PubCon – Ad and Landing Page Site Reviews

In this panel, a number of panelists reviewed sites from audience volunteers – live – with an eye towards increasing users’ actions and conversion.

Moderator: Christine Churchill

Speakers:
Seth Wilde, Search Engine Marketing Manager, uShip
Kevin Lee, Executive Chairman, Did-it.com
Lily Chiu, Senior Strategist, Client Services, Offermatica
Neil Patel, CTO, Advantage Consulting Services, Inc.
Brad Geddes, Director of Search Engine Marketing, LocalLaunch.com

First victim site is www.hifisoundconnection.com — the keyword typed in is car audio.

Half price car audio
Wide selection of car audio at up
half off retail. 877-275-4434
www.hifisoundconnection.com

Kevin: Could the 800# be hurting his quality score but perhaps getting “free” leads.
Seth: Better response by optimizing the content for click-through rates.
Brad: When you have an 800# in your copy — it works good if that is your brand domain name (like 1800-flowers.com) but not when you don’t.

Christine goes to the landing page.

Lily — repeat the message from your ad.
Kevin: show the difference between your prices and your competitors.
Neil — if you want your phone # to stand-out then make it a different color.

Next phrase is “French courses in France” and the site is www.applelanguages.com

Kevin: Perhaps targeting this specific phrase nationwide is not a good idea. Boise, ID vs. New York, NY.
Brad: These ads look very similar. A disruptor ad could be useful here. Make it look different. Test it.
Christine jumps to his landing page.
Brad: No strong call to actions.
Kevin: They have a cool selection wizard but you can’t tell it is one. Also use some internal anchor text links in your copy.
Neil: Above the fold calls to action are essential b/c there are so many options for them to go.

Next phrase is diamonds.
Brad: Before we go to the site — you see very poor use of ad copy headlines. They are all using general ad copy.

80,000 Loose Diamonds
Huge inventory, certified diamonds
available at below retail cost!
Abazias.com

Seth: Put some assurances in there to increase comfort levels.
Kevin: Run geo-targeted campaigns for different locales — it gives you the extra line and makes your ad standout. Good point Kevin.

The ad goes to this landing page.

Brad: What are we not seeing? A warning message popped up. Look at your site with different browsers, plugins, etc.
Lily: I’d like to see the price guarantee. Some type of reinforcement. We have seen a lot of lift by moving your trust marks above the fold. Expert online help — accentuate this.
Kevin: Try different colors — this might be too dark for many people.
Neil: Try different colors and sizes.
Brad: The personal shopper is interesting but perhaps the caricature doesn’t give the right look.

Next keyword is chiropractor Venice. They are doing this as a research program. It jumps to this page. The goal is to get phone calls.

Brad: If the primary goal is to get calls — you would want the phone # higher on the page.
Lily: Having ads as the first thing a visitor sees can be off-putting.
Kevin: Do a competitive analysis of some high-end medical sites. The site design leaves a lot to be desired. Try some templates.
Seth: Show a map or where the office is located. The main thing though is the layout — it needs to be fixed up.
Neil: Add a picture of the doctor. Make it a softer, friendlier feel.

Next phrase is home security. And the ad is:

Brink’s Home Security
www.BrinksHomeSecurity.com
Trust Brink’s Home Security for reliable & affordable peace of mind

Seth: More specific info about what makes you unique. Get more specific.
Kevin: The brand Brink’s is associated with security but perhaps not alarms or home security yet. Do some A/B testing.

The landing page is their homepage which is being tracked for each by code.

Lily: On your ad — reinforce your price.
Seth: Overall the landing page is really good.
Kevin: Do you prefer for people to call.
Brink’s Rep: Yes.
Kevin: You can use a clickable image to track people by. Next keyword is mobile office but its being geo-targeted so they can’t pull it up but here is the landing page.

Brad: If your ad copy talks about “award winning” etc — you should incorporate that into your landing page.
Kevin: Test to see if people care about you being in business for 50 years — I care more that they are new.
Lily: Get feedback from your happy clients. Also — request a quote — have it pop a little more as it is your main call to action.