The landing page used in your PPC ads is an important factor in determining your Google quality score and can help boost your paid search conversions.

Want to boost your pay per click advertising conversions and maximize your Google AdWords spend? Where you direct your users after they click on your ad is a critical element to consider. In addition to your click through rate, the destination URL used in your ads is an important factor in determining your Google quality score.

While it may be tempting to use an existing site page for your paid search landing page, it could be detrimental to your campaign’s overall performance if that page is not relevant to your online advertising campaign, consequently costing you more in the long run!

Because you should always link your ads to the most relevant page on your site as it relates to your PPC ads, you may want to consider creating new landing pages just for your paid search traffic.

Here are 2 reasons why creating dedicated landing pages for your pay-per-click campaign is good for both users, search engines, and ultimately your conversion rate.

1. Relevant PPC Landing Pages Help Convert Searchers: When users click on your ad, they want to be taken to a web site page that matches your PPC ad message. If your PPC ad says one thing (for example, an offer for a specific promotion like Free Shipping for orders over $100), when users click on it, they need to see this reflected on the landing page. Otherwise they may feel confused and bounce – and you’ve spent money on a click that didn’t convert.
2. Optimized Landing Pages Help Google Promote Your Ads: Having a landing page that isn’t relevant to your PPC campaign not only confuses users – it also confuses Google. In addition to matching your landing page messaging to your PPC campaign, you should also optimize your landing page for relevant keywords that you are buying. For example, if you are targeting the phrase “Spanish guitar lessons Denver,” you need to use this in your landing page copy! Yes, this means that if you are buying multiple phrases, you may need to create several landing pages optimized for those keywords. But know that this is a long-term investment as Google rewards relevance by boosting Quality Score (which enhances ad positioning and helps you lower bids/costs).

Stop Wasting Clicks and Boost Your Conversion Rate. If you are already spending money on clicks, use your landing page to help them actually convert. An optimized PPC landing page helps increase the relevance for both the user (they are happy and more likely to convert) and Google (the search engine is happy and rewards you by boosting your quality score).

While it may be easier to direct your paid search traffic to an existing page (like your home page or contact form), you can get dinged by Google for directing users to a landing page that has not been optimized for your AdWords campaign. Not to mention you could be providing a poor user experience for the people who found your site through paid search – and missing out on those conversions.

For more paid search marketing tools and tips, follow me on Twitter @my_dog_ate_it

Categories: Paid Search

Tags: google AdWords, Google quality score, online advertising, paid search tips, paid search traffic, pay per click advertising, pay-per-click

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