All the products that you want to sell online are ready. You have already signed up with the Google Adsense program or with other affiliate marketing programs and you have already prepared the ad you want to post on your affiliates site. You are not focused on becoming the next most successful affiliate marketer. But is there anything else that you might have forgotten to prepare? Maybe none. However, have you put any thought into your landing pages? Are they all set for your business?
Landing pages are simple web pages that the person will be taken to once they click on the ad. For affiliate marketing, landing pages would refer to the web page where you, as a merchant, would want your potential customer to be directed after clicking your ad on your affiliates website. Landing pages are, at most times, nothing really different from other web pages in a particular website, especially if the said website is an e-commerce site. Some online entrepreneurs use the landing page as their home page for their website. Are these businessmen making a big mistake? Or should you follow their method in creating landing pages for their ads? Let's take a closer look and see!
Well, you can always follow what most online retailers do, direct their traffic to the home page of their website. But if you want to achieve something more from your online business, and if you want to earn a lot of profits, you better create a special landing page for your web ads. Why? Here are just a few reasons why you need to use landing pages for your web ads. And it is very important to realize that it is much better to create a great landing page rather than just an 'ok' one.
Reason no. 1: It is the only way you earn conversions in an affiliate marketing program.
There are a variety of affiliate marketing programs today, but most of these programs let the merchant pay the affiliate on a pay per click basis. Basically, all you have to do is sign up with the merchant and submit your ad. The program owner would then take your ad and distribute it to affiliates to place on their sites. Whenever your ad is clicked, a visitor would be directed to your landing page and you would have to pay the affiliate for his service.
As a merchant, you earn in an affiliate program through conversions. That means that a visitor who was directed to the merchants site from your ad actually makes a purchase. Without these conversions, you actually earn nothing from the program. Also, the more visitors that your affiliates have directed to your site, the larger would your expense be. The only way to overcome these expenses is through conversions. Are you now beginning to see why conversions are so important?
Now, you sure won't get any conversion if you have posted an ad on your affiliate's site without an actual landing page for the potential customer to be redirected to. It is like marketing a product that people have no means of purchasing. Your advertisement may be enticing enough to encourage people to purchase a product, but without the landing page, how will they know how to purchase the product. You want to make the process simple once someone decides to purchase a product. A landing page is the perfect answer.
It is therefore important to have landing pages for your ads because it is the only way for you to earn something in an affiliate program. Without the landing pages all you do is end up paying your affiliates and getting nothing in return.
Reason no. 2: Other web pages may just not be enough.
Many people make the mistake of making their websites homepage as the landing page for their ads. The same is true for those who make use of other pages like a "contact us" page or a product page. Home pages are often designed to serve multiple users and contains a lot of links to other pages or to other websites. The same is with the other two pages mentioned. If you want to be successful you do not want your landing page to cater to numerous people who may not be interested in your product.
When choosing a landing page, you must always have the customer directed into that page in mind. Your landing pages must be relevant to the keywords you placed in your ad. It is important that your landing page leads the customer to taking action and purchase the product or at least capture their email.
Final Word
You probably entered into an affiliate marketing program with these things in mind: to save on advertising expenses and to gain more profit. But if you jump into things without a landing page you will be spending to much money and getting nothing in return. So if you still don't have a landing page for your ads, get moving! And don't get us wrong; it isn't enough for you to have just a landing page it should be an AMAZING landing page.
About the Author:
BRETT WINDMANN