• Billy's Blog, Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:16 PM

Think there can't possibly be another set of landing page best practices? Think again. This five-spot of tips comes from Widemile, a Seattle-based tech marketing startup, and optimization analyst Billy Shih serves them up with a distinctly testing and design-influenced bent.

"Keep it focused," Shih says, and force each landing page to have only one goal. If two goals can't be avoided then make sure only one is emphasized, and remove excess baggage like ads and nav bars. Create a situation where users have only two choices -- convert or leave.

Make sure the landing page copy is consistent with the ad's copy (whether it's a PPC ad, a banner or an e-mail), and don't forget to include the original offer if there was one. Using a product shot is also important, as is keeping extra info about your company to a minimum. A "Hacker-Safe," "Trust-e," or e-commerce-friendly logo is good, as is a link to your home page -- but that's about it.

Lastly, you need to target the right searchers with your page. "Stop catering to window shoppers and get those looking to buy," Shih says, by eliminating excess information. You may lose the researchers, but with the right info, your landing page will push the "looking to buy" shoppers further down the purchase funnel. And the ones who are "ready to buy" need no further coercion anyway.

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