Question

Topic: SEO/SEM

Landing Page Strategy

Posted by Anonymous on 9/4/2008 at 11:47 AM ET 250 Points
I have a client (a chiropractor) who wants to have landing pages for a very long list of keywords including services offered, conditions, locations served, and causation (i.e. pain relief, decompression therapy, massage, back pain, lower back pain, sports injury, back injury, seattle, etc.) He wants to buy a domain name and build a landing page PER keyword (we're talking about 40). Is this good strategy? Would it be more realistic and effective to have a set of six landing pages (one for each of his six specialties: spinal decompression, massage therapy, chiropractic care, physical therapy, laser therapy, gait analysis) and optimize them with his long list of ailments/keywords? Since these six domains are already taken, does it make sense to have the domain include a location, such as chiropracticcareedmonds.com? Plus, he needs to have some type of call to action for each, and it would be easier to come up with six than 40. If there are any landing page specialists out there, I would love some advice on what would be the best strategy for the chiropractor. Thank you.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 9/4/2008 at 11:55 AM Member
    It makes no sense at all for each landing page to be a different domain name. Landing pages should all be within your main domain (with easy navigation to your main page and other services, as people are often looking for more than just their search term).

    As for how many landing pages there should be for what keywords, that's a choice you have to make based on availability of resources to create so many pages and what makes sense for the keywords. In most situations each dedicated landing page is good for several keywords (several being anything from 5 to 500, depending) but sometimes very narrowly focused pages are best.

    As for location, most search engines allow you to tie your ads to within a certain mile radius (obviously a good choice for you when the chiropractor most likely could not service someone across the country) so they have the most relevance to visitors.

    Good luck!
  • Posted by Levon on 9/4/2008 at 12:42 PM Member
    Make sure to split test different headlines and ads with different incentives. Incentive is so key to success with PPC.
  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 9/4/2008 at 12:48 PM Accepted
    Hi ksl620,

    While I admire your client's attention to the importance of specific landing pages, his strategy, in my opinion is not practical and is overkill. It would be a nightmare to implement, measure and manage, plus the costs to do so could make a positive ROI harder to achieve.

    Your suggested strategy is more practical and would still result in a good Quality Score and the desired higher conversions than non-specific landing pages

    You might also want to consider using Google Website Optimizer either for A/B or multivariate testing. This would be a tremendous tool for determining what really works and what doesn't.

    You don't need separate domains. Good idea, but this could actually do more harm than good especially with natural SEO, which should be considered. Plus, it would just be odd, there would be no connection or synergy in the website and it would confuse people.

    Sub-domains with a top-keyword name would be a better choice. Just make sure you choice of sub-names reflects the most popular keyword for that area of his speciality. This is critical as it is for all the keywords you choose throughout the landing page.

    I think you are on the right track with your ideas. Not that his ideas don't have merit, but you have to balance it with the realistic ability to implement and manage, and I don't think that because of the classic project constraints —usually scope, quality, time and budget — that his is a realistic strategy.
  • Posted by excellira on 9/4/2008 at 4:50 PM Accepted
    It depends upon your resources.

    Two reasons not to create separate microsites:

    1. Search engines reward large sites. If you spread the 40 pages over 40 domains you will make it more difficult to compete.

    2. You are increasing your effort and diverting resources. Essentially you are marketing 41 sites. Here is a good reason to have all pages on one site: If you generate a link to a keyword themed sub-page you will be helping the sub-page and the rest of the site. If you generate a link to a page on a microsite you will not be supplementing your link arsenal.

    If you have the resources (time, labor, and money), microsites can be beneficial. They are most helpful if you have conventional or PPC advertising in play and you are seeking to maintain visitor focus on one concept in order to improve conversion rates.
  • Posted by excellira on 9/4/2008 at 4:56 PM Member
    "Sub-domains with a top-keyword name would be a better choice."


    Though, the SE's can confuse subdomains as separate sites and your marketing efforts may not be as impactful to the remainder of the main site. Not as big an issue as a few years back but I mention it as something to consider.



  • Posted on 9/4/2008 at 5:06 PM Author
    The doctor actually has a website. He wanted to use independent landing pages that used domain names made up of keyword/phrases so that he had a better chance of coming up in searches. Each landing page would have some type of action item or special offer, ultimately driving traffic to his website.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 9/5/2008 at 8:50 AM Member
    I'd suggest focusing on regional searches more. Your client doesn't want clicks from people across the country. They want clicks from people in their region, searching for pain relief for their back ailment. Make sure they've listed (for free) in Google Business Center (https://www.google.com/local/add/ ) to aid local search. If they're buying PPC, make sure it's likewise targeted. Focus SEO efforts on region keywords + chiropractic/pain/back. That will likely produce the best ROI for your time.
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