When to be a Conversion Optimization Rebel

Best Practices can be enormously helpful in pointing you and your landing pages in the right direction.  While most best practices will hold true, in post-click marketing it’s important to test everything

There are a countless number of articles and blog posts that preach the golden rules to conversion optimization. I’m here to tell you that sometimes it’s more fun to break the rules. And not only is it more fun, sometimes breaking the rules even produces better results. I’ve taken a look at some of the top best practices to landing page optimization and flipped them on their head to take a look at why it can be worthwhile to ignore the experts.

Best Practice #1: Minimize the number of clicks it takes to convert. Nine times out of ten I do agree with this rule. Plenty of landing pages work great when a PPC visitor hits one simple landing page with some basic content and a form all on the same page. Simply fill out the form, click submit and you’re done. However, what if your product or service targets multiple audiences? Do those audiences need to be messaged differently? Often a general message will be less effective than one that is tailored to the right group. Try adding just one more step to your conversion process if this is the case. If those users are interested, they won’t mind one small step where the user can self-segment and see exactly how your offering meets their needs.

Best Practice #2: Landing page design should match the look and feel of your main site. Yes branding is important. You want a visitor to get to your landing page and immediately comprehend your message proposition and recognize your brand. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be using the exact same CSS background on your landing pages as your main site. Landing pages are a great way to test new design ideas and maybe even integrate that design back into the main site if you see a positive response. One off events or promotions done through a landing page are also great opportunities to get more creative with design without being all matchy-matchy with your main site.

Best Practice #3: Eliminate any unnecessary navigation – keep people on the landing page. For high research decisions, I would always recommend keeping some navigation on your landing page. If you’re researching enterprise level business solutions or researching colleges, you probably aren’t going to find all the information you need on a landing page. The B2B space is  well aware that it takes multiple touch points to convert an initial inquiry to a sale. A few bullet points about the highlights of your product is likely not going to be enough content for a first-time visitor to pull the trigger on submitting a form. Link them deeper into the site where it makes sense and keep calls to action throughout the site so when that visitor is ready to convert, they can easily find a place to do that.

With any solid landing page strategy, elements need to be tested in order to produce optimal results. Don’t be afraid to ignore some of the industry “rules” in a test. They always say one of the biggest advantages to the internet is that you can fail quickly and move on. If  your instinct tells you that your customers need something different in a landing page, test it.

Kim Toomey

Kim Toomey is a senior account executive at Anvil Media Inc. in Portland, Oregon. At Anvil, Kim has managed client accounts specializing in PPC and conversion optimization for e-commerce and education clients. Kim is also active with the web analytics association's education committee and the analysis exchange project for non-profits. Away from the computer, Kim spends time with her family, taking an energetic dog on long walks and generally enjoying the outdoors. To learn more about Anvil Media's expertise in SEO, PPC Management, Social Media and Conversion Optimization visit us at www.anvilmediainc.com

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