In measuring the
performance of your website it is important to understand the characteristics
and behaviors of the user during a website engagement. By using specific
metrics a marketer can create an understanding of the user intent and their
experience as they navigate from a source and as they enter a website. These
metrics can be classified as Visit Characterization and they include a range of
specific measures which provide insight on the effectiveness of your website
and whether the site is accomplishing your goals and objectives (Reed College,
2016) .
Visit Characterization provides awareness on where website visits are
originating and through what sources they are being referred from other sites
or digital media platforms. These measures also include an understanding on how
and where visitors are entering your website.
Visit Characterization metrics include:
- · Entry Page
- · Landing Page
- · Exit Page
- · Visit Duration
- · Referrer
- · Page Referrer
- · Session Referrer
- · Visitor Referrer
- · Click-through
- · Click-through Rate/Ratio
Each one of these
measures provides insight on specific characteristics of a given website visit.
Analyzing these events can give marketers a better understanding of consumer interests
through the actions they have taken. One of the most critical components of the
start of a visit is the landing page as it often plays a key role in attracting
new visitors to a website as it is often the first impression in a website
visit.
The
Landing Page
To build website
traffic marketers will often create campaigns or initiate other marketing
efforts to attract and engage users. Landing pages are a significant tool for any
promotion specific marketing particularly for marketing efforts where a
measured ROI is essential. Landing pages are a fundamental part of a successful
inbound marketing strategy and can be linked directly to a campaigns metrics
and result.
Landing pages are often
the foundation of lead generation efforts. Creating unique landing pages which
are designed to appeal directly to a target audience enables marketers to link
website performance to a specific marketing effort (Hussain,
2013) .
As a result unique campaign specific landing pages should be designed and
utilized every time a marketing effort is planned to build traffic to your site.
Key
Landing Page Features
In developing marketing
campaigns landing pages are often optimized for specific keywords, themes, or
calls to action. Since landing pages represent a touch point or an opportunity
to present a message to the visitor, they have a particular importance in
conveying information that appeals to the target audience and motivates the
visitor to become more engaged with the site (WAS, 2006) .
The
Headline
There are several areas
to consider when designing a landing page to maximize the opportunity to
attract new visitors and build traffic to your website. Among the key features
includes the page headline. The landing page headline is one of the first
things a visitor will see and read. The headline should relate to the offer
that is on your landing page. It should also convey benefits and very quickly
communicate what problem this page can solve. An effective headline should
clearly and concisely convey the intent of the page and must compel the user to
take a closer look.
Measure,
Test, Adjust
As you analyze the
results of your web traffic and realize adjustment to your web landing page is
needed it is often a simple task to make changes. For example if click through
rates are not generating the desired activity. One of the best features about
marketing in the digital environment is the ability to quickly make adjustments
to a website and modify campaigns as you comprehend and learn what users like
and what they do not like. Making a link bolder and more visible may make a
significant difference in improving a click through rate (Sloan, 2013) .
As marketers modify the
content of their web landing page they can make changes to items such as text,
images and call to action to see what resonates most with users. Marketers can
also conduct A/B testing by creating two different site designs and testing
them against each other (Dane, 2015) . A/B testing can be
effective when used against a baseline control and compared to a variety of
test samples to improve response rates. Test samples can include modifying the
call to action or smaller subtle changes such as changing buttons or colors or even
modifying the copy slightly.
Monitoring and
measuring the performance of your website through website analytics provides
marketers with an opportunity to understand what is happening on their site and
a strong analysis program can help provide insight on what is working and what
needs adjustment. The landing page is but one component in a marketing effort
and an overall website experience. Developing an effective landing page however
can often significantly impact the success of a specific marketing effort and
greatly assist in accomplishing your marketing and website objectives.
Works Cited
Dane, J. (2015, December 21). 3 landing page best
practices debunked. Retrieved from Optimezly:
https://blog.optimizely.com/2015/12/21/landing-page-best-practices-debunked/
Hussain, A. (2013, April 12). 7 key design tips
for high-converting landing pages. Retrieved from Hub Spot:
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/7-landing-page-design-tips#sm.0001y364vfrnyd2fqfq1dfnm0te63
Reed College. (2016). Week 1 lesson: intro to web
analytics and the basics of web analytics. Retrieved from West Virginia
University: https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_64077_1&content_id=_2976590_1&framesetWrapped=true
Sloan, E. (2013, November 14). 3 essential
ingredients of landing page headlines that convert. Retrieved from
Unbounce: http://unbounce.com/landing-page-examples/successful-landing-page-headlines/
WAS. (2006). Web analytics “big three” definitions.
Retrieved from Web Analytics Association:
http://www.digitalanalyticsassociation.org/Files/PDF_standards/WebAnalyticsDefinitionsBig3.pdf
