Organic searches deliver very good returns for clients but may take months to really start delivering leads. Of course once the results come in, search engine optimisation “keeps on giving”. If you want to get instant traffic to your website (and by instant we mean within minutes of starting your campaign) then we recommend you use a pay per click campaign (PPC) with Google Adwords.

Adwords can get pretty expensive pretty quickly (costing you anything from 1 cent to $10 a click), so how do you ensure the best return for each click? In this article we look at the importance of landing pages to converting your PPC dollars into measurable sales or leads.

Pay Per Click operates as it suggests, requires you to pay for each click you receive. So how does this work? You bid on keywords that will deliver your advert to a high or low position (based on the value of the bid) on the right or top of the sponsored section of Google. Of course these keywords should be relevant to your industry and be specific. Depending how competitive your industry is will determine how much you are required to pay.

Every keyword campaign should have a targeted landing page. Why?

Firstly – it makes measurability easier. For example you can easily measure the Bounce Rate on your landing pages. The Bounce Rate is the number of visitors who arrive at your landing page, and … well … just leave. If you have a high bounce rate, say 60% it tells you your design and copy are not persuasive OR it tells you your advert copy is not authentic, because its not backed up when the visitor lands on the click thru page. If you promise the earth and deliver the moon, your visitors will bounce off to your competitors sites like rubber.

Secondly – and more importantly, you have the power to control the “customer experience”.

• Consistency: Your aim is to give a consistent and smooth experience for the customer, so that the text in the landing page, reflects the promises you made in the advert.
• Prominent calls to action: Your calls to action should reflect the offers you have made in your adverts. And your calls to action can
• Profiled message: Your copy can be “customer targeted”. If you sell CRM software, and are targeting professionals by placing adverts targeting keywords like “Accountants CRM” then your copy can specifically explain the benefits for those markets.
• Geo-profiling: Adwords allows you to place advertisement in specific local markets. If you are targeting Australian traffic with a particular campaign, then you can adjust your copy accordingly, by using local references, examples, and currency.

Finally - you can use split-testing and other systems to test the effectiveness of your copy, design, and usability – with real customers.

Postnote: The copy and structure of the landing page also pays a part in how much Google charges you for your adverts.  Here are Google’s basic requirements for landing pages https://adwords.google.com/select/siteguidelines.html