Google – Internet bully or fighter for excellence?

Recently, many Google AdWords users were surprised to see their price per click increase dramatically or their ads drop to the third or fourth page in the results. However, this is not necessarily all bad news.

For followers of Google’s progress, recent events have not come as a surprise, as Google’s intentions were well followed last December. Specifically, they target certain types of landing pages that search engines are directed to when they click on one of Google’s AdWord ads.

Google AdWords are those little classified ads that you see on the right hand side of the page, when you use the Google search engine. Sometimes more “sponsored links” appear at the top of the page. You’ll also come across Google AdWords when you visit one of the thousands of Google webmaster partners who host AdWords on their websites under AdWords’ sister program, AdSense.

Google came out of nowhere to set new Internet search quality standards in just seven years by strictly adhering to its core values. His success, based on his twin mantras of “quality” and “Relevance”is a master class in the proposition that excellence is good business.

Once you understand these two goals, you’ll begin to see the logic behind Google’s recent actions, and you’ll also learn valuable lessons that your own websites can benefit from.

These are the types of landing pages you’re targeting:

• Squeeze Pages: so called because they squeeze the name and address of the visitor, who is forced to type these details into the landing page before being allowed to view the content of the website.
• mini-sites: these consist of a one-page sales letter.
• AdSense-only websites: Due to the growing popularity of Google’s own AdSense campaign, many websites have been created solely to take advantage of the “fire and forget” income prospect offered by these virtual shopping malls. Some operators even create so-called “arbitrage websites” that profit from the difference between the cost of AdWord traffic and the revenue generated by AdSense ads on the site. The profit thus generated by these hollow websites is multiplied by the ease with which hundreds, even thousands, of sites can be created with website builder software.
• Affiliate Websites: some may be little more than a redirect, where the AdWords visitor is bounced from the landing page, via an affiliate link, directly to the actual provider of the product or service.

The common thread of all these types of landing pages is the dry experience they provide for the visitor. Judge for yourself, putting yourself in the place of the visitor.

They go to a search engine because they are looking for a solution to a problem. They see an AdWord on Google with an enticing title, which seems to fit the bill, so they click on it.

Then, instead of the information they expected, the page asks for their name and address, almost in the manner of a highwayman, before they can follow through on the ad headline’s promise. Worse, is their experience on so-called “arbitrage sites,” where they end up on an unedifying merry-go-round of clicking one AdWord box after another.

It’s that bad customer experience that Google seeks to eliminate, mostly because it reflects on the reputation of its search engine and its AdWords program.

The irony is that Google is actually advertising the landing page. a big, big favor.

Why is that?

Here are some figures I have on conversion rates for squeeze pages:

• Visitors referred to a site through an affiliate: 51% give name and address and 49% disconnect, not registered.
• Visitors arriving from an organic search engine or directory search: 39% gave name and address and 61% went offline.
• Visitors arriving through pay-per-click advertising: 18% gave their name and address and a full 82% went offline.

As you can see from these bald figures, having a pay-per-click and squeeze page combo is a very bad idea anyway!

So Google is actually doing those advertisers a favor by making them rethink their marketing approach. He also finds that when visitors come to the site with some prior knowledge, even if only on an affiliate’s recommendation, their response is almost three times better, even when faced with a capture page.

In fact, when visitors come to my site, having first read an article of mine, and then are confronted with a capture page, more than 70% of them are happy to enter their details.

What conclusions can we draw? This: Just like on a blind date, a visitor needs to know a little about you before committing.

So, if you intend to use AdWords successfully, you should take your visitors to a visitor-friendly landing page, with some content (not a direct sales page), that immediately resonates with the ad promise on the one you just clicked.

Take this simple step and your visitor will be pleased they found what they were looking for and will be much less likely to leave your site. You too will be delighted with the increase in response when you finally invite your visitor to give you their details.

And on top of that, Google will reward you for embracing the Google ethos of providing quality, relevant content, and the Internet will take another small step up that long ladder to quality heaven.

Copyright 2006 Paul Hooper-Kelly and InternetMarketingMagician.com