So lets assume that the highlighted words have done their job, and the ad itself then leads the viewer to click through. What is the most important thing they see next? Simple, something relevant to the ad they just clicked on. In an extreme example, click on an ad talking about football, and find yourself on a page about fishing, and there is a very strong chance that you will immediately click away with a sense of having been cheated. It is vital that when you click through, the page you see is directly relevant to the ad you clicked on - hence the need for a landing page. Here is the page Docmail uses for these key words:

Key thing to note is that the key words searched for, and highlighted in the ad, are repeated in the headline of the page, and in bold to catch the eye:

However, it is also important that the text is relevant. Clearly the whole service offered is relevant to reducing postage costs, however, make it clear by reiterating the key words in the text:

So let's have a quick look at the other keywords and the pages that go with them:

Keywords "cheaper postage".

Keywords "Direct mail".

Direct mail is a key advertising method for many businesses, and the new Docmail service makes it more accessible to every size of business, from SOHO (small office, home office) through SME's (small/medium enterprises - or small businesses) right up to large businesses with diverse locations. The landing page tries to be relevant to all of these.

Keywords "Direct mail UK".

The Docmail service enables overseas companies to send direct mail within the UK at UK best rates rather than international. The "Direct mail UK" pages are aimed at this market.

Keywords "Envelope stuffing".

One of the key benefits of Docmail to small businesses is that they no longer need to spend loads of time stuffing envelopes - now it is all done for them. For many small businesses this is a major limitation on their use of direct mail, but also often a necessity for day to day business - e.g. opticians sending appointment recall letters. This landing page attempts to get that across in a few words.

Keywords "Easy, low cost mail shots".

We have provided landing pages for people interested in direct mail - but not everyone uses the term 'direct mail'. A common alternative is to refer to a 'mail shot'. The term mail shot may be more common to small businesses who can gain most from the Docmail service, so these keywords are also covered with specific ads, and a landing page.

Keywords "Mail merge".

A common issue when sending 'mail shots' or 'direct mail' is the need to mail merge data into a document. Docmail removes the need to do this, so this landing page is aimed at people having trouble with mail merging.

Keywords "Newsletters".

Docmail lends itself to the production and mailing of simple newsletters. This landing page is aimed at that market.

Keywords "Postage" and "Postage savings".

Postage is very relevant to Docmail, but also very general, so the same page, based on postage savings, is used for both key words. The word postage stands out anyway, and by emphasising postage savings we will hopefully avoid misleading people looking for 'postage stamps' etc.

Keywords "SME" and "Small businesses".

Docmail is aimed at small businesses - but what are they searching for? A common search term is based on 'small business marketing ideas - which this clearly is, so this page is aimed at that wording.

Keywords None!

All of the previous examples have related to certain keywords. This final example looks at the alternative methods of marketing such as direct mail, email marketing (!) and tele-marketing, where a landing page relevant to the target market is very important. In this case we are looking at the vertical market of vets who, in sending out regular reminder letters, are a key market for the Docmail product.

Hopefully the above will have provided a full case study of how one business has approached creating landing pages. Now it's time for you to see how it could apply to your marketing!

Dave Broadway
HTMail Marketing
June 2009

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