• Have you put much thought into your landing page for your Google Ads? A landing page is a critical part of your quality score (QS) determined by Google.
• Landing pages can also increase your leads, conversions and give your users a positive customer experience.
• Learn 5 tactics to help you improve your landing pages and encourage your prospects to take action.

A 'landing page experience' refers to the functionality of your website page that your AdWords traffic is directed to, in terms of relevance and navigation.

Google aims to have relevant content for their customers, and this is why Google assess the landing page in the quality score (QS).

What is Quality Score?

As discussed in the previous article, QS is Google’s evaluation (a score out of 1-10) based on how well Google thinks your campaign is delivering a good user experience to its search users.

Google uses three factors in the QS: the click-through-rate, which is the number of people that click your advert, the keyword you are bidding on, and the landing page your customers view. 

There are a few aspects that this article will cover, which will not only increase the number of leads from AdWords, but will create a positive landing page experience for your audience.

This article will cover:

• How Google assess the page your clicks view and;
• Five methods to use to make a successful landing page experience. 

​How Does Google Assess Your Landing Page?

Google is unable to read images and only text on the page. In saying this, the keywords you are bidding on, should be a direct reflection of your offer, which should be used on the landing page.

Needless to say, images and videos are important in creating the experience and offer visual aids for the product and or service.

A good landing page experience can help relevance, that being landing on the product or service. For example, if you sell multiple items on an e-commerce store, rather than having customer’s land on the homepage and find it themselves, you should have them land on the product or service you are bidding on.

For more information, feel free to read ‘3 Ways Poor Landing Pages can let down your Google AdWords Campaign’. This should decrease the bounce rate and have time to reflect on the content of what you offer than having them search for the product or service in your website and being there at the right time

Google evaluates your landing page experience using these three categories:

1. Above Average and Average: This lets you know that your landing experience is good, and it will not affect your landing page experience.
2. Below Average: This lets you know that your landing page experience is not good, and will require changes to improve your QS and more importantly, your user experience.    

So, let’s say that your landing page experience is ‘below average’. What should you do? Firstly, before we tap into methods of creating a successful landing page, it is important to think about the user, and understand that businesses can be blinded by the amount of knowledge they have about their offer.

This in turn clouds their judgment about the end-user. In saying this, when developing a website, by have someone that has not used your site to evaluate it, this will help you to see if there are any unanswered questions when navigating the landing page, will help you in the long-term. 

How to Optimise a Landing Page for AdWords

Landing page experiences need to make the user take action, i.e. that is to contact you. There are many issues to consider before an effective landing page experience is created.

Here are some of the key ways to optimise your landing page for AdWords:

1. Put the phone number on the right-hand corner
2. Feature an enquiry form on each landing page for services
3. Use images and videos
4. Testimonials
5. Content management

1. Put the phone number on the right-hand corner

Research has found that our eyes are drawn to the top right-hand corner of the page. As a result, this is why placing your advert in a newspaper is more deer on the right-hand corner than other places of the page.

Well, this rule also applies to the landing page experience. By having the number on the right-hand corner, you can increase your calls.  

2. Feature an enquiry form on each landing page for services

If a conversion for you is defined as having someone fill in their contact details on the landing page, then by having an Enquiry Form on each page; will give the customer the opportunity to fill in their details at any point in time.

If at any time, a potential lead connects to the content of your page, and feels that your service can help their need, then this will give them the opportunity to contact you without change the page.    

3. Use images and videos

We have all heard the saying, “a picture paints a thousand words”, well, it is true. Images and video tours can help your audience see what they are reading about. By having the image relate to the content, you can evoke benefits and emotions to your customers.

Most people skim-read through text, images and videos help to aid the imagery and break down content, which inevitably keeps your customer engaged.   

4. Testimonials

We have all been to interviews and asked for references, testimonials work the same way. Testimonials from your clients should be placed on your website; this helps you build a profile, and works with building your brand identity, which will help your positioning, that being how your customers perceive you.       

5. Content management

Most businesses offer more than one service. For example, you are a make-up artist, and service weddings, formals and other occasions. In order to relate to each customer, a separate landing page for each service will allow for targeted imagery, videos and content. In turn, creating a rapport between the customer and the offer.

Content management is not only important for search engine optimisation (SEO), but for the end-user. As a result, landing pages are effective because you are able to decrease the amount of irrelevant information and concentrate on having your customer to act upon their need, that being to contact you.      

Going Forward

I hope this article has made you think about your end-user and the importance of having an effective landing page experience. Not only is having a good landing page is not only going to create an issue for advertising on AdWords, but it will also affect any customer that lands on your page.

With the increase of people searching online, it is important to understand how the landing page experience can reflect on customers’ decision on whether or not contact you, making it imperative for the success of your online presence.