Put Your Landing Pages to the Test
At Pure Visibility, one of our core competencies is Pay Per Click advertising (PPC). While some may think that navigating the interfaces at Google is where paid search management begins and ends, we know it is only the tip of the iceberg. One of our core values, “Driven to Improve,” plays out constantly in our interactions with our paid search clients.
In the paid search arena, landing page testing is one area where Pure Visibility gains extra leads and conversions for clients. It’s exciting, and we can see the results of quality landing page design, immediately.
I have been managing a very exciting project at PV since I joined the company. One of the sub-projects in that engagement, which I have really enjoyed, is a true team effort. Some of the stakeholders and team members include client representatives and their third-party website designers.
It has been an exciting project from a team building point-of-view, as the client manages both agencies. We all work closely to make sure the results meet our expectations and the client wins.
Good landing page design takes into account what the potential customer is looking for, website usability, and a compelling sell or call-to-action. Before the PPC part of the business can do its magic, the landing page has to be designed.
We design the blueprints (or wireframes) for the web design firm to create. After the page is designed, copy is written, and everything is perfect and approved, the new landing page is moved to a production environment where Pure Visibility’s PPC Pirates (a.k.a. Analysts) can use and test it.
Google has tools that make A/B testing very simple to understand. Using Google Website Optimizer, Pure Visibility’s PPC analysts can set up a test which sends users to the existing, control version of a landing page (A), 50% of the time, and then to a test version (B), the other 50% of the time. If there is a statistically significant improvement in conversion rate between A and B, the interface will let us know and the test will be over.
At that point, we can roll out that winning landing page to a production environment and use it 100% of the time. Since the client has several brands, this landing page design can be scaled and we see gains across all brands. Excellent!
In our last landing page test, the new version of the page was so compelling that it showed a 37% improvement over the older page with a 99.9% level of confidence.
The next time you search the web for something and you soon find yourself on a company’s landing page, stop and think, “How can they do better?” I always do.
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