PPC Landing Page That Converts

Introduction to PPC Landing Pages

A PPC landing page is where all the action takes place.

If you are new to PPC landing pages and using them as an advertising vehicle you may not be familiar with the vernacular, a landing page is where your customers are redirected to when they click on your PPC ad. It gives them the details of the offer your ad pitches and hopefully is so well-crafted that customers feel encouraged to take the desired action.  I’ve written about high converting landing pages in the past so check it out.

The keyword in that last paragraph is well-crafted. How do you craft a landing page that entices your customers to take action – sign up to your email list, download your app, or buy your product?

That’s what we are going to discuss today. Five true and tested ppc landing page design strategies that are easy to implement and will enable your ad landing page to turn incoming visitors into converted sales.

Keep the PPC landing page design clean, concise, and consistent

Clean Landing Page Design

A design should never be cluttered, least of all a landing page design connected to ad money. Keep the distractions to a minimum (read: none). Only include information that is necessary for the customer to take the intended action. 

Concise Landing Page Copy Writing

The information needs to be to-the-point with no unnecessary fluff but also not too dry and cold. Keeping in line with your online brand identity, make the design and copy approachable, effective, and interesting.

Consistent PPC Landing Page and Ad Connection

It is of vital importance that you keep the design, as well as the overall feel, of the pay per click landing page consistent with the advertisement. There was something in the ad that enticed your customers, give them more of it on your landing page. You want your landing page to be filled with the same exciting copy, same aesthetics, same feel where and when possible

Make your PPC landing page mobile-friendly

More than half of all Internet traffic comes from mobile devices – 51. 65%. Google has already started mobile-first indexing of web pages, and penalizing sites that don’t optimize their pages for mobile viewing.

You can check your landing page for mobile-friendly design with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

It is therefore essential that you create a mobile-friendly landing page. It involves making the design (shapes, features, colors, and typeface, etc.) suitable for mobile-viewing. Using fonts that can be easily read on smaller screens, forms that are easier to fill without having to repeatedly poke the screen, and most importantly, placing links with adequate distance between them so people don’t click the wrong one by mistake.

If you find you are having trouble creating a mobile-friendly landing page please reach out to us and we can help.

Add a tracking code to your landing page

To make sure your landing page is performing up to the mark, you need to put it through vigorous testing. One of the ways to test its conversion capabilities is to embed a tracking code in it. The code will help you see how your customers are engaging with different areas of the landing page if they are feeling any hindrances, which areas are performing the best and which the worst. Having this hard data at your disposal will make your A/B designing and testing effective for conversions.  

There are numerous options out there for A/B testing if you are interested in learning more Copy Blogger has a great article about getting started with spilt testing.   Other great tools that aren’t as do it yourself include Google Website Optimizer (free), or Optimizely and Visual Website Optimizer are paid a/b testing options.  Another great tool for those using WordPress is MonsterInsights, which works with Google Analytics (free) to make your data easy and powerful.

At the very least you should have Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Website Optimizer installed along with social media pixels to track users.

Magnetic Call to Action

The design, size, wording, and placement of your Call to Action, CTA for short, is one of the most important parts of the landing page. Your CTA button is what you are asking your customer to do: join a mailing list, read more, download a file, create an account. It needs to be prominent, extremely specific, interesting, and (for the love of good advertising!) original.

Too many landing page CTAs ask you to ‘Submit’, ‘Join’, or ‘Click’- which for some reason make them sound so ominous. I mean all of the language at your disposal and you had to use ‘Submit’. Why?  Get creative with your Calls to Action and split test them as mentioned in number 3 above.

Make your CTA conversational, inject it with something of value to the consumer, and don’t be afraid to be humorous. Being relatable sells.

Catch Attention with a Video

Did you know that our attention spans are now reportedly even shorter than a goldfish’s? Yes, a ridiculous 8.25%. Don’t force these distracted people to read about your product – instead, show them through an exciting video!

According to the latest research, people like watching videos about a product more than they like reading about it. Content marketers are therefore turning towards video marketing as part of their regular content marketing strategy, especially for landing pages.

To make your landing page video convert for you, produce it in high-quality, use humor, animation, and emotion, and add authenticity to drive the engagement.  Wondering how you are going to produce that video?  I’ve used InVideo in the past and it works great.  It’s essentially a template based drag and drop video creation tool that literally anyone can use.  You can learn more about InVideo here.

Talk to us!

A PPC landing page design is a fluid being. It needs constant changes until it is perfected. These constant changes will require a ton of A/B testing to see which version of the page works best. And what works for one industry may not work for another – so be ready to test, adapt, and evolve.

If you need help getting your A/B testing running or just have a general question reach out to us.

High Converting Landing Page Design

Landing Page Design Introduction

A best practices landing page design can greatly increase conversions for your business’s lead generation campaigns. High converting landing pages are an extension of your online marketing campaigns and to maximize conversions, landing pages should be geared to the reason the person has clicked-through. Here are the four key elements of a successful landing page.

Above the Fold

Above the fold refers to the part of the page that a visitor will see when the “land” on the page from another source.  When traffic first land without scrolling that’s the above the fold area under discussion. This area will change depending on the device the individual is using, such as cellphone, iPad, desktop etc.

The average person spends only about 15 seconds on a landing page before leaving it.  This means you have just a few seconds to get your point across. Due to this fact clean and simple information is imperative above the fold.  Keep this in mind as you design or communicate with your designer.

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Typically, I recommend a clear Call to Action with a big ass button that says what you want the user to do along with a clear Value Proposition and quick subheading to give some detail. Here’s a great example from HubSpot.

The High Converting Call to Action (CTA)

Before you begin to draft the design of your landing page, determine what you want visitors to your site to do. Depending on your online marketing goals, you need to create expectations and a method for measuring results. Are you trying to increase newsletter subscribers? Do you want them to test-run your service with a free trial?

Speaking of methods for measuring results on your website this is imperative for you to get setup with NOW.  I’ve worked with far too many website redesigns that have no Analytics and no Tracking.  At a bare minimum you need Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and Google Search Console.  If you need or want help setting these up reach out to us.

Your actual call to action should be directly tied to your goals.

It may seem obvious, but some businesses forget to ask for what it is they want. If you want someone to download a program you offer, having a download button is necessary to a successful landing page. Keep it simple but let people know exactly what they are downloading, subscribing to, etc.

This discussion of goals being tied to design is very important.  It means that your business needs to be clear about where it’s going, how it wants to go there, who it is targeting and how to best do that BEFORE designing.  A discovery session or a call with a consultant can help clarify this so you aren’t constantly requesting website and design changes unnecessarily. A qualified landing page design agency can take your site to the next level and protect your asset.

A call to action by itself isn’t enough if people don’t know what they are getting from entering their information. You should usually only ask for the vitals; otherwise, too many fields may scare off potential conversions. Vitals might include only an email address or name at the top of your funnel.  However, to qualify leads and when quoting it is often better to add requests such as budget, phone # etc.  This can impact your conversion rate tremendously and save your sales force time and money.

Landing Page Design and Your Content

“Clear, concise and persuasive” should be your mantra for landing pages. Provide enough information so that people who have never heard of your company, or are unsure of what you offer, can get a handle on just how much your product will benefit them.  This is where the Value Proposition I mentioned in the opening fits in and really helps your landing page shine.

How long should the Value Proposition be? It depends. While a single sentence or two may work for some; it doesn’t work for all. You want to provide enough interesting information to warm up visitors and encourage them to continue in the direction you want, following the CTA. Always have at least one picture for eye-catching appeal. If possible, have a below the fold video.  I don’t recommend video or sliders on landing pages as they slow load times and just mess up the user experience.  However, a well done and professional video can work, but this isn’t something a DIY web design can pull off in my opinion.  You really need a custom designer working on this.

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However, if you just don’t see yourself as a web designer that’s ok too.  We can provide you with help and many of the website builders are great at helping a newbie design site. One popular builder is Beaver Builder and iThemes has designed a course just for those looking to build there own website with the builder.

Design that Works: Landing Page 101

Design is very important when it comes to landing pages. Too much noise in the way of images, wording and such in the design can feel overwhelming and unclear. However, a page without enough elements can bore visitors. Keep your landing pages consistent with the design of the email or PPC marketing campaigns that led the visitor there; this includes fonts and colors. Studies have shown that single, centered-column landing page is the most effective, but you can test out other layouts to match your marketing campaigns.

Keep in mind where the page fold occurs. Have your call to action clearly stated and above the line. Of course, you don’t want to lose people who scroll down so scattering your calls to action is beneficial as well.

Provide the essential information above the fold, and if you need a longer page, include additional information below the fold. Making sure your call to action is a flattering, color contrast to the rest of the page is a great way to draw attention to that section of the page.

Conclusion

Simple, well-designed landing pages can increase your conversions from marketing campaigns but remember that testing is the key.  I believe that businesses should be A/B Testing landing pages and the source of these landing pages regularly. Be consistent with the design that has led people to the page and make the call to action clear.

High converting landing pages are about extending marketing campaigns, and in order to have a successful conversion rate, these pages should provide just enough interesting and informational content to show the visitor just how this product/service can benefit them. Pay attention to your CTA, content, and design to improve your landing pages and boost conversions.

Dalton Web Design- An Affordable Example

Dalton Ga Web Design Complete for Blankenship PIC

We were approached by a small startup to provide them with an extremely affordable business web design in Dalton Georgia with a very quick turnaround. The client wanted a CMS (content management system” so they could self update and publish there own content via the site and blog. In other words there was no content or wording added by us.

The turnaround time and scope was 24 to 36 hours. The price point was under 600 dollars. This goes against some of the rules we wrote when discussing Custom Web Design, however for this instance this solution worked best.

Due to these constraints, which varies from our normal designs, we choose a simple yet attractive WordPress template that was cost effective and quick to edit with a WYSIWYG editor (“What you see is what you get”) like Beaver-builder or Elementor.

This format worked well because of it’s price point and the numerous free resources available to our client such as YouTube tutorials and the like.

Web Pages Requested for the Web Design

The client requested a home page that would showcase the services he offered along side an about page and a contact page.

Dalton Ga Web Design for Blankenship PIC

1- Home Page

The goal of the homepage was to first get the point of the site across concisely with a call to action above the websites fold. In other words we were seeking to create a landing page feel for the home page.

Per request social media icons were created along the top right menu bar and email/phone on the left above the clients logo.

The header for the page, also known as the H1, was chosen for On-Page SEO and optics. The client added the sub text under the H1.

The call to action although in attention getting red was weaker than we had hoped for with the type “contact us”, however this was again a client request. They felt get a quote was too strong.

The H2 “Identify and Reduce Costs” in the below the fold type attempts to provide context to what the client in fact does and hopefully solves a problem that potential clients and web traffic are considering.

The three prong division of the site provides an overview of the services this particular business offers.

2- About Page

This affordable web design was provided to the client within 18 hours of request and an approximate 1 hour conversation. The about page was entirly left for the client to optimize and fill in text sections per our video instructions.

3- Contact Page

With the contact page we setup a simple auto-responder using mailer lite and a forward to the owner of the business so that they would be aware of requests.

Aside from this the business worked within the builder to update text and images.

Request for Blog within the Web Design

We simply set up the post page and provided video tutorials of how to upload blogs to the site. In doing so we explained the importance of keywords On Page SEO.

Each post shows up and is highlighted, grey overtone, as you scroll down. These are merely “featured images” for the that the user uploads. Each post has a a comment section and a call to action for the reader to contact the business owners.

An Affordable Web Design is Possible

I’ve included this post of a lower budget Chattanooga Web Design by Green Thoughts Consulting to illustrate that an affordable web design is possible with a quick turnaround.

Obviously, this site could be improved, however it cost the client less than the yearly and monthly fee for a Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace site and was completed per there request in less than 24 hours.

Even with an affordable web design option like this we include a discount on our other services such as SEO, PPC, and Hosting.

5 Common Web Design Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Today we will be speaking out about web design mistakes entrepreneurs make.  We have seen a few over the years and once upon a time we were there too.

As an online business, it’s understood that website traffic is one of the biggest factors in your success. Making sure that search engines find you and push customers to your site is of utmost importance. The real question, however, is what happens when people land on your page?

Getting prospects to your site and converting them into customers are two different things. If people have made it your website, it’s your duty to keep them interested. A professional, well-designed website will build their trust in your brand and make them take action. Unfortunately, there are a lot of turn-offs that may be running rampant on your website right now, if you’re like most first-time site builders.

Here are the five most common web design mistakes entrepreneurs make that should be avoided and/or fixed:

1. Building a Flash website, a common web design mishap

Flash looks, well, flashy, but it’s not business-friendly. About 40 percent of users will be unable to view a Flash website because many hosts will disable Flash to decrease spam advertising. If a visitor can’t see your content, your site is essentially useless.

Wondering what a “Flash” website is?  See the quick video below to learn more and see if this is the type of design you are… or were interested in prior to this post.

Search engines likely won’t even drive people to your site based on your Flash content since the information embedded in Flash cannot be read. A recent article, however states otherwise.  The Search Engine Land article here disputes the aforementioned.

However, Flash is high-maintenance, and after all your hard work, you may not be able to even pull accurate website reporting on any of your Flash-driven pages or sites. All in all, Flash is not worth the time you’ll put into it.

There are of course exceptions to this rule, but generally a strong online presence for a business or entrepreneur should not have items that “move around”.  Things should load fast and get to the point you only have seconds before a visitor bounces an analytic term used to reference how long people stay on your site before leaving. All and all keep it simple.

Wondering what you should have in a website? Wondering if you need a custom design in 2019? You can read more here Why you need Custom Web Design in 2019 or If you want more direct help or a consultation schedule a discovery session with us here.

2. Having a weakly defined brand

Your website needs to convey a strong sense of your company’s brand. Good graphics and a harmonious design are visually appealing. Your logo should be right in the banner, and people should quickly be able to determine what you do and who you are. An emphasis on information, rather than sales pitches, lends credence to your brand.

What doesn’t have a positive impact on your brand? Fuzzy graphics, blurry fonts, and loud colors all hurt your image. Each of these items is an eyesore, and most prospects will view these details as the trademarks of a fly-by-night company. Invest time and effort in making your image match your expertise.

That being said it’s hard to boot strap your way to a well defined brand when you are just starting out in the world of business or growing your idea into being.  It’s for reason like this that we have affordable web designs and you can learn more there.  No matter what you do you need to create a strategy and an inexpensive set of tools to do what needs to be done to make the brand talk across all social media and presences on the web.

Tools like Canva are inexpensive and useful when starting out.  Other helpful links such as Fiverr and Upwork allow you to inexpensively hire contract worker to do work for you.  That being said be careful have you ever heard the term you get what you pay for?  I’ve had several clients that came to me to fix the work a contractor did online.

3.  Call-to-Action message and Common Web Design Mistakes

Calls-to-Action specifically communicate with your clients. These links direct people to take action (“Contact us,” “Post a comment,” or “Buy now!” are common examples). It eliminates any confusion on your visitors’ parts, and it also compels them to do something rather than passively read.  Calls to Action are essentially like a web designs road map that tells visitors what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.  Click here, Get a Free Copy Now.

Determine the cohesive message your calls-to-action will communicate. You should be targeting your audience so you’re pulling in the people who will most benefit from your services or products. Don’t ask visitors to do something that doesn’t help meet this end goal.

As an example here’s a call to action and you can take action on it 🙂

4. Hosting third-party ads on your site that have no relevance

Allowing third parties to borrow real estate on your site isn’t the mistake here – having ads from companies that may enhance your product, or meet an additional need for your customer, is great. It elevates your standing in your clients’ minds, as they begin to brand you by association.  It also provides a helpful asset to your visitors and clients as you provide them with the answer to there problems (especially the answers you don’t hold).

The mistake is bombarding your prospects with advertising that feels random. If it has nothing to do with their interests or business needs, they’re wondering why you would offer it to them. This lets them start questioning your motives, your expertise, and your financial standing as a company. Don’t start that line of thinking.

In brief advertisements are great on a site if and when the time is right, however for most small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs selling a product or service the ads have no place until you are really raking in the coin.  Focus on building your brand and your products before pushing others away to spend there hard earned money on another site.

5. Running a one-man show

As a a small business owner and/or entrepreneur, it’s your business to know your stuff. But just because you’re an expert on one thing doesn’t mean you can handle every aspect of your company solo. Having a website built by one person who’s dabbling in web design is easy, but it’s not efficient for maximizing your business prospects. You’ll want your site to be clean and accessible, even for your mobile visitors.

Check out our guide on the 3 Best Options for Afforadable Web Design.

I find many clients who have walked down the do it yourself path to save money.  It makes sense, but once your business grows up a bit it’s time for your web design to grow up as well.  Please don’t miss the next point. It is one of the biggest and most important web design mistakes entrepreneurs make.

You are best at doing what you do.  If you can make more money doing what you do you should do that.  If an expert can help you let them. End of story.

-Jeff@green thoughts consulting

You do you and let the other experts do them. I can almost guarantee you a higher and better satisfaction level along side a higher return on investment that way.

Wrapping it up

Conveying a strong business image and providing the right information to convert your prospects is essential to your company’s growth. You may be a rule breaker in your approach to the business world, but don’t break these five rules when building your site. Your bottom line, and your visitors, will thank you.

If you would like to learn more about why we do not recommend a Do It Yourself strategy read this post about the effect of DIY Web Design and Search Engine Optimization.