One of the trends we see in online marketing recently is a tendency to rely more on ads in the digital space. For one thing, ads take up more of the space in search engine results pages (SERPS) than they used to. For another, generative AI mixed with search limits the number of searches that result in clicks through to content. Finally, Google is now more selective in indexing content. Floods of poor quality and AI-generated content on the web have caused Google to back down from their previous intention to index all the content on the web. Now, they won’t necessarily bother to index something that just regurgitates other content readily available on the web. So does it make sense to invest in a fulls Cale website with steady blogging, or would you be better off with an excellent ad landing page?
Does content marketing still work?
Yes. Our long-term clients with lots of great content and fresh, original content several times a week continue to see high rankings and good results. This is not only established authoritative websites. We began blogging for one client in May and they have seen an 80.81% increase in traffic over the four months we’ve been doing this for them.
We’re also seeing consequences for sites that back off from their content marketing efforts. A site that removed its blog one month ago has seen an 84% drop in traffic. There is no uncertainty here: a steady supply of good, original content continues to be excellent for SEO.
But that strategy, consistently excellent though its results are, is not the only option. It isn’t practical for some organizations, and it might not be the best option for you.
Is content marketing right for you?
Content marketing is an investment — of time or money or both — and it doesn’t bring instant results. Some niches are more competitive than others. If you don’t have the resources to use this strategy effectively, it might make more sense to invest in ads instead.
Some fields are easier to provide content for than others, too. Healthcare, political or human rights causes, and professional services are topics that naturally get lots of online searches. People need a fair amount of information before they make decisions on these topics. They value generous suppliers of information. On the other hand, if you repair air conditioners, your customers may not want any information. They may just want a good way to get hold of you and a timely appointment.
However, you can’t expect good results with ads unless you have an effective landing page. Not only does the quality of your landing page affect conversions, it also strongly affects the cost of your ads. Your ad landing page needs to be very relevant to your ads. It needs to be well optimized and compelling. If you plan just to buy ads that dump visitors onto a homepage which is not optimized for ads, you will not get good results from your ads.
Plan ahead
Typically, you build your homepage to welcome people to your website. You want them to be able to navigate your website easily, finding the information they need quickly without too much clicking around. Your visitors should be able to see just what you have to offer, and how to get it when they need it.
An ad landing page should offer the one thing that your ad is about, for the specific customer your ad is targeting. It’s not for people searching for general information as they first begin to think about an issue. It’s for the person who is ready to buy — whether that’s a metaphor or literal action at your particular website.
If you choose to build an ad landing page as your main page on your website, you need to plan that from the beginning.
Some things to consider:
- Choose a stacked, single-page design offering very limited calls to action. If that doesn’t suit your business plan, reconsider this idea for your website. Invest in good content marketing instead.
- Make sure that every word is working hard. When you have plenty of space to spread yourself, you can include your company’s mission statement or some philosophical musings. When you rely on a landing page to do the job for you, you don’t have room for anything but the most effective text.
- Think of your site as an ad. The visual impression is very important. Hire a photographer or an illustrator. Pay attention to design.
- Plan your ads to align with your landing page, and then make sure that your landing page works with your ads. If in the course of building the site you realize that not all your ads will work with your landing page, you may need another landing page. Think about your products and services and make sure you know how many divisions you’ll need. You can always add pages to your site, but starting out with a cluttered page will not give you the results you want.
Do you need assistance?
Do you need to decide between a traditional website and an ad landing page? Haden Interactive will be happy to discuss your needs.
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