If you analyze the traffic to your landing page, you can compare click-through rates to conversion rates. In other words, how many people clicked on your ads and came to your landing page compared to how many people bought the item, signed up for the class, etc. This is your “conversion rate.” If you test a variety of elements on your campaign and your landing page, you should be able to hone both for better results. Some things you can test are: coupons, headings, “P.S.” messages, bonuses, discounts, and guarantees. If you change something out, and conversion rates go up, you know which wording or images work better, for example.
If your site visitor has clicked on an ad you’ve posted, then you have someone who is interested in your product or offer. You need to provide relevant, detailed information specific to your ad for your customer. If clicking on search results led them to your page, they need to immediately see what was promised and have a clear way to buy what you are selling. Your web designer should be able to design a page to which you link your advertisements. The landing page should reflect the offer from the ad. Remember, make it easy for your customers to find what they are looking for, and obviously simple how to buy from you.
Sometimes your home page is not specific enough. For example, if you are targeting a segment of your market and offering them something special, they will want to get to that exact page right away, and not have to make their way through your entire site looking for the deal you promised them in the ad.
Or you will want to offer different deals to different segments of your market. Your home page may not be the ideal place to do that, so you want specific customers going to specific landing pages. Your customers who are searching for what you offer – through Google or by clicking on ads – are using specific keywords. When they find what they are looking for, you want to provide the right info and allow them to buy from you.
A landing page (also sometimes called a “lead capture” page) is the page your visitors come to after clicking on your ad or search results. If you are running a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising campaign online, then the landing page is the customized page you are leading your prospects to. For example, you can offer a special item, discount, etc., and bring customers to that exact special offer directly. This way, they don’t have to wade through your entire site. It should be a quick way to lead interested customers to a deal and convert a sale.
The reason this page is so important is that your site visitor has expressed interest in your ad, so its your job to deliver to them more information, specific to what you advertised.
Observation can be a powerful thing. If you watched one of your customers interacting with your website, what would you see? Would you see a customer struggling to find what they want to buy, or having trouble checking out? Or would you see a delighted customer sending your site to their friends to “come check this out!”
When you develop a site, its important to see how your target market uses that site. You can’t be objective – its your business, which you know inside and out. Testing gives you the opportunity to see how real users, and real customers are going to move through your site and find out where they might get stuck.
If you run a shop, when your customers come in to purchase you have a chance to talk to them face-to-face. Its a one-on-one focus group. (”Did you find everything you needed, Sir?”) If you run your business completely online, you don’t have that type of opportunity, so you have to make more of an effort to find out what your customer needs from your business, and your website. Ask for feedback – if you find out there is a problem, you can address it. Your customers can be a good sounding board. Provide them the opportunity to communicate with you to make your business better.
Give value to your customers through helpful items you can post on your site. For example, do you sell a product? You can film a simple How-To video showing your customer how to set up the product, or how to use the product. If you check on YouTube, you will notice that some of the “How to set up …” videos (furniture, TVs, etc.) have hundreds of thousands of views.
Do you offer a service? You can offer a short video slideshow or animation tour of how the product works. Customers want to educate themselves, they want to feel empowered when they make a decision to purchase, and in using the tools that you provide, they can get better use out of your product or service and feel happier about their decision to do business with you.
Why would you include a Testimonials page in your website? People want to read what other, real clients’ experiences with your company were like. Are you more likely to buy a videocamera or eat a restaurant based on a friend’s raving review? Of course you are, its human nature. If you have satisfied (”thrilled” is even better!) clients, then ask them to write a few words on your behalf for you to use on your site. Third-party recommendations hold a lot of power.
Why should you name your clients on your website? Credibility. If you work with reputable companies as your clientele, your prospects will want to see whom you’ve done business with previously. Testimonials from those clients are even better than just listing their names. People who are deciding to do business with you want to know who has hired you already, so that they feel better about making the commitment themselves. You don’t need to give away private information about exactly what you did for each company, but mentioning their name or putting their logo on your site can help your business land new clients. Just make sure that you get permission from your client to add their name and/or logo to your Clients page.
When a visitor goes to your “About Us” page, what are they looking for? They want reassurance that you are a company they want to do business with. They want to see facts like: how long you’ve been in business, bios of the executive staff, customers that your business serves, and your company mission. But they also want to see a little behind the scenes, like who are the people involved in the company? What does this company stand for?
A well-done About Us page inspires confidence in your prospective customers and gives a sense of personality to the company. This page gives you a chance to tell your story to customers who are interested.
