How good is the landing page?

That's a question that most online marketers are instinctively trained to ask themselves, because it could mean the difference between a conversion or a quick click on the back button.

Now, there are a couple of more reasons for publishers and marketers to pay closer attention to their landing pages. The landing page will have a significant bearing on the search engine placements of affiliate websites on Google, both in organic search results as well as sponsored listings.

First, Google seems to have a SpamGuide which defines what the search engine considers as an attempt to manipulate its search results, as reported by Adam Vienar on Revenews. Adam has also posted a link to a leaked document that affiliates will do well to read. The gist of it is that the affiliate landing pages that ultimately link to a merchant site better have some original and good content, something that adds value, instead of just displaying a direct feed from the merchant.

Secondly, Google Adwords recently made an announcement that it now considers the quality of the landing page in its ad quality score, which ultimately defines the position of an ad in the sponsored listings. There has some debate on the Search Engine Watch forums on whether it is a right move by Google or not, but without getting into the merits of the decision, the message is clear for all of us-- better get the landing pages in order, else one of the key traffic channels for most affiliates could be in jeopardy.


Until next time,

Ben Flux

posted by Ben Flux @ 12/15/2005 08:59:00 AM