes and to position landing pages for more rigorous multivariate testing.  A/B testing should begin after two weeks into the campaign.

Develop a Process and Stick With It

You need a process -- one where hypotheses are presented, elements are selected for testing, creative assets are developed, and finished pages are marketed, tested and analyzed. Breaking down a post-click marketing effort formalizes your steps and helps ensure thoroughness.

Start Testing, and Keep Testing

The most effective landing pages reinforce conversion intent; the answer to “What am I supposed to do here?” It is imperative to consider the mindset of the visitor and offer enough information to persuade them to convert. With an infinite makeup of visitor personas; however, and an endless list of elements that could be tested on landing pages you might not know what to test first. Remember that “first” will not be “last.” Get started, monitor your progress and continue testing.

Keep the above three principles in mind when starting a campaign with a single landing page and remove the barriers to post-click improvements.