A common problem facing many advertisers today is this one:

You’ve got a PPC campaign that has done its job. Its driving quality traffic to your landing page, but your page abandonment rate is really high and people are bailing almost as soon as they get there. Sound familiar?

If it does, then it should beg the question what are you doing wrong?

The best way to answer this is to take a look at it from the user’s perspective. When they click on a PPC ad there are certain things they are looking for when they hit the landing page. If you don’t meet those expectations, I can almost guarantee they will bounce.

So then, what are your visitors expecting to see when they reach your landing page?

Continuation. I’m sure your creative is well-written and includes an irresistible offer that convinced the user to click on your ad instead of your competitor. Make sure that this content is given proper real estate on the landing page. I’m talking front and center so that the user sees it quickly when they first arrive. If the offer messaged on the ad text is hard to find or if this promise is broken, they will lose faith in your product, your brand and ultimately bounce.

Credibility. Are you working with a landing page that looks shady or doesn’t have guarantees or point-of-sale assurances? If yes, then fix it. Fix it immediately. If they’re not familiar with your site, most users will need to be convinced to trust you. There are a number of ways to improve credibility to your landing page. I’d recommend testing different security affiliations, partnership affiliation, as well as how you message your tagline.

Call out the call to action. Seems obvious, right? You’d be surprised at how often this is hidden, difficult to access, or missing completely from a landing page. Be completely transparent in the next step to the conversion path. This will encourage a feeling of trust and they will be more easily moved down the buying cycle.

Before investing too much more in advertising, be sure to implement landing pages that take these best practices into consideration. A well-constructed landing page will often make a dramatic difference in your success rate.