Yesterday's article looked at the most common mistake made by companies guesstimating the effectiveness of their Google AdWords campaign. Our "Google AdWords Deluxe package" proved how easy it is to get clicks, yet unsurprisingly, no-one signed up for the package.I also explained how the main factors involved were the ad itself, the landing page, the product and the price.
The Ad.
The wording of the ad is of course a critical factor. Get it wrong, and either the CTR or the ROI will plummet.
As well as the words you use, you also need to consider how your ad compares with the others that will be displayed by Google.
The content of your ad will be seen right next to your competition, so you have to keep an eye on what they're saying, and you might want to consider how (or if) they're competing with each other.
You should also try to get as much accurate information in there as you can, while simultaneously making sure that the overall impression is pleasing and compelling. Space is a little tight though, but no-one ever said it would be easy.
If you have a free trial of your software, then this might be worth including too. But don't give the impression that the software is free. Again, you'll get great clicks but a poor return on investment.
The Landing Page.
There's nothing particularly clever about a landing page, and many companies seem to be happy to send people from their ads straight to their main page.
However, an effective landing page can have a massive effect on the success of your ads.
The basic idea is that the landing page should carry on where the ad left off. The ad is severely restricted to a very small number of characters, but your landing page has no such inhibitions.
No matter what the main focus of the ads, the people who click on them are clearly interested in the ideas expressed. So make sure that the landing page follows them up.
An effective landing page will also steer (or push) the visitor towards your goal, and present the important information as clearly and effectively as possible.
The Product.
Let's not overlook the fact that the product is a factor too! Even the best ad and the most effective of landing pages isn't going to do much for the sales of an appalling product. But presentation is key.
Make sure that the product looks good on the landing page, and if (or when) they download a trial version, make sure that they quickly understand the benefits that your software can offer them.
As always in software marketing, focus on benefits, not features. And make sure that everything the user wants or needs to know is right at their fingertips.
The Price.
Why is the price last in the list? Because up to a point, it's the least critical of all the factors.
It all depends on the nature of the product, but many users are looking for a solution more than a bargain.
Example. If a business goes looking for a network monitoring application for their network and websites, the first thing they'll be interested in is the solution.
They'll be looking for an application that's easy to use, with powerful monitoring capabilities, and will soon realise that they're looking for a good notification system, easy to understand reporting capabilities, flexibility and so on.
When they find the product that fits these requirements, they're almost certainly going to discover a whole load of extra benefits and features that they weren't actively looking for, but will quickly appreciate how useful they could be.
At this point, the price isn't just about their original needs. It's about the overall package and benefits that they've now been presented with.
And it's not only business who think this way. We've all gone out to purchase consumer goods, software, PC hardware and gifts with an approximate budget in mind, but have then gone way over because what we've found is worth the extra.
If the solution is presented in the right way, people and companies will part with their cash.
More tomorrow.
