Optimizing Landing Pages
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The document discusses strategies for optimizing landing pages to improve conversion rates for merchants and affiliates, highlighting the importance of targeted landing pages that align with user search queries. It emphasizes collaboration between merchants and affiliates, effective communication, and understanding user expectations to enhance sales and customer engagement. Additionally, it addresses the impact of Google's landing page quality score on advertising, urging advertisers to focus on the quality and relevance of their landing pages to meet quality standards.
Optimizing Landing Pages
- 1. Optimizing Landing Pages Raising Affiliates’ and Merchants’ conversion rates, working together, increasing sales, and dealing with Google's new AdWords Guidelines Mark Widawer Author & Consultant LandingPageCashMachine.com Choots Humphries Co-President LinkConnector.com
- 2. Optimizing Landing Pages, and More Merchant & Affiliate Landing Page Sales Optimization Tips How Merchants and Affiliates can Work Better Together Google’s New Landing Page Quality Score: Why it exists, What it means, and How to live with it.
- 5. Continuing the Conversation Get to know your customer. Decide who he or she is, and what they are saying with their search. Then have the conversation with them. Landing Page Optimization
- 6. Continuing the Conversation – Exercise Tell me about the person who searches for this term: Search Term: “Digital Camera” Search Term: “Canon A640” Search Term: “Canon A640 price” What is this person searching for: Search Term: “Red Shoes” A movie? A TV Show? A man’s shoe? A woman’s shoe? Landing Page Optimization
- 7. Targeted Landing Pages Landing Page Optimization
- 8. Targeted Landing Pages Never take someone to the home page unless it has exactly what the searcher is looking for. If someone searches for “sofas”, take them to a page about “sofas”, not your furniture home page. This logic is NOT as common as you’d expect, and $$$ are wasted as a result. Landing Page Optimization
- 9. Targeted Landing Pages Not all merchants allow deep linking to custom searches Merchant sites are often built to fit the merchant’s view of the data, not the customer’s. Landing Page Optimization
- 10. An Average Search Searching “red shoes” at Google Landing Page Optimization
- 11. “ Red Shoes” at Victorias Secret Not the home page. But Not the “Red Shoe” page, either. Landing Page Optimization
- 12. “ Red Shoes” at Victorias Secret Red Shoes DO exist at Victoria’s Secret. Landing Page Optimization
- 13. “ Red Shoes” at Zappos Zappos “Red Shoes” page. Campaign is run by a smart affiliate. Landing Page Optimization
- 14. “ Red Shoes” at Shoes.com Search for “red shoes” lead to the home page, where the user has to redo the search. Landing Page Optimization
- 15. “Red Shoes” at Kenneth Cole There are no red shoes at Kenneth Cole Landing Page Optimization
- 16. “Red Shoes” at Gucci Style over Substance No Search No Red Shoes All Flash – no deep linking Landing Page Optimization
- 17. “ Red Shoes” at Forzieri At least they’re shoes. Landing Page Optimization
- 18. “ Red Shoes” at Forzieri They DO have red shoes, but you have to search again to find them. Landing Page Optimization
- 19. Build a List Landing Page Optimization
- 20. Build a list In searching at all of the 12 sample “Red Shoe” websites. . . Not one even knew I was there. Not one made the effort to cause THEM to benefit from my visit. Not one made an effort to let ME benefit from my visit. Landing Page Optimization
- 21. Build a List What is a list? What can you do with a list? Sell to it . . . Again and again and again. Landing Page Optimization
- 22. Build a List How do you build a list? Offer something to be used ahead of your product. Offer something to be used in conjunction with your problem your product solves (whether or not they use your product). Offer something to be used after your product. Landing Page Optimization
- 23. Build a List Offer Examples Coupons New Style Announcements Old Style Clearance Sales “Razors & Razor Blades” – Give for free what someone else sells Landing Page Optimization
- 24. Engage the Customer with Good Copy
- 25. Engage the Customer with Good Copy Searching Red Shoes at Amazon
- 26. Engage the Customer with Good Copy Listing shoe sizes isn’t very compelling There has just GOT to be something more interesting to say to the woman interested in these shoes. Good Copy Sells! Stories sell better. Landing Page Optimization
- 27. Other Optimization Tips Reduce Distracting Elements Unnecessary animation Plug your Leaks Remove Links that lead off your website or sales page. Add Graphical Credibility Use logos from organizations, credit cards, flags Give Comfort Make your customer service and satisfaction pages obvious and easy to use. Landing Page Optimization
- 28. Working Together - Merchants
- 29. Know Your Affiliates Communicate with Affiliates Frequent Contact Make Suggestions and Empower Ask for Input Measure and Reward Success Find Top Performing Affiliates Increase Rewards When Applicable Eliminate Underperforming Affiliates Don’t limit search to suspected fraud Working Together - Merchants
- 30. Design a Good Campaign Determine AM Goals Maximize sales volume? Build Lists? Brand Exposure? Customer Acquisition? Reward Affiliates Based on Those Same Goals Avoid rewards which conflict with goals Pay attention to all aspects of the campaign Working Together - Merchants Need to Qualify Users Maximize Leads Maximize Sales Maximize Brand Exposure
- 31. Simple Example Merchant’s site has a free 30-day trial for service. After trial, users can sign on for $20 per month. Merchant goal is to increase sales. Campaign 1: Pay Affiliates $1 per lead (free sign up) Campaign 2: Pay Affiliates $20 per sale (conversion from free trial) Affiliate A: 100 leads per month with a 2.5% conversion Affiliate B: 50 leads per month with a 10% conversion Campaign 1: Rewards Affiliate A ($100) more than Affiliate B ($50) Campaign 2: Rewards Affiliate B ($100) more than Affiliate A ($50) Working Together - Merchants
- 32. Expanded Example Merchant’s site has a free 30-day trial. After trial, users can sign on for $20 per month. A user that stays for at least 3 months, tends to become a long-term customer. Merchant goal is to increase long-term sales. Campaign 1: Pay Affiliates $20 per sale (conversion from free trial) Campaign 2: Pay Affiliates $10 per sale (conversion for first 3 months) Affiliate A: 5 sales per month with 20% attrition rate Affiliate B: 5 sales per month with 50% attrition rate Campaign 1: Rewards Affiliates equally ($100) Campaign 2: Rewards Affiliate A ($120) more than Affiliate B ($90) Working Together - Merchants
- 33. Working Together - Affiliates
- 34. Know Your Users Know the Source of Your Traffic How are users finding your site? What are expectations when users arrive? If Advertising… Continue the conversation Measure your user’s needs Create links and content of potential interest Measure traffic to these potential areas of interest Look for keyword concentration from your site’s search box Use surveys and newsletters Working Together - Affiliates
- 35. Find The Right Merchant Find products and services that meet your user’s needs Join new Merchant campaigns If a service doesn’t exist for strong user interest, talk to your Merchants about creating the service Work with the right Merchants Willing to communicate with its Affiliates Willing to discuss new ideas with Affiliates Willing to reward superior performance Good product or service reputation Strong website for closing qualified leads Working Together - Affiliates
- 36. Build a Complementary Site Create a site that allows a consumer to learn more about a Merchant’s products Find ways to add value to the Merchant’s sales process Build a site with SEO in mind Deliver a qualified lead to the Merchant Applies mostly to PPL and PPS type campaigns Produces greater conversion rates Working Together - Affiliates
- 37. Tracking and Optimization Track everything Know from where your traffic originates Measure conversion from the various sources Know how users navigate your site Know which pages convert better Optimize Test different versions of a page on your site Test various Merchant offers Measure and understand trending to properly react to variations in data Working Together - Affiliates
- 38. Google’s Landing Page Quality Score
- 39. Google’s Landing Page Quality Score Whose Customer is it? Google Altered AdWords Algorithm in 2006 3 Major Changes in 2006 April 2006, July 2006, November 2006 Designed to Increase User Experience Affects Advertiser Min Bids for Keywords Doesn’t Affect AdWords Ranking Algorithm Latest Change Affects Ads in AdSense Program Low Quality Ads May Not Be Listed
- 40. Why Introduce LP Quality Score? AdWords URL Policy Change Several Years Ago Only Allowed One Ad Per Display URL Forced Affiliates to Create Landing Pages Short Way-Points Designed to Send Users to Merchant Site Considered by Google to be Low Quality and Disruptive Google Trying to Increase Quality of AdWords Landing Pages Lower Quality Pages Require Higher Minimum Bid Trying to Motivate Advertisers to Increase Quality of Landing Pages Google Wants Affiliates to Add Value to End User Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 41. Google’s LP Quality Score Objective Adding Value? Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 42. Google’s LP Quality Score Objective Same List More Clicks Required Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 43. Google’s LP Quality Score Objective Same List Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 44. Industry Response… Monopolistic Power? Motive to Increase Profits, Not Quality? Why not have LP Quality Score Affect Ranking Instead of Min Bid? Reduction of Traffic Equally Motivating? Is Google’s Analytics Program to Blame? Free (?) Conversion Tracking Tool Provided by Google Provides Google Insight into Advertiser Margins Is Google Squeezing Advertiser Margins Where They Can? Doesn’t Google Have The Right To Set Advertising Prices? Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 45. Google’s Landing Page Recommendations Useful Information About Ad Product or Service Easily Found and Substantial Without Pop-ups, Pop-Unders, or other Obstructions Relevant to Keywords and Ad Text Distinguish Sponsored Links Don’t Require User Registration Provide Unique Content Keep Your Promise Honor Deals and Offers Promoted Be Real (identity) Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 46. Google’s Landing Page Quality Score Additional Resources Googleicious Report http://www.Googleicious.com Google Most recent Landing Page Quality Update post: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2006/11/landing-page-quality-update.html Landing Page and Site Quality Guidelines: http://adwords.google.com/select/siteguidelines.html Google’s Webmaster Guidelines: http://books.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html Search Engine Journal http://www.searchenginejournal.com/?p=3990 Revenews http://www.revenews.com/ Google’s LP Quality Initiative
- 47. Thank You Choots Humphries Co-President LinkConnector.com Booth 217 Mark Widawer Author, Marketer, Consultant LandingPageCashMachine.com At the Bar