How Property Managers can easily capture more leads: Utilising landing pages
There are many ways to direct traffic to your website. An example tactic is using ‘Pay Per Click’ (PPC) adverts. The need to convert these clicks into qualified leads has never been more important. Since PPC ads became popular, the cost per lead is at an all-time high. Nowadays then, you have to get savvy with how you advertise to consumers to entice them into clicking, and then, perhaps the trickiest bit, convert those clicks into qualified leads. Having a relevant and targeted landing page can help you achieve this.
Advertising pros: a PPC case study
PPC ads are without a doubt a very quick and obvious way to boost your brand. Recently, one of our clients needed to drive more leads to their business. Within a day we were able to set up a targeted Google display and search campaign, and this resulted in a 25% uplift in leads compared to the previous month.
Where do ads go wrong?
Despite this, it is all too common for these PPC ad campaigns (and other types of campaigns) to be unsuccessful. Sometimes this is to do with the ad itself, and whether it is managed optimally or not. However, If you have the clicks without the leads then, more often than not, the problem occurs after the click.
Let’s imagine that you bought a ticket to fly to Frankfurt, Germany. You’d be pretty annoyed if your plane arrived in Berlin, wouldn’t you? People travelling to your website from your PPC ad want to go straight to the destination advertised, not your homepage or any other page on your website. This is where landing pages come into play.
So what is a landing page?
Landing pages should be designed solely for a specific advertising campaign whether the traffic is derived from PPC ads or another form of advertising. The page should offer the service or product that the visitor clicked for, that’s the reason they’re there at the end of the day.
Simplicity is key for these types of pages. They shouldn’t bore the visitor with information that they didn’t click for and they shouldn’t be jam-packed with links away from that page as possible – people get distracted very quickly. In many ways, landing pages are the opposite of the homepage, you’re not showing off everything you have, just one thing. Even though it’s the first page some people will see on your website, doesn’t mean that it has to be the central hub of your business.
The goal should always be for visitors to either leave their contact information, make a call, download something or any other form of lead capture. You are offering your service in exchange for their information that you can then use to follow them up with. You can achieve this by having a simple form that they can fill out or by giving them a free taster of what you do so they know what you’re all about.
Once you have a landing page (or multiple landing pages: the more the better!) set up, you can start to reap the benefits.
Targeted landing page = Higher conversion
You should aim to make your landing page as appealing to your ideal customer as possible.
We were asked to work with a property manager who was looking to rent out over 70 one and two-bedroom apartments in central Slough, near the train station. On investigation, a PPC ad campaign had been in place, and it received clicks, but the conversion rate was very low. The property manager’s landing page for these apartments was far too general, with imagery showing elderly people, families and young adults alike.
After some research, we figured that the apartments were far more likely to be rented by young adults, most likely working in London as the apartments were located close to the station. We suggested that the imagery should be switched to show young people and an emphasis on the proximity to the centre of town should be made.
If your ad works well and attracts your target audience, then you want your landing page to be relevant and targeted at them too. Your conversion rate of clicks to leads is likely to be higher if your landing page is tailored to your ideal customer. These leads will most likely be of high quality too; you are advertising specifically to them after all. It’s not only a lead, but it’s also a laser-focused lead.
More leads in, less money out
Not only can a well-designed landing page generate you more business, but it can also actually reduce the cost of advertising too. Google scores adverts based on how relevant said advert is to the page it takes you to. The level of quality that Google assesses your page as (Quality Score) has a detrimental effect on the cost of your ads. The lower the Quality Score, the more you are likely to pay. Not redirecting to a focused and relevant landing page marks your advert down, potentially costing more money. Essentially, landing pages mean you should get more qualified leads and should make advertising cheaper – win-win.
A great first impression
Landing pages give potential new customers a great first impression of you. You are providing them with exactly what they clicked on and are looking for, nice and simple. Who knows, they may become a repeat client of yours.
If you don’t have the time or expertise to create your own landing page for your ad campaign, we know of experts that can, so please get in touch.
Written by Kevin Williams. As one of the founders of Servon Design, Kevin has more than two decades of web and digital marketing experience in the property sector. He focuses on helping Landlords, Property Managers and Letting Agents not only generate leads through digital marketing but also helps improve their online brand and presence.
Written by Kevin Williams [Director at Servon Design Limited]
