Did you know that small businesses waste 25% of their pay-per-click budgets? That means that of the average $1,200 a month spent on PPC, $300 is going down the drain.

Even sadder than that fact is the reason why.

It doesn’t come down to complexities or major problems. Rather, it comes down to simple managerial and strategic errors. Things that are easy to fix with the right tools, team, and considerations. 

One of the most important parts of PPC is the PPC landing page. This is the page that your visitors are getting led to. It must be trustworthy, significant, navigable. 

But many businesses struggle with achieving this. Is your business one of them? Are you finding that the money you spend on PPC isn’t bringing you the revenue you expected?

It’s time to optimize your landing page before you lose another cent. Here’s how.

1. Fulfill Your Promise

Your landing page needs to be consistent with the CTA that brought your user there. 

Imagine yourself in the same position as your viewer. How would you feel if you got duped into visiting a page that offered nothing of what it advertised? You need to stay consistent by delivering what you promise.

By nature, we humans are skeptical beings. This is good – but bad for those who are trying to “trick” people into something. And rightfully so.

This is an easy step to do, making it a great place to start your optimization. 

2. Make Your PPC Landing Page as Navigable as Possible

What does this mean? 

Your page needs a fast load time. It needs to be clear and concise. It needs to be navigable on desktop and mobile alike.

According to research, many people don’t even wait two seconds for a website’s content to load. That means if yours is taking three, they won’t even see it. Yes – two seconds.

We’re not much for patience, are we?

Having a slow page affects your search rankings (nothing to do with your users!), user experience, and sales or conversions.

There are ways to check your speed, though. So get your URL on a speed checker and see how your site compares with your competitors. 

3. Optimize Your Keywords, Content, and Headlines

Your landing page is more than its aesthetic and general message. Like blog content (and so much else), it’s imperative to optimize keywords and headlines, too.

Use catchy headers. Find high-ranking keywords. Don’t settle for weakness on this front just because you have a sleek look.

The higher your keywords rank, the better your ranking on Google – it’s an obvious equation. When it comes to keywords, drop the ones in favor of profitable ones.

4. Be Specific 

When it comes to your landing page, make sure it’s as specific as possible. What does this mean?

To put it simply, don’t allow users to land on a homepage.

This offers too much information, from “About Us” to products, services, FAQs, and more. The more content in your user’s face, the more overwhelming. Your message will get lost in the many available options.

Land on a blog post or product page. Whatever your intention, make it clear and specific. And speaking of specifics. . . 

5. Have a Clear Goal or Message in Mind

The best way to be specific about your landing page is to know what you want from your users!

What is your goal and/or message? What do you hope to achieve with your PPC? Think about it; hone it in; and then follow through with it.

If you’re confused, then so is your user. 

Of course, the bigger your ask, the bigger your landing page and vice-versa. There is no one-size-fits-all for this step. If you’re asking a lot, try and break it up into sections so as not to overwhelm.

6. Optimize for Mobile Use

We all know how smartphones are an integral part of our being. They follow us out of town, to bars and restaurants, to hotels and friends’ homes. That means you need to optimize for more than desktop users.

You need to account for load time as well as screen size. You don’t want to cut out potential customers because you didn’t think about mobile usage.

As well as your users, Google also checks out your mobile optimization. Google takes a look at your mobile activity and decides how to rank you. The more optimized you are, the more credibility you have to users and the Google gods.

7. KISS, or Keep It Simple, Stupid

As with everything else, don’t overwhelm. Keep it clean and calm. The more crammed your message, the easier it is to get lost in the disarray.

Don’t sell more than one thing on your PPC landing page. The more complication, the lower the conversion rating.

This means reducing navigation, too. The less clickable links, buttons, and redirection, the better for you and your users!

8. Utilize Clean Visuals

We love visuals.

Websites that use images such as infographics grow 12% more than those that don’t. They are also 40x more likely to get shared on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest.

Why do we love visuals so much? Because, well, science!

Half of your brain deals in visual processing. So when you use visuals, you’re helping that 50% register your message. 

And a whopping 65% of people are visual learners, so you’re catering to them, too. Your message is more likely to get remembered and shared when it’s visual. Science is awesome!

9. Use Your USP to Your Advantage

USP, or unique selling proposition, is important. Why?

Because it explains why your product, service, or message is important. Why it’s useful. Why it’s different (and better) than the competition. 

Hone in your USP and then use that to your advantage on your landing page!

10. Make That CTA Irresistible

And last but not least, the all-important Call-to-Action.

If a user has made it to your landing page, that means your CTA was acceptable. Make the CTA on your landing page just as amazing.

Have it apply to your style of product or service. If you’re a law firm, keep it professional. If you’re a silly putty distributor, keep it light and fun. 

You get the idea.

Whatever you choose to spend time on, make your CTA a top priority. Without it, you don’t have the clicks to garner a PPC ad. After all, the whole point of your landing page is for people to take some kind of action.

PPC, CTA, SEO, ROI, USP – Oh My! 

It’s all related – and all super important. These tips should bring out the best of your PPC landing page. 

And now that it’s optimized, let’s take it one step further.

Check out our blog post on how to combat click fraud!