Demons Lounge » Wordpress

Landing Page Design (Best Practice)

Sam Sinton — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:33:29 +0000

This article describes landing page design & best practice. Every landing page should be a comprehensive website in its own right.

Long gone are the days of throwing together a single page website to test a Google Adwords campaign and affiliate offer. Google dominates ‘search’ and nowhere more so than in the USA & UK, so to be successful in affiliate marketing you need to keep the Google gods happy and create a website that ticks all the boxes.

I’ll admit that i have been a lazy affiliate, so it probably took me longer than most to realize that i was going to have to work hard for my money if i was really going to be a successful internet marketer. Most people deciding on affiliate marketing as a career do not (at least at first) fully appreciate the effort and time successful marketers devote to their online projects. Times have changed and affiliate marketing has evolved, a single web page of below average content is no longer enough to make money online, Google especially has campaigned for this change by implementing many hurdles to regulate website quality and many penalties for those not adhering to their definition (of quality). With every change comes opportunity! If you have the drive, skills, determination and above all the correct mental attitude to learn what makes a great website you are already one step ahead of the crowd.

So what is Google looking for? They are looking for you to provide value to your reader! Google themselves offer some insight into what they are looking for by defining three major categories that they consider when deciding an appropriate quality score for your website, these are: Relevant & Original Content, Transparency & Navigability.

Relevant and Original Content

Google wants webmasters to provide unique well written content that provides users with information that they may not be able to find on any other website. If your web page is made up of mostly ads you need to add more content. If you are using data feeds try rewriting the product descriptions. If you are posting content, make sure it is clear concise and above all interesting. Also if i could give one bit of lasting advice it would be to ensure you update your website often.

Transparency (business & contact information)

Every website or landing page should include information about the website owners summarized in an ‘About Us’ page, this page should also contain contact information (the more the better). You should also summarize your service in an open and honest manner: do not offer a money back guarantee if you have no intentions of honoring this, and do not make false promises.

Navigation

Make sure your navigation is visitor friendly and does not include any obtrusive pop-ups or pop-unders. Google’s Webmaster Guidelines provides a huge amount of information on optimizing your website and on how to comply with Google’s rules to get the most out of your website. It is probably not possible to comply with every single point, but try to comply with the “vibe” – ask yourself, would Google want me creating hundreds of doorway pages? If the answer is ‘No’ you probably know what there stance would be! [It's NO by the way ED].

Planning Your Website

When deciding on what attributes your website should have it is important to consider your actual user over any preconceptions or beliefs you may have about your customers. Think carefully about your target market and try not to get caught up in the design over substance myth. You are a marketer first and foremost. If like me you cannot afford a full research team to establish what works best for certain target markets consider using what has already been proven to work.

I have added the image below as i believe it offers some invaluable landing page design tips.

Unfortunately i am unable to credit the author of this image as I cannot remember where i got it from **if you own this image (or know who does) please get in touch & I will credit you for your great work or remove it altogether if you prefer** Update: Image Credit To www.formstack.com – Online Form Builder

Consider Including The Following Pages

Must have * / Consider Adding **

Privacy Policy *

Include information on how you handle customer data, or if your an affiliate provide information on how your merchants handle this data.

Terms & Conditions *

Create a page of terms and conditions. This does not have to be an essay written in unreadable solicitor jargon – just be truthful and attempt to make sure your readers understand what they are allowed to do on your website, and what they are not. Also ensure you stipulate that they are not to copy your hard work elsewhere for their own benefit.

Contact Us *

Even if you are an affiliate your customers want to know who you are and how they can contact you if they need to. You should try and provide more than one way of contact and if possible provide a full postal address.

Sitemap *

Your sitemap should be accessible from all pages on your website.

News **

Add news stories about your niche or subject, if it is hot at the moment discuss it! People are more likely to subscribe to your blog if they believe the information is up to date and relevant and perhaps time sensitive.

Blog **

The blog is an important part of any companies website, and can raise awareness on a massive scale. If there was ever a place to develop trust amongst your potential customers this is it. Think about your customers, and write on varied but interesting topics. DON’T just endlessly self promote. Build a community and constantly solicit feedback from your readers.

“How To” or “What Is” Guide **

Create pages that detail information about the product or service you are promoting, or provide a useful guide as a way of introduction to your website. An Example: If you are promoting Green Energy a guide describing the effects of pollution and the benefits of green energy would be useful to those people visiting your website for the first time.

FAQ *

Think of every question related to the product or service and list them here with informative answers. Many potential customers will read the FAQ as a part of the buying process, I know I do! Let the customer know what they can expect from you if they purchase.

Glossary **

create an A-Z of industry specific jargon here and define it.

Deals/Offer pages **

list any offers available from your merchants. This is a great way to ensure your website offers valuable content and does not just act as a doorway page. This should be updated regularly and perhaps offer the customer the ability to have the latest deals sent to their inbox.

Individual product/pages **

Offer other products and services related to your main product or service.

Submit your review **

Let your users the opportunity to submit their own product/reviews.

If you create your landing page with your potential customers in mind and are not just acting as bridge between the customer and merchant you should soon have an authority site for your niche. Content is King!

100 Great Web Development Blog Posts From 2010

Kevin Muldoon — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:00:59 +0000

Image Credit: Endless by Philipp Klinger
As someone who blogs on a regular basis, I try and keep up to date with the latest news and views by subscribing to dozens of web development related blogs on topics such as blogging, design, marketing and productivity.

Since we are approaching the festive season and the end of 2010, I thought it would be good to share with you some of the best articles I have read in 2010. If you make a living through the internet then I’m sure you will find a lot of these articles useful.

I hope you enjoy the list

Kevin