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Landing Page Critique For Marketing/design Agency

Posted by melissa on 10/22/2008 at 4:09 PM ET 100 Points

We are developing a Google PPC campaign for a full-service marketing and advertising agency, and the objective is to get qualified leads via phone or completion of a short form.

We have developed the below two landing pages, and I am looking for any feedback you can provide. The target audience are the owners or decision-makers of mid-sized local/regional businesses. Our goal is to convince them to pick up the phone and call to setup a consultation/meeting, or email us via the enclosed form.

The first landing page is for web design and development services, the second is for graphic design, branding, and advertising services. They are very similar, but it is practically impossible for the same viewer to stumble on both, as these will be targeted at completely different ad groups.

http://www.discoverycomm.com/PPC/WebDesign.html

http://www.discoverycomm.com/PPC/GraphicDesign.html

Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 10/22/2008 at 5:02 PM Accepted

Maybe it's just me, but I do not like that you're offering the proposition before I've had a chance to read the proof.

I think your client quote should come before the contact form, not after.

You also say you want people to have the option of calling you. Where is your phone number (in big, readable type) on the landing lage?

And please let that goldfish out of that tiny bowl before the PETA crew come after you...
Posted by KSA on 10/22/2008 at 5:21 PM Accepted

I like these much better than the original landing pages! But, Inbox has a great point. The phone number needs to be there.

I'm still curious as to how this approach will work with consulting services. I can understand a one-page landing page for product sales. There's only one thing you want the person to do - buy your widget.

I'm still not convinced that people looking for consulting help will sign up or call just because that's the only thing they can do on the page. Have you used this type of landing page before? I'd just like to know for my own knowledge base.

A couple things do come to mind. I'm not sure what "that meets you where you are" means.

And, the copy should be edited a bit, I think, to be more gramatically correct. I'd change "We are not a kid working out of our basement" to We're not kids working out of our basement.

Similarly, I'd change "You are a growing company that is concerned about how the economy will affect your business" to You're running a growing company that....

And, for the link that goes to your site, I'd link it to your Capabilities page so the visitor can get right to the meat of the issues they saw on the landing page.

I also wonder if it would be a good idea to make the contact form more specific. Something like contact us for a free evaluation, or consultation or something you could put a name to so it seems more like a specific offer.

Hope this helps!

Kathleen
Posted by melissa on 10/22/2008 at 5:32 PM Author

Hi Kathleen,
in response to your note about people not calling or signing up from the landing page alone - we are fully expecting that most people will continue to look through the site rather than simply fill out the form or call as a direct result of the landing page itself, and do not expect a high percentage of people to call/email from this. However, we do want to provide the opportunity for those that may be spurred to call or email to do so from this page. As well, we want to provide enough info here to at least keep them interested in moving through the site even if they don't choose to call right away.

Also - thanks to both of you for noticing the missing phone number - somewhere along the way in the design process it was deleted, and we will be sure to add it back in immediately! Hence the problem with designing/revising from inside the company, we're too close to it sometimes to notice our own mistake.
Posted by KSA on 10/22/2008 at 6:06 PM Member

Melissa - I know all about the "forest trees" issue!

If you're expecting that folks who hit the landing page may choose to explore your site further, I'd suggest putting the link to the site where people can see it above the fold. I've got a pretty big monitor, and I have to scroll to see that link.

People may think calling or filling out the form are their only options and leave the landing page.

Or, you could make the words in the list at the right link to corresponding pages on your site, ie, Strategic Planning, Web Design, etc.

K
Posted by isaac on 10/22/2008 at 8:27 PM Accepted

Hi Melissa,

adding to what KSA and inbox have said:

1. The customer testimonial needs to be placed above so that potential clients know you are a credible agency to work with.

2. Since this for a web design and development and for graphic design and marketing add links to galleries, showcase of your work, links to case studies - the problem, issues and solution, how things worked.

3. links to "more" client testimonials

I assume the user would come to the landing page via an ad.

So far the landing page is all talk and I for one would not sign up. so what is it that proves that you guys can deliver??

The way I would go about is look at some of your work, read some case studies and testimonials and then decide if I want to call you or email you.

The landing page, in this case, is just a tool to get users to visit your website. You need to use this opportunity to showcase and sell your skills and services.

The landing page also needs to have an 'attractive' call to action. "Contact us to see how we can help you" does little.

How about "Contact us now to learn how our solutions can benefit your business" or "Contact us now for a free evaluation of your current website".

hope this helps.
cheers!
Isaac
Posted by darcy.moen on 10/22/2008 at 9:29 PM Member

Looks like an over glorified form page to me.

Pardon me for being harsh, but you certainly haven't proven to me that you understand web sites or understand graphic design. Sure, you may not be a 14 year old kid working out of mommy and daddy's basement, but you don't demonstrate your skills either. Don't just say you can do for others, DEMONSTRATE that you can do what you say you can do for yourself!

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Darcy Moen
Customer Loyalty Network
Posted by Mikee on 10/23/2008 at 9:42 AM Accepted

Melissa,

I think these are better than the ones you had us critique a little while ago.

I do think they are a little wordy. I usually prefer a few touch points and will not spend a lot of time reading text when I am browsing. Especially when I click on a sponsor link.

I am also very suprised to see that you are lacking mahor links to the rest of your site. I personally would include your menu so that people can check out your work, Most of the time the landing page is the hook to get people to explore your site. As others mentioned, I would want to see examples of your work before I gave you contact information. I personally would not worry about trying to get contact information on this page. I would use it to showcase a project you did and link it to a gallery of others samples.

In your portfolio, it might be nice to have a little of the explanation of the problems you solved for your clients, especially since your are telling people that you listen to their needs and do work custom for them. Right know it is just thumbnails and links. You can hook people more if they can see that you have worked with people that have similar needs.

Hope this helps,
Mike

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