Clicks mean nothing without “landing pages” to convert
While considerable time and money is being spent on keyword search and banner ads, the value and impact of “landing pages” have gone almost unnoticed. If you are going to “pay to play” on the web, the most powerful way to increase both your awareness and sales is through optimization of “landing pages”. Most importantly, your results that count for landing pages can be rapidly tested and measured.
Landing pages are critical to consumer loyalty and sales
Consumers either use keyword search to find sources, or go to their favorite websites to start their search for products and information. Where they “land” after clicking is the “landing page”. Any page can become the “point of entry”, or the landing page for a website. The fundamental rules of marketing apply to landing pages: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. More importantly, if consumers can’t find what they are searching for … they leave!
An analogy for a poor landing page would be to dump you into a physical retail store blindfolded. If you weren’t dropped somewhere “close” to what you’re interested in, how long would you search to find what you wanted? What if you took the blindfold off, and the store signage was poor? What if there were no Associates available to direct you? How long would you stay in the store, and would you ever come back?
Effective landing pages are consumer centric
In the past, it was enough to get a postage stamp size product shot and features listed on a retail website. With today’s expanding virtual assortments on the web, there are literally hundreds of products listed on a single site. It is simply not enough to “pump” product content to e-tailers and let them post it in their product categories.
The costs of paid keyword search and banner ads are dramatically increasing. In this economy, retailers are searching for new ways to increase marketing funds, especially online. If you are paying for keyword or ads, the question is not the number of “click-throughs”, but where are your consumers landing once you’ve paid to get them to click?
Is it a landing page with a “mash up” of potential products mixed in with the retailer’s hot deals and promos? Or, do your consumers land on a page where they can quickly find and buy your product(s), with the option to go to a place to learn more?
Effective landing pages drive one of 5 key actions
To get a click through today means little or nothing. On the crowded e-tailing sites, building it and hoping “they will come” is both futile and very costly without results. To paraphrase Seth Godin, an effective landing page can only result in one of 5 key consumer actions:
- Get a consumer to buy
- Get a consumer to click (to go to another page, preferably on your site or someone else’s)
- Get a consumer to give permission for you to follow up (by email, phone, etc.). This includes registration of course.
- Get a consumer to tell a friend
- Get a consumer to learn something … and return or refer
If you are going to invest considerable time and money for click-throughs to visit a landing page on your site, or an e-tailer’s site, you will be most effective if you try to accomplish just one, no more than two of the above actions. When in doubt, focus on the “buy”, and give your consumers personalized reasons to buy beyond price and specs.
What will get retailers to change their landing pages?
Before casting any stones, make sure your own house is in order! The landing pages on many vendor sites are appalling, difficult, and accomplish none of the 5 key actions. Start by modeling best practices!
The real answer for retailer change is almost too obvious and simple: Test and measure! The web offers the ability for real time testing and tracking. Retailers are quick studies who understand ROI. The key is joint measures of more effective landing pages which: increase conversion rates, AOV (market basket), sales of items and the overall category.
There is no need for conversation or debate … landing pages that improved results, which count for both partners, can be quickly measured with ROI quantified.
Why wait … Do your own landing page research NOW!
The impact of landing pages is not theory. You do not have to wait for a research budget. You can go start right now from your laptop wherever you are … test where you land as a consumer on key websites.
Go to three of your well know consumer electronics retailers in your region, and do search on the keyword “laptops” within their site. For my case study, I searched on keyword “laptops” on the following retail sites:
On Target’s site, I was taken to a “mash up” of laptop furniture, laptop bags and accessories. The only laptop “computer” listed on the first Target landing page was a toy Barbie computer.
On Walmart’s site, I was taken to a laptop landing page with a number of category links. It was easy to navigate if you identified with Walmart’s categories. There were literally thousands of “hits” for “laptops”.
On Best Buy’s site, the top of the landing page is all about how to select the right laptop for you! Featured categories related to laptops were listed below the banner “learning option”, along with category and banner ads to appropriate laptops and accessory links
All retailers are NOT created equal … especially on the web!
Do your “homework” on your retail partners. They have different approaches on how they approach the web, categories and landing pages. How effective are they? What does the consumer see on the landing pages appropriate for your products and keywords? And most importantly, identify what you can negotiate for on landing pages that will drive measurable actions … and sales for both partners!
