Chapter 10. Giving Your Customer a Soft Landing on Your Web Site

In This Chapter

  • Creating relevant landing pages

  • Establishing the credibility of your online store

  • Getting your visitor to take action

  • Capturing the lead

When (potential) customers click your ad and your Web site appears, they will decide to stay and shop or return to Google within seven seconds. Everything about your landing page will either persuade your visitor to stay and play, or hit the Back button and never darken your door again.

Don't just send customers to your site's home page. You have the ability to send your visitors to the page of their dreams, the one that quickly grants them their fondest wish, that scratches the itch they've never quite been able to reach before, that dreams the impossible dream — sorry, I was channeling Richard Kiley there for a minute. Deep breath. Orchestra fades. Where was I?

The text, the pictures, the design, the loading speed, the contact information, the logos, the multimedia, and the opportunities for interaction all combine to create a gestalt, an instant impression of Perfect Fit, Run Away Screaming, or something in between. Old-school direct marketers have favored text over graphics, based on years of experience with ugly magazine ads and Courier-font, direct-mail sales letters. That works for some markets, but not most. The Web is a different medium from print, one in which design speaks as loudly as words.

Your AdWords landing page must impress two suitors: Google, and your Web ...

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