Landing Page Development and Optimization

Landing Page

Development and Optimization

A Quick Start Guide for Avaya BusinessPartners

Visit Avaya Partner Marketing Central at https://pmc.avaya.com for more Quick Start Guides and additional resources.

PlanUse this guide to identify how to increase your brand’s visibility online.

ExecuteDeliver tailored messaging and increase engagement across specific target audiences.

+ +

https://pmc.avaya.com

Get Started GlossaryEngageAnalyzeConsiderIntroduction

2Landing Page Development and Optimization © 2009 Avaya - Proprietary, use pursuant to the terms of your signed agreement or Avaya policy.

Landing Page Development and Optimization

A Quick Start Guide for Avaya BusinessPartnersPeople spend hours online searching, searching again, clicking, reading, and absorbing content page by page. Their paths can lead anywhere but if they are searching for information on your company’s products and services, a landing page that also includes a way to initiate contact with you is (mutually) invaluable. Still, times change. So do technologies, tastes, market conditions, and competition—making optimization (revising the design, text, and/or code of a web page) of all online marketing crucial to ongoing success.

The goal of this Quick Start Guide is to provide best practice guidelines that will help your business maximize its return on investment from landing page development and optimization.

What can your business expect to gain?

The goal of all marketing is to attract interest, build demand, and generate sales. Online marketing in particular is still one of the most cost effective ways to interact with prospects and customers—far cheaper than traditional direct mail. Plus, it often has a larger impact on both immediate sales and the development of long-term relationships.

Even if you’re already deeply involved with search engine marketing (SEM), e-mail marketing, or banner advertisements online, there is one question you should ask. Where does it all end—literally? Where are you driving people who click through? And once they arrive, is the page they land on helpful and relevant to their needs?

Navigate the Quick Start Guide:


Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn

Search / Competitive Analysis

Review / Leverage

Create Variations

Search | Banners | E-mail | TrafficDemand

Headlines | Text | Images | OfferContent

User Data | Leads | Behavioral InformationResults

User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging

Measurement & Tracking



Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging



What is a landing page?

A landing page is a specially-designed web page that a customer sees after clicking through a search result, a direct link, or a web banner.

Unlike many Web site “home” or interior pages that customers may randomly access, landing pages are deliberately designed to coordinate with and reflect the search result, link, or web banner that drove the visitor to that page. Ideally, the page will contain messaging or relevant information that was promised in the referring text or graphic. You may also consider offering incentives to visitors who volunteer their name and e-mail or other information that will help you further qualify that lead.

In lead generation campaigns, landing pages can be customized to measure the effectiveness of different advertisements. Which marketing tactic drew the most response? The most qualified leads? The most sales? Answers to these questions can help with media planning and optimization.

Creating a landing page for pre-qualified customers who have arrived seeking more information about your product/service can encourage customer action, increase sales, and improve your ROI.



What is landing page optimization?

Landing page optimization is revising the design, text, and/or code of a web page to enhance a visitor’s experience and encourage continued action (instead of page abandonment). These revisions can take many forms:

Changing the page based on the visitor’s search history, geographic +region, or source information.

Displaying information based on unique URLs or offers (e.g. assigning +different URLs/offers to different sets of people through a mass mailing).

Changing the text of a page to more closely reflect the text in your paid +search (SEM) ads.

Swapping out images or photos, reordering lists, and other changes to +the visual composition of the page.

There are as many possibilities as there are variations in messaging and customers. To learn the most from your optimization efforts, you can test one version of a landing page against another with a few changes in information to determine which page drives more registrants and more sales.

How do landing pages and optimization work together?

Obviously, the first step is deciding to create one or more unique landing pages to support related online or offline marketing efforts, rather than driving everyone to a generic home page or unfocused product/service area of a Web site.

Once you’ve decided to create landing pages, you should look at all of your other marketing efforts to drive people online. Determine the best ways to unify the messages, offers, and other factors you believe will persuade people to visit and take action on your landing page. Then write, design, and code your landing page(s) accordingly.

From there, it’s a continuous process of designing all your marketing to drive customers to specific landing page(s) which, if you look at web analytics over time, will eventually reveal the most effective messages, offers or tactics based on your goals. Then the process’ begins again, revising landing pages and marketing materials to build on previous success.

Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging





Consider

Effective landing page development and optimization require a holistic approach to all of your marketing, not just online marketing efforts. The content and functionality of a landing page should be a useful and appealing summary of previously seen messages and offers that enable action. Over time, the cycle of landing page development, analysis, and further optimization can streamline your lead generation efforts and increase sales.

Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging




Consider driving customers to unique URLs—web +addresses that vary slightly to show a tailored message to a unique audience. For example, if you create a campaign to sell peanuts to elephants, you can create a page at:

www.peanuts4elephants.com/african for African elephants and

www.peanuts4elephants.com/asian for Asian elephants.

The landing pages for each would be similar in many ways but contain slight variations to make the audience feel recognized.

Consider building your landing page(s) mostly as +simple HTML rather than relying heavily on Flash or graphics to convey your message. Most importantly, be sure to keep a majority of text embedded in the code of the page (again, rather than appearing in graphics) to enable easy revisions for optimization and search engine friendliness.

More and more customers are using mobile technology, +such as the Blackberry or iPhone, to access the Internet. Your landing page(s) should be created or revised for mobile-friendly display. Consult with a professional developer or search the web for simple tips on adding “mirror” URLs or scripts that can help your page(s) display correctly on mobile devices.

Consider writing the text on your landing page to +support search results. If you have purchased specific search keywords (SEM) or if you know what terms your customers naturally search for when looking for products/services like yours (SEO), include those terms in the text of your landing page to increase the effectiveness of your marketing and potentially search engine result listings.

Consider offering different incentives for various +audiences based on variables such as location or job title. You can also vary the landing page by the action the visitor can take, such as submitting an e-mail address or setting up a meeting. Over time, the results of these test landing pages can reveal the most effective methods for “closing” the most profitable customers.

Consider the overall process for driving customers +to landing pages. Then consider your strategy for acting on leads, testing and analyzing performace, and adjusting your overall strategy based on results. Landing pages that never update are no more effective than generic web pages.

Consider existing technologies or platforms that can +automate your online marketing targeting, testing, and optimization efforts. There are companies that offer almost every level of service, from multivariate testing and landing page optimization to targeting web banners to people based on location or behavior. Here are some companies you can learn from or engage:

Google Website Optimizer

www.google.com/websiteoptimizer

Google Analytics

www.google.com/analytics

Yahoo! Search Marketing

searchmarketing.yahoo.com

Omniture

www.omniture.com

Marketbright

www.marketbright.com

Consider

Here are some ways to approach landing page development and optimization:

www.google.com/websiteoptimizer

www.google.com/analytics

searchmarketing.yahoo.com

www.omniture.com

www.marketbright.com



Determine whether you will be conducting simple •A/B testing or multivariate testing of landing pages.

A/B testing is simply testing two versions of a web -page by making both available for a set amount of time and measuring click-through or conversion rates to see which is more effective.

Multivariate testing is testing many variations within -the page (headlines, pictures, colors, etc.). This requires more tracking than A/B testing. However, there are many online vendors who can automate the process for you.

Coordinate discussions between marketing, •sales, and IT to determine what the most effective tests will be and how they will be implemented. Together, create the variations you want to test and make the necessary changes to the HTML of the landing page(s).

Look for an optimization service provider that •offers real-time reporting features that includes impressions, conversions, and other information that will help you achieve real, actionable results. Google Website Optimizer is a good example.

Be sure to analyze the performance of any e-mail •campaigns, paid search ads, and/or web banner placements as well to gain a holistic view of all online marketing efforts. A search engine result is going to drive very different traffic than a targeted e-mail, so take this into account as you process results.

Over time, and after significant traffic, use the •information you gather about your visitors’ behavior to decide which variations in your landing pages are most effective, which messages drive the most qualified leads, then continue to revise accordingly.

Above all, take the time to understand landing page optimization as a marketing medium. Always analyze your results and think about innovative strategies to get in front of new customers.

Analyze

As with any marketing campaign, it is critical to measure and analyze the results of your landing page and related marketing efforts. Maximize the effectiveness of your lead generation pipeline by thoroughly understanding what works and does not. Consider the following as you begin to analyze your landing pages:

Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging




EngageIf a landing page is the “payoff” of other marketing messages, then it has to work even harder to engage the customers who visit. After all, this is the page visitors were seeking and will be the starting point for a deeper dialogue.

Search for competitors’ products and services to see where you arrive •when you click through, what the page tells you about the specific product/service you’re looking for, and what actions you can take.

Review your own Web site for pages that can be used as a starting •point for optimization. Also look around to see if there is a tutorial, animation, or tool elsewhere that might be a good fit for your landing page (assuming it adds value to the target customer’s experience).

Make sure the variations you test are significantly different.•

Headlines: - Can speak to product/service benefits, unique attributes, or even act as emotional “triggers” that might move someone to purchase.

Images: - People tend to react more positively to pictures of other people than to pictures of products alone. Also, colors have a big influence on behavior. A page with just a product image and the color red will “feel” very different from a page with a person’s face and the color green.

Calls-To-Action: - What do you want the customer to do next? Submit an e-mail address? Complete a survey? Call for a face-to-face appointment? What you ask of people will affect their decision to move forward, so be sure you’re getting what you need without turning people off.

Form fields: - When possible pre-populate form fields with customer information to simplify the registration process. Research shows pre-populated forms generate more response.

As appropriate, repeat specific words, offers, and other cues that led •the visitor to your page. This is ultimately why you begin landing page development and optimization—to create a seamless transition from online or offline awareness through consideration/research phase and culminating in contact. Make sure there is no doubt in your site visitors’ minds that they’ve arrived at the right place.

Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging




Get StartedLanding page development and optimization should be part of a larger marketing strategy that integrates messages, offers, and other tactics online and offline. Still, you can get started today by following these basic steps:

Measure

ROI

SellEncourage

Inform

Create Deliver

Test / Learn


Review / Leverage

Create Variations




User Data

Variable Imagery

Variable Messaging


Decide the landing page(s) you want to test or create a new one. •Make sure you’ve gathered the appropriate information from marketing, IT, and any others typically involved in online marketing efforts before you begin.

Determine which other marketing assets (paid search, web banners, •e-mail) will be created to drive traffic to the landing page(s). Coordinate the strategy and creative execution across all to maximize traffic and learning from testing.

Determine all of the variations on the page(s) you will test and create •versions for testing—such as headlines, alternate text, or images. Then work with your online tool or internally to implement all of the needed code changes to activate the landing page(s) and analysis reporting.

Over time (and after significant traffic), use the information you gather about your visitors’ behavior to decide which variations in your landing pages matter the most, which messages drive the most qualified leads, and continue to revise accordingly.

With a little planning and the right technical partner(s), you can begin testing and optimizing landing pages soon to generate more qualified leads and streamline your pipeline for future success.



AAbove-The-Fold The part of a web page that is visible without scrolling. It is generally more desirable placement on a Web site because of its visibility. If you have a “join our mailing list” tag on your Web site, you should place it “above the fold” making it easy for visitors to opt-in.

Affirmative Consent Another word for permission. The recipient of your e-mail has been clearly and fully notified of the collection and use of his e-mail address and has consented prior to such collection and use. Affirmative consent is not only a best practice; it is required by all reputable e-mail marketing services.

Auto Responder A program or a script that automatically sends a response when someone sends a message to its address. The most common uses of auto responders are for subscribe and unsubscribe confirmations, welcome e-mails, and customer-support questions.

C

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 Federal anti-spam legislation passed in 2003 that requires the following in each e-mail: a legitimate header, a valid “From” address, a straightforward “Subject” line, an unsubscribe/opt-out link and/or instructions, and a physical address. It also requires that all unsubscribes are processed within ten days of receipt.

Campaign An e-mail marketing message or a series of messages designed to accomplish an overall goal.

Challenge Response An automated message triggered by the receipt of an e-mail for the purpose of identifying the sender as a trusted source. The challenge is a message to the sender of the e-mail with instructions on how to validate

themselves. If the sender provides a valid response, his e-mail address is added to the recipient’s list of trusted senders and his message is passed along to the recipient.

Click-Through Rate (CTR) The percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your e-mail.

Confirmed Opt-In A more stringent method of obtaining permission to send e-mail campaigns. Confirmed opt-in adds an additional step to the opt-in process. It requires the subscriber to respond to a confirmation e-mail, either by clicking on a confirmation link, or by replying to the e-mail to confirm their subscription. Only those subscribers who take this additional step are added to your list.

Conversion Rate The number or percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in a given e-mail marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your e-mail campaign’s success. You may measure conversion in sales, phone calls, appointments etc.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM) In e-mail marketing, CPM commonly refers to the cost per 1000 names on a given rental list. For example, a rental list priced at $250 CPM would mean that the list owner charges $.25 per e-mail address.

E

E-zine An E-zine is an electronic magazine e-mailed to a list of subscribers. Advertisers pay to have their ad (text, HTML, or both depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the e-mail. Buying ad space in an E-zine or e-mail newsletter, or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles allow advertisers to reach a targeted audience driving traffic to a Web site, store, or office, sign-ups to a newsletter or sales of a product or service.

E-mail Blocking E-mail blocking typically refers to blocking by ISPs. E-mails that are blocked are not processed through the ISP and are essentially prevented from reaching their addressed destination. ISPs actively block e-mail coming from suspected spammers.

E-mail Newsletter Ads or Sponsorships Buying ad space in an e-mail newsletter or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles. Advertisers pay to have their ad (text, HTML, or both depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the e-mail.

F

False Positive Legitimate permission-based e-mail that is erroneously blocked due to the limitations of current e-mail blocking and filtering techniques. False positives are an industry-wide problem. Currently, 17% of permission-based e-mail is erroneously blocked.

From Line or Sender Line The from line has two parts: part one is the “From Name.” Part two is the “From Address” - the electronic address including “@” such as, “[email protected].” Your recipients may see just the from name, just the from address, or both depending on the configuration of their e-mail client.

H

HTML E-mail An e-mail that is formatted using Hypertext Markup Language instead of plain text. HTML makes it possible to include unique fonts, graphics, and background colors. HTML makes an e-mail more interesting and when used properly can generate higher response rates than plain text.

Hard Bounce/Soft Bounce A hard bounce is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a permanent reason like a non-existent address. A soft

GlossaryE-mail Marketing Terms



bounce is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a temporary issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server.

House List (or Retention List) A permission-based list that you built yourself. Use it to market, cross sell and up-sell, and to establish a relationship with customers over time. Your house list is one of your most valuable assets because it is seven times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. Use every opportunity to add to it and use it.

L

Landing Page A web page that is linked to an e-mail for the purpose of providing additional information directly related to products or services promoted in the e-mail.

Links Text links, hyperlinks, graphics, or images that, when clicked or when pasted into a browser, send the prospect to another online location (e.g. a landing page or other pages of a Web site). Links in e-mails are a call-to-action. To be most effective in motivating action, links should be visible, clear, and compelling.

O

Open Rate The percentage of e-mails opened in any given e-mail marketing campaign, or the percentage opened of the total number of e-mails sent.

Opt-in (or Subscribe) To opt-in or subscribe to an e-mail list is to choose to receive e-mail communications by supplying your e-mail address to a particular company, Web site, or individual thereby giving them permission to e-mail you. The subscriber can often indicate areas of personal interest (e.g. mountain biking) and/or indicate what types of e-mails she wishes to receive from the sender (e.g. newsletters).

Opt-out (or Unsubscribe) To opt-out or unsubscribe from an e-mail list is to choose not to receive communications from the sender by requesting the removal of your e-mail address from their list.

P

Permission-Based E-mail E-mail sent to recipients who have opted-in or subscribed to receive e-mail communications from a particular company, Web site, or individual. Permission is an absolute prerequisite for legitimate and profitable e-mail marketing.

Phishing (pronounced “fishing”) Refers to e-mail scams whose purpose is identity theft. Identity thieves send fraudulent e-mail messages with return addresses, links, and branding that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, and some of the web’s most well known sites including eBay®, PayPal®, MSN®, Yahoo®, and AOL®. These messages are designed to “phish” for personal and financial information (e.g. passwords, usernames, social security numbers, credit card numbers, mother’s maiden name, etc.) from the recipient. For examples, see www.anti-phishing.org.

Preexisting Business Relationship The recipient of your e-mail has made a purchase, requested information, responded to a questionnaire or a survey, or had offline contact with you.

Important note: Federal law recognizes your right to send e-mail to people with whom you have a preexisting business relationship provided that you include a working unsubscribe link or instructions, however, be aware of the difference between your legal rights and best practices. Blasting off an e-mail campaign to all of your past customers will likely engender bad will and garner a high complaint, or abuse, rate. First, forget about the customers who are more than one year old if you haven’t e-mailed them before. To your remaining list, you may want to

send a permission letter that reminds customers of their relationship with you. Then, encourage them to unsubscribe if they do not want to receive your future mailings. Your permission letter reassures your customers that you care about their permission, minimizes complaints, and starts you off with a cleaner list.

Privacy Policy A clear description of a Web site or company’s policy on the use of information collected from and about Web site visitors and what they do, and do not do, with the data. Your privacy policy builds trust especially among those who opt-in to receive e-mail from you or those who register on your site. If subscribers, prospects, and customers know their information is safe with you, they will likely share more information with you making your relationship that much more valuable.

R

Rental List (or Acquisition List) A list of prospects or a targeted group of recipients who have opt-in to receive information about certain subjects. Using permission-based rental lists, marketers can send e-mail messages to audiences targeted by interest category, profession, demographic information, and more. Renting a list usually costs between $.10 and $.40 per name. Be sure your rental list is a certified permission-based, opt-in list. Permission-based lists are rented, not sold. Don’t be fooled by a list offer that sounds too good to be true. Save the $19.95 and buy yourself a George Foreman grill instead. Unlike the cheap list, the grill is worth the money.

S

Segmentation Dividing your e-mail list based on interest categories, purchasing behavior, demographics, and more for the purpose of targeting specific e-mail campaigns to the audience most likely to respond to your messaging or offer. Your list segmentation and targeting

http://www.anti-phishing.org/



efforts pay off in higher open and click-through rates.

Signature File (or sig file for short) A tagline or short block of text at the end of an e-mail message that identifies the sender and provides additional information such as company name and contact information. Your signature file is a marketing opportunity. Use it to convey a benefit and include a call-to-action with a link.

Single Opt-in (with a subscriber acknowledgement e-mail) The most widely accepted and routinely used method of obtaining e-mail addresses and permission. A single opt-in list is created by inviting visitors and customers to subscribe to your e-mail list. When you use a sign-up tag on your Web site, a message immediately goes out to the subscriber acknowledging the subscription (this is often accomplished using an auto-responder). This message should reiterate what the subscriber has signed up for, and provide an immediate way for the subscriber to edit her interests or opt-out.

Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) E-mail sent to someone who has not opt-in or given permission to the sender. Do you get spam? (a rhetorical question, to be sure) Find out how the sender obtained your e-mail address.

Spoofing The falsification of an e-mail header so that the e-mail appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Illegitimate marketers use spoofing to disguise their identity in an attempt to commit fraud and avoid prosecution for sending UCE or spam. Federal law prohibits spoofing, however until sender identity can be established, spammers will continue to escape the law.

Subject Line The short line of type in an e-mail that indicates what the message is about. Your subject line should be short (30 -

40 characters including spaces, or 5-8 words), and it should include a specific benefit that accurately reflects your offer in order to be effective. Federal law prohibits the use of misleading subject lines.

Suppression List (a.k.a. opt-out list) A list of e-mail addresses whose owners have asked to be removed from an e-mail list so that they no longer receive e-mail regarding an advertiser’s products or services. A reputable e-mail marketing service makes this process automatic, however if you use multiple e-mail products, or have multiple databases from which you send e-mails, you should use a suppression list to process all unsubscribe requests across all lists.

T

Targeting Selecting a target audience or group of individuals likely to be interested in a certain product, or service. Targeting is very important for an e-mail marketer because targeted and relevant e-mail campaigns yield a higher response and result in fewer unsubscribes.

U

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Your USP is the unique attribute(s) of your business that makes your company, product or service the best solution to a problem, the best way to fulfill a need or desire or the best way to achieve a goal. Your USP answers the prospect’s question: “Why should I do business with you instead of someone else?”

Universal Resource Locator (URL) A Web site, page or, any other document address or location on the Internet. URLs indicate the location of every file on every computer accessible through the Internet.

V

Viral Marketing A type of marketing that is carried out voluntarily by a company’s customers. It is often referred to as word-of-mouth advertising. E-mail has made this type of marketing very prevalent. Tools such as “send this page, article, or Web site to a friend” encourage people to refer or recommend your company product, service, or a specific offer to others.

Version 1 - 2/27/09

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Landing Page Development and Optimization