Last week Darren posted on The Big-Five of South African SEO mistakes and how local companies are not getting the best results for the amount of money they are investing in their websites.

It got me thinking about another way in which companies are throwing away their money. More and more local companies are starting to invest in pay per click (PPC) advertising to ensure that potential customers are taken to their sites. The unfortunate fact is that few companies are following through by making the necessary investment in their landing pages.

So here's my Big-Five of South African Landing Page mistakes:

1. Blah-blah marketing copy

Web Usability Guru Steve Krug, in his book, Don't Make Me Think, calls it “Happy talk” and says “while you are reading it you can actually hear a tiny voice in the back of your head saying, 'Blah blah blah'...”

Before saying everything you have ever wanted to say, think about your visitor.
- They have come to your website through a PPC advert, therefore they probably are in the market for buying whatever you have on offer.

- Don't bore them with stuff about the weather, or ramble on about how “welcome” they are.

- Give them the facts, preferably in short, easy-to-scan bullets.

- Help them to find all the information they are looking for quickly and without frustration.

- Remember, if they get frustrated, they are going to leave.

2. No clear goal and no call to action

Lets not beat around the bush. You want your visitor to convert and they are on your page to convert (by buying something or making an inquiry).

Make the whole design of your page focus on that goal.

Tell them why to convert, and make it obvious how to convert. If you are going to make them hunt around for the “book now” button, or have them trawl through nonsense to find your rates, they are going to get frustrated and leave.

3. Asking for too much personal information

Too many sites force visitors to fill out lengthy forms in order to make a simple inquiry. Ask only for the absolutely vital information. Every extra field you put into a form is likely to increase your drop off rate.

If you REALLY need that much information, rather ask later in the booking process, or when you contact them to follow up on their inquiry. By then you know that they are genuinely interested in your offer, and they know that you aren't going to spam them or steal their credit card details.

4. Relevance, relevance, relevance!

Your visitor has just clicked on a PPC advert that promised them what they were looking for. So don't try sell them something else when they get to your site - they wont be impressed.

Everything on your page should be relevant to their needs. Your heading and copy  should be similar to the PPC advert. This will not only convince them that they are on the right page, but will also convince Google that your page is relevant, and in turn this should reduce your CPC (Cost per Click).

Likewise, any pictures should relate to the topic. Resist the urge to feature a cute picture of a penguin when you are advertising car rental. You've only got a few seconds to convince them to keep reading, so don't waste it.

5. A home page is not a landing page

One of the most common landing pages for PPC traffic in South Africa is a site's home page. Unfortunately home pages have lots of links and lots of ways to lead the visitor away from the prize. When possible, create a special landing page for each of your PPC campaigns. Your inquiry form should feature prominently on the page and outside links should be kept to a minimum. Don't distract your visitor, make it easy for them to convert.

So have I missed anything in my Big Five?
We'd love to hear your comments.