Posted on August 11, 2021 by Webfor Landing pages are a crucial part of a successful Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign. But, what needs to be included? What can be left out? How do you know where on the page information should appear? Don’t fret — I’ve got you covered. Read on to learn some of the best practices for PPC landing pages. Scroll to the end for some real-life examples. Use Creative Design, Layout, & Images Above the fold If your user could only see your landing page above the fold, what information would you include? That’s what should be first on your landing page! You want the most important info at the top, front and center so your users can’t miss it. It’s also helpful to organize the important information in an F-pattern because that’s the most common way people read. Users often skim pages, meaning they read headlines and bullet points. Use bullets to highlight the important info and help it stand out. Keep it simple From the design of your page, to the number of distractions on your landing page, it’s imperative that you keep the design of your landing page as simple as possible while still conveying your message. Do not include your normal website navigation on your PPC landing page. This keeps users on your page, giving you control of their journey, and keeping them focused on the call to action. You can include some navigation if it utilizes anchor links to different sections of your page. Stay on brand While your landing page is serving a distinct purpose for your paid advertising, it’s important to maintain your branding. This means using the same colors, fonts, etc. on your landing page as you do on your main website. This also helps build trust with your customers if they come back to your website later after seeing your ad. Write Compelling Content Benefits, benefits, benefits! via GIPHY It’s imperative that users who click your ad immediately have a clear understanding of how they’ll benefit from your product or service. The headline on your landing page should clearly and concisely state that benefit. The better job your headline does of explaining the benefits, the better landing page experience your users will have. They will also be more likely to take action. Relevant, persuasive offer Giving users an offer they can’t resist, like a free demo of your product or service, can lead to better conversion rates. Crafting a message such as “Free demo — $150 value!” is likely to be more effective than something like “Free demo” for example. However, it’s all about testing to find what works best for your audience. Clear & compelling CTA The call-to-action (CTA) is one of many elements that lead users to convert, making it one of the most important aspects of your landing page. From a design perspective, the CTA button needs to be prominently displayed. The button should also be very clear about what action you want users to take — ”submit”, “download”, “schedule a free quote”, etc. are all clear and actionable CTAs. Build trust Users are more likely to give you their highly valuable information, such as their email address, when they trust you. One way to build trust on your landing page is to include case studies, testimonials, and social proof. A case study highlighting how your company improved business for a similar company shows the user you know what you’re doing and will provide them with value. Testimonials indicate your current and past customers/clients are happy with your services and recommend them. Finally, social proof reiterates that your customers/clients are happy with your products and services. Simple Forms for Higher Conversions Above the fold Place your form above the fold so it’s readily accessible for users. They shouldn’t have to search for how to get in touch with you or access your freebie. It’s imperative you make the conversion journey as clear and simple as possible. Keep it simple From the information you ask users to give you, to the process of filling out the form, you have to keep it simple. Only ask for what you absolutely need from the user — think: Name and email or phone number. You can always follow up with users to get additional information later. Make it clear which fields are required and make the submit button a contrasting color to stand out. Use a thank you page Redirect users to a thank you page on your website after submitting their information. This gives you an opportunity to hype up your products and services, thank the user for their time and information, and let them know what next steps will look like. For example, “you’ll receive an email shortly with your free download!” SEO-friendly While design and layout, content, and proper use of forms are important, the technical aspect of your landing page is imperative as well. NOTE: You should noindex your PPC landing pages because you want to send only your PPC traffic to these landing pages. This will keep the page from being indexed on search engines like Google. However, it’s still important to follow SEO best practices to ensure optimal performance. Unique URL Your landing page should have a unique URL not just so you ensure users go to the right landing page, but it’s an opportunity to include relevant keywords you hope to rank for and could help with PPC Quality Scores. The backend Your landing page should follow SEO best practices in order to obtain a good Quality Score and better landing page experience. This means utilizing an optimized title tag, meta title and description, and image file names. These areas should include your targeted keywords where it makes sense. NOTE: Avoid keyword stuffing. Utilize your keywords only where it makes sense. Speed, speed, speed! via GIPHY Your landing page needs to load in 2-5 seconds. The faster your page loads, the more likely a user is to let the page fully load and stay on the page. If your page takes longer than 5 seconds to load, users will leave your landing page and go to your competitor’s website. We don’t want that! Some ways to improve your page speed are: Utilize compression Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML Reduce redirects Remove render-blocking JavaScript Leverage browser caching Improve server response time Use a content distribution network Optimize images PPC Landing Page Examples Click the image thumbnail to view the full-size images. Not sure where to start? No sweat — Webfor is equipped with a team of PPC experts to manage and monitor your account. We collaborate with our brilliant content team to craft compelling messaging for both your landing pages and ad copy. Our experienced designers and developers lend their expertise to the PPC team to create appealing, functioning landing pages. And we always collaborate with you to ensure the messaging and style of your landing page aligns with your wishes while adhering to best practices. Ready to work together? Send us some preliminary information about your business and project, and we’ll give you 3 free hours of digital marketing strategy! Get started here.