Where’s the action?

Preparing a well-thought-out campaign and planning the right media mix is quite a challenge. Hours spent on choosing the right creations, media, targeting, and effective budget allocation. Followed by an analysis, optimization – and all this to get the best conversion rate and achieve even the most demanding KPIs. Overwhelmed with all these tasks, we sometimes forget about another important factor that affects the success of the campaign – the page where the planned actions are to take the user to. 

Imagine you’re walking down the street and come across a flier advertising some delicious pizza. Right on! You happen to be a fan of Hawaiian pizza with double cheese. Some ultimate-level targeting right there. You grab the flier. It’s illegible, and its design is very sloppy, by the way. Anyway, you head to the advertised place. Once you reach your destination, it turns out that the pizza is there alright, but you can only see it through the glass door – but not buy it. How disappointing, right?

Page elements don’t work as they should

Now, let’s translate the above situation into the reality of online campaigns. You have reached a user perfectly matching your target group. An individual with a high purchase intention. However, when they want to add a product to the cart, it turns out that the button doesn’t work. Click, click, click… Nothing happens. The user leaves the page, resigned, without making a purchase. 

The described case may seem unbelievable to you, but such situations do happen. I myself have recently abandoned my cart for exactly such a reason. 

Poor experience with a website may negatively affect the further relationship with the customer. As many as 89% of internet users claim that they are unlikely to return to a website which they were dissatisfied with (WebFX). Therefore, it is important to check every detail on the page and analyze the page thoroughly before we proceed with any extensive promotional activities.

Now, let’s take a look at other situations that may discourage a user from making a conversion – and find out how to remedy them.

Unnecessary elements slowing down the page loading time 

We live faster and faster. We don’t like waiting. We want everything here and now. That’s why waiting for a page to load may put us off and make us close the browser before all of its its elements have loaded. According to Google, over 50% of users will abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Google). Therefore, it is extremely important to create websites in such a way that the loading time is optimal. We should pay attention to e.g. whether there are any unnecessary, large graphics or video creations which slow down the page and which the user may not be interested in. At the same time, we must remember to include all information essential for the client, best served in an attractive graphic format. 

An interesting solution which lets us understand what elements of a page are interesting for the user is the set of tools for heatmaps and for analyzing user behavior. This way we can find out which elements or content are interesting for consumers, and which of them we could do away with. Based on the insights gained, we can create and test various hypotheses. Then, we will find out if, for example, moving the content which users do not reach to an earlier scroll encourages them to make a conversion. By understanding what users click on – even when the button is not clickable, we can learn that our page is not as intuitive and user-friendly as we may think. 

The page looks suspicious

When we look for ways to increase the conversion rate of users on our page, it is definitely reasonable to make sure that the page looks trustworthy. None of us is likely to share and enter sensitive data such as, say, PESEL (Polish Resident Identification Number), or even a phone number or surname on a page that appears to be not secure. An encrypted connection is necessary to protect clients’ data and increase their sense of security. What is more, it is important to explain what purpose you need specific data for. If a KPI of a campaign is to arrange a telephone conversation with a consultant, consider whether the user should actually provide their e-mail address while submitting their form. If the first name and phone number alone are not enough to call back, explain that e.g. you need to receive the e-mail address right away to send a summary and a tailored proposal after the conversation.

Ask for data which are actually necessary to provide the intended service. The more data required in the form, the greater the risk of the user being discouraged from submitting the form. It’s always a good idea to use solutions that make it possible to change individual elements of the request form and see which version translates into a higher conversion rate. 

No way to submit the form

Speaking of the form, make sure it is well designed in terms of both its aesthetics and its technical features. Make sure that all mandatory fields – without which the form cannot be sent – are properly labeled. Make sure to offer feedback, i.e. if the user tries to submit the form without filling in the necessary fields, make it clear to them which elements are missing. If your goal is to schedule an appointment or a trial class, make sure that the calendar is correctly configured and the date selection mechanism works properly. 

Mismatched information and graphics 

A correctly chosen, eye-catching, and visually attractive creation is very important in digital campaigns. What is just as important is that the landing page where the planned actions are to take the user to is consistent with our communication. This lets the user understand what action can be performed after they arrive to the page. If your main goal is to have users set up an account/register, make sure to adapt the communication as necessary. For example, in the case of students, it may be important that your service has a free trial period. In the case of businesses, on the other hand, it will be necessary to inform them that if they choose your services, they will have access to reliable support and a possibility to adapt the product to their particular needs. 

Both creations and graphics as well as the copy on the LP should be consistent with each other and match a specific target group. The LP should be a kind of extension of the communication we’ve started with the user by means of a banner. Make sure that the layout of the content is right and emphasize the benefits your product offers to the user. 

Unclear CTA

Visible, eye-catching call-to-action is one of the most essential elements of a performance campaign.
 A CTA encourages users to perform the desired action – consistent with the campaign’s objective. The success of a CTA depends on many elements such as: properly chosen color, interesting copy, position on the page, or size. 

Striking the right balance between a simple and clear instruction and a button that encourages action may not be easy. That’s why it’s a good idea to test different variants of CTAs to find the one that best appeals to your users. There are many tools that make it possible to effectively change between and test the different variants of CTAs to find out which works best for a given user group. Even small changes can significantly affect the conversion rate of your campaign.

There are many elements involved in running an effective online campaign. Just as it is difficult to prepare a tasty pizza without the right dough, good quality cheese, or the best ingredients, it is difficult to design and run a great marketing campaign without optimizing all of its elements first. Only a well-thought-out media mix, a clear and smoothly running page, and the right communication and strategy together can guarantee success.