Optimizing Landing Pages

Optimizing Landing PagesRaising Affiliates’ and Merchants’ conversion rates,

working together, increasing sales, and dealing with Google's new AdWords Guidelines

Mark WidawerAuthor & Consultant

LandingPageCashMachine.com

Choots HumphriesCo-President

LinkConnector.com

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.

Landing Page Optimization

Continuing the Conversation

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.


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?


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.



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.


An Average Search

Searching “red shoes” at Google


“Red Shoes” at Victorias Secret

Not the home page.

But Not the “Red Shoe” page, either.


“Red Shoes” at Victorias Secret

Red Shoes DO exist at Victoria’s Secret.


“Red Shoes” at Zappos

Zappos “Red Shoes” page.

Campaign is run by a smart affiliate.


“Red Shoes” at Shoes.com

Search for “red shoes” lead to the home page, where the user has to redo the search.


“Red Shoes” at Kenneth Cole

There are no red shoes at Kenneth Cole


“Red Shoes” at Gucci

Style over Substance

No SearchNo Red ShoesAll Flash – no

deep linking


“Red Shoes” at Forzieri

At least they’re shoes.


“Red Shoes” at Forzieri

They DO have red shoes, but you have to search again to find them.


Build a List


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.


Build a List

What is a list?What can you do with a list?Sell to it . . . Again and again and again.


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.


Build a List

Offer ExamplesCouponsNew Style AnnouncementsOld Style Clearance Sales“Razors & Razor Blades” – Give for free

what someone else sells


Engage the Customer with Good Copy


Searching Red Shoes at Amazon


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.


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.


Working Together - Merchants

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


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

Need to Qualify Users Maximize Leads

Maximize Sales

Maximize Brand Exposure


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)


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 - Affiliates

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


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


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


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


Google’s Landing Page Quality Score

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

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

Google’s LP Quality Score Objective

Adding Value?



Same List

More ClicksRequired



Same List


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 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 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 Journalhttp://www.searchenginejournal.com/?p=3990

Revenews http://www.revenews.com/


Thank You

Choots Humphries

Co-PresidentLinkConnector.com

Booth 217

Mark Widawer

Author, Marketer, ConsultantLandingPageCashMachine.com

At the Bar

Business

Optimizing Landing Pages