Landing pages are so important because they don't just provide the perfect opportunity for deep level linking from internal sources, they hugely increase the user search experience. So much so that it can be the all important difference between a conversion and a bounce. Content is the key focus of pretty much any campaign, in building content what you are essentially saying to the search engine algorithm is: "Look over here! - I've got what you want. I've got what you need and I have plenty of content to prove it! Put me first and I won't let you down!"
It's so simple and so effective and yet 60% - or a whopping two thirds! - of e-commerce sites neglect these basic principals and then wonder why they continue to lag behind in the search engine page listings.
The study identified differing groups of e-commerce sites, namely: The Wasters, The Smart Balanced and The Slackers. First up is 'The Wasters'. They make up 60% of sites and have the largest volume of visitors. They also happen to have the highest number of visitors who leave after looking at just one page - this behaviour is consistently over 20%. The highest recorded rate of immediately lost visitors stands at 47% but, unfortunately for the gossip-mongers amongst you, we are not in the business of naming names. The key factors identified in the high bounce rates amongst 'The Wasters'? None other than neglecting to use landing pages, not having enough content, and showing a total disregard for intelligent keyword buying for Pay Per Click (PPC).
On to the 'The Smart Balanced' who make up about 20% of e-commerce sites. These guys are the 'Average Joe': the straight down the middle normal range of sites who take their marketing activities seriously and balance their investment in search marketing with site developments to improve the visitor's experience of their site. This is the ideal level, this is, in fact, what Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and all the more sophisticated search engines are after. The 'Smart Balanced' group can still expect a 10% - 20% immediate loss of visitors - which is the norm for sites who balance their investment in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with developments intended solely for the customer experience.
Last, but certainly not least - as they too make up 20% of e-commerce sites - are 'The Slackers'. These guys see an approximate 10% of their visitors bounce off after catching a glimpse of one page. Which sounds okay, certainly better than 20%, but they seem to have become complacent. It's a case of the old school report card mantra: 'could do better'. Investing in further organic and paid search techniques could break them out of the rut and make them something really special.
It is so important to realise there is a crossover between paid and organic search. They can be coordinated to compliment each other and, as such, any SEO agency that has them both under the same roof is in a much better position to do so.
So, to recap: which group do you fall into? If you aren't part of the 'Smart Balanced' group, then why not?- it's always achievable, given a strong enough desire and patience.
