Last week, Brian Chase wrote an article discussing how the landing page is the most important factor in determining the success of an offer.  His post was geared toward what an affiliate should look for when considering various campaigns to promote.  Building on Brian’s article, I wanted to provide a few recommendations to help design the most effective landing pages.

1. Be clear and concise
Your content should get to the point and be easy to understand.  What are you promoting?  Is it easy for consumers to respond to/participate in the offer?  Keep it as simple as possible.  Too much information can be confusing to the typical consumer, who will lose interest quickly and leave your page.

2. Stay compliant
This one should be second nature to every experienced advertiser, but is worth repeating.  Familiarize yourself with the latest FTC regulations and compliance requirements that pertain to your offers.  Then, make sure that all new creatives are following the appropriate guidelines.

3. Utilize attention grabbing design elements
Using certain colors and fonts will deliver different messages to consumers.  (i.e. use red to grab attention and use green for debt and biz-pop offers as it is associated with money.)  Use graphics or photos that draw attention, but make sure they are relevant to the offer.

4. Keep your affiliates in mind
Tailor your creatives to the needs of your affiliates.  Remember, affiliates are the experts at driving traffic to advertiser’s offers.  Ask your account executive to relay feedback (good and bad) from publishers that are running your offers, then use that feedback to optimize your creative.

5. Stay up-to-date
Be aware of what is happening in the world around you.  Whether it’s the changing season, an upcoming holiday, a new political movement, or even celebrity gossip – get ahead of the game by taking advantage of topics people may already be thinking about in your landing page creatives wherever appropriate.  If the New Year just kicked off and you are promoting a diet offer, use the obvious tie-ins as part of your ads.

6. Be ready for change
Remember that change is one of the only constants in the Internet industry.  So be open to change rather than fighting against it.  Just because a landing page has always been your top performer, doesn’t mean it will always be effective.   If you can be ready for the next wave when it comes in, you can gain a real competitive advantage that will make you more money!

Filed under: Advertiser Tips by Tom Wozniak