Let's focus this post on assuming you're running a PPC Ad campaign. Before any Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign can begin, it’s really important to address what pages are going to work with your ads.
When someone clicks on an ad, it’s because the content of that ad has interested them and they want to know more (and maybe even find out how to call you to become a direct customer).
However, if someone clicks on an ad but that link takes them to an unrelated or generic page on your website such as your homepage, your prospect is likely to bounce and move on to a different company.
This is why it’s crucial to optimise your pages so that they are relevant to your ad.
Other factors that can lead to you losing customers includes your pages loading slowly, difficult navigation in the menu bar and other technical problems.
It’s really important to maximise your site conversions so that prospects will follow through from seeing your ad to becoming a valued customer.
There are lots of elements you need to incorporate to turn your landing pages into a success.
This includes using clear and compelling calls to action, using a simple design with white space to make your message clear and writing compelling and attention-grabbing headlines that people will read.
11 ways you can improve your website conversion rates:
- Use video and images strategically to retain attention.
- Make information easy to digest by using bullets, stand-out quotations and visuals.
- Don’t focus on design over user experience. A site may look beautiful, but if users feel it loads too slow or that the information is unclear, or taking actions is not straightforward (e.g. filling a form, finding a phone number, buying online) then the user experience is bad.
- De-clutter landing pages and keep it simple. Put the most important elements (headlines and sub-headlines, USPs and phone numbers) above the fold. Use high quality images to draw the eye, build trust and keep users interested.
- Keep navigation simple. Remember, every link is another distraction from your conversion goal. Think about how to simplify your navigation for conversion optimisation. Studies have proven that too many options actually reduces the number of visitors selecting any option at all.
- Page content around keyword intent, from headlines, to CTAs, to descriptions, text and images.
- Prioritise conversion actions on landing pages and create a hierarchy. (Phone Call > Form Fills > Downloads...). CTA's should be organised following conversion actions hierarchy.
- Keep CTAs specific to the page copy, rather than generic. They should use words to inspire action and create urgency and should be displayed in buttons that look like buttons and with text that is legible.
- Consider all devices. Elements of a page that might be perfectly reasonable on a desktop could be very challenging or frustrating on a mobile device. Also consider the user's mindset on desktop as well as mobile.
- Establish credibility and develop trust. (reviews, badges, etc.).
- Look at site speed. Use PageSpeed suggestions to make the website faster.
Infoserve is available for advice or a FREE PPC Ads audit. We will show you what you're doing wrong and how you can fix it. Alternatively if you start a new campaign with Infoserve, you'll get a voucher worth at least £150.