Landing Page Optimization: How to Optimize Your Landing Pages for More Conversions

Landing page optimization for PPC is the process of creating well-designed pages for PPC visitors and optimizing each element on the page in order to maximize the percentage of visitors that complete your desired goal. The ultimate goal of PPC landing page optimization is to build pages that better engage your target audience so you can drive more leads through paid search.

In a nutshell, landing page optimization leads to more conversions, which raises the ROI of your PPC marketing campaigns. Engaging in landing page optimization has two primary benefits for your business:

• More PPC Leads: When your AdWords landing pages follow best practices, more of your clicks will lead to conversions. That’s what PPC is all about!
• Better Quality Scores: Targeted, well-designed landing pages achieve better Quality Scores, because they are more aligned with the searcher’s intent. This helps you because higher Quality Scores result in better rankings and lower ad spend.

It’s clear that landing page optimization is essential to Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Optimizing landing pages for relevance is a complicated process that can yield uncertain results. Requirements for an optimized PPC landing page include:

• A strong headline that is relevant to your PPC keyword and ad text and compels the visitor to stay with you.
• Clean, attractive design that looks trustworthy and professional and is consistent with your brand.
• Concise, convincing copy that communicates the value of what you’re offering.
• A user-friendly landing page form that doesn’t scare users away.
• An eye-catching, clickable button with a clear call to action.

If you drop the ball on any of these elements, you could end up paying for a lot of clicks that never turn into high-quality leads.

Unfortunately, optimizing your landing pages can be time-consuming and resource-hungry. To do the job right, you typically need a graphic designer, a developer, and other IT resources, plus a hosting environment. There are so many potential bottlenecks that many AdWords advertisers end up sending PPC traffic to their home page – a huge no-no for conversion rate optimization!

But with smart landing page software, you can build and optimize landing pages on your own, quickly and easily, without the help of your IT team. Here’s how.

New! Try WordStream’s FREE Landing Page Grader Tool. Discover how your current landing page is performing and learn how it can improve.

WordStream’s Landing Page Workflow: Build Better Optimized Landing Pages

The good news is WordStream takes the guesswork out of landing page generation. Landing Pages & Leads, a robust feature set within WordStream Advisor, includes a Landing Page Builder that guides you through the process of creating and optimizing landing pages for PPC. Best practices are built in, so you’ll know that your landing pages are optimized for PPC success.

Landing Pages & Leads is easy to use and gets the job done:

• It’s Complete: You can’t build landing pages in AdWords, forcing you to jump between different applications to complete the PPC puzzle. But WordStream Advisor is a start-to-finish PPC management solution, with all the tools you need to get started in PPC and then cross the conversion finish line. We also provide a ready-to-use hosting environment while still enabling you to publish to your own subdomain.
• It’s Simple: Landing Pages & Leads empowers you to create, edit and publish effective PPC landing pages, using a step-by-step wizard, without requiring the involvement of your IT team. It’s fast and easy.
• It’s PPC-Specific: Landing Pages & Leads is designed specifically for PPC. It bakes in best practices for PPC landing page layout and design, so every page you create is optimized for Quality Score and conversions.

Let’s now take a look at the steps involved to achieve better landing page optimization.

Get Graded: Is Your Landing Page an A or an F?

WordStream’s AdWords Landing Page Grader is a free tool that makes it easy to measure the performance your landing pages and shows where you can make improvements. The AdWords Landing Page Grader evaluates your landing pages on key criteria including:

• Lead Form Optimization
• Proper Header Tags
• Unique Landing Pages for Individual Campaigns
• Mobile Landing Page Optimization
• Inclusion of a Clickable Phone Number
• Conversion Rates

The AdWords Landing Page Performance Grader is packed with valuable info that will aid you in boosting conversion rates and ensuring that your landing pages are set for optimal performance. Best of all, the AdWords Landing Page Performance Grader is absolutely free! What have you got to lose? Try it today!