Why You Should Create a Dedicated Landing Page for Paid Advertising
Written by Viral Solutions
If you run paid ads for your business, it’s crucial to consider the destination (i.e., where the ad will direct people when they click). After all, the ad you create is just one piece of the puzzle. Even if it piques a prospect’s interest enough to click, they won’t actually convert if the page they land on doesn’t meet their expectations. That’s why it’s worth creating a dedicated landing page for paid advertising.
What Is a Dedicated Landing Page?
As the term suggests, a dedicated landing page is a page dedicated to serving a specific intent and audience. Unlike a regular landing page—technically any page someone may land on via search, social media, or another channel—a dedicated one is much more targeted. Generally, it’s designed to appeal to a particular group of people and convince them to take the desired action.
For example…
- Request a free consultation
- Get a free demo
- Sign up for a webinar
- Receive a free quote
- Download an ebook
Chances are you’ve seen this type of page before, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. You may have clicked on an ad and wound up on a simple, relevant, well-designed page. And if the team behind it did their jobs correctly, you took the action you were encouraged to take because the landing page content spoke to your needs.
The Benefits of Creating a Landing Page for Paid Ads
If you’ve never created a landing page for paid advertising before, you can trust it’s worth the effort. As mentioned previously, the ad itself is only part of the puzzle. The page you send people to plays an even greater role in your campaign’s success.
Here are some of the benefits that come with having a dedicated landing page in place…
It Can Provide a Better User Experience
One of the biggest advantages to directing ad viewers to a dedicated page is that you can deliver a better user experience. It ensures that people who come across your ad with a specific intent will be satisfied once they get there. That’s because such pages (done right) are highly focused and targeted, without all the distractions that exist on your home page. People get exactly what they want, which means less frustration and lower bounce rates.
It Can Increase Your Conversion Rate
No matter what the goal of your campaign may be, setting up a dedicated landing page for paid advertising can help you achieve it. You can convert more prospects into leads or—in some cases—directly into customers. It’s all about tailoring the ad’s destination to fit the intent, resonate with visitors, and clearly outline the step you want them to take.
Just by targeting and testing correctly, you can improve conversions by more than 300%.
(Instapage ran a test between their home page and a post-click landing page using Google Ads and found the latter had a conversion rate of nearly 3x!)
It Can Boost Your ROI
Paid advertising can be a highly effective tactic, but it can also get expensive. That’s why you want to set up your campaigns to perform their best. And by creating a dedicated landing page to go along with your carefully crafted ad, you can boost your ROI.
As mentioned above, setting up a landing page specifically for paid advertising can increase your chances of converting visitors into leads or customers. So, you can look forward to a good ROI in that sense. But it’s more than that.
When running paid campaigns via Google Ads, having a landing page in place that is…
- Relevant
- Well organized
- Useful
- Clear in its directions
…can improve your Quality Score. This is important because a higher score means a lower cost per click (CPC), the amount you pay for each click on your ad. As a result, you’ll actually invest less and get better results.
It Can Improve Sales Attribution
When you make a dedicated landing page for paid ads, it can improve your ability to attribute sales to a specific campaign. You can review the data to see how many visitors landed on the page and converted into customers.
Why is this important?
Knowing where your customers come from allows you to determine which channels are most effective. That way, you can put time, money, and effort into those that perform well. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring that you’re using your marketing dollars wisely.
7 Tips for Creating a Dedicated Landing Page for Paid Ads
Before you get to work on creating your first dedicated landing page for paid ads (or improving your existing page), it’s important to take the right approach. Otherwise, you may not get the results you’re looking for from your ad campaigns. Fortunately, we put together some practical tips to get you started.
- Align Your Page with Your Ad
Consistency is essential when it comes to paid ad campaigns, particularly PPC (pay per click). Your dedicated landing page should align with your ad and the keyword you’re bidding on. And all the pieces should be relevant to the intent. Delivering consistent messaging and a seamless transition from the ad to the page will yield better results.
- Speak Directly to Your Target Audience
The content on your landing page should be geared toward those you want to take the desired action. So, make sure to speak directly to them! Use the research you’ve done on your target audience to help you do the following:
- Hit on the pain points they’re experiencing
- Bring in emotions they may be feeling
- Apply language they’re familiar with
The more the content resonates with your target audience, the more likely they’ll be to convert.
- Ensure the Page Loads Quickly
Research has shown that the first five seconds of page-load time have the greatest impact on conversions. If your landing page doesn’t load quickly, you can bet that visitors will bounce. That’s why you need to test the page load speed and make any necessary adjustments.
- Limit the Options on the Page
If you include too many options on a page, you can distract and confuse visitors. So, it’s important that you keep your page firmly focused on the action you want them to take. Avoid adding links or buttons to other pages that lead prospects further away from the goal.
- Add Eye-Catching Visuals
Making your dedicated landing page for paid ads visually appealing is strongly recommended. Adding visual elements can take the user experience to the next level and keep visitors engaged. And as a result, they’ll be more inclined to take the next step.
Consider adding one or more of the following visuals:
- Header image
- Video
- Animated infographic
- Icons
That said, try not to make the page look too busy. Additionally, make sure that every visual is relevant to the page intent and fits your brand.
- Keep Forms Short
If you’ll be including an opt-in form on your page to collect information and turn visitors into leads, keep it short. Although it’s tempting to include as many fields as possible, doing so will result in fewer people filling it out. So, aim for 3-5 form fields at the most.
- Make the Page Mobile-Friendly
Neglecting to make your landing page mobile-friendly is a major oversight. According to research, greater than half of all web traffic worldwide is done through mobile. Further, more than 50% of ad clicks occur on mobile. Optimizing your page for different devices is critical to ensuring you deliver a positive experience for all visitors who end up there.
Takeaway
Many business owners don’t see the problem with just sending users to the home page or a service page when running paid ads. But in reality, failing to set up a dedicated landing page for paid advertising is a huge missed opportunity. You can get more from your paid ad spend and enjoy higher conversions by creating a relevant, quality page that encourages visitors to take the desired action.
If you need help with your paid ad campaigns or any other aspect of your marketing, request a free consultation with Viral Solutions today.
Viral Solutions
Viral Solutions is a full-service marketing agency committed to helping every client meet their company’s goals and objectives. The agency takes a strategy-first approach to deliver long-term results, executing each customized strategy effectively while ultimately growing the client’s business.