According to Nielsen, as of May 2008, the overall Internet penetration of U.S. consumers stood at 80 percent. With that many people surfing the Web, companies have to be ready to draw in these potential customers. In "Landing Page Optimization," Tim Ash explains that there are three keys to online marketing: acquisition, conversion and retention—essentially the same keys in any marketing effort. But in the world of the Web, marketing goes much farther. Ash writes, "Landing page optimization does not fit neatly into any box on an organizational chart. It requires a truly diverse set of knowledge and perspectives in order to be effective … you need to be familiar with Web design, human psychology, copywriting, statistics, usability, team building and the scientific method."
Ash is able to share comprehensive information regarding how companies can optimize their Web site landing pages to increase results and boost sales. Ash defines a landing page as "the first page that a visitor lands on as a result of a traffic acquisition activity. The landing page can be a stand-alone page, a part of a special-purpose microsite, or a page on the company’s main Web site." Therefore, the goal of a landing page is to get a visitor to take a conversion action that has a quantitative value to your business—such as a purchase, form-fill, download or clickthrough to another page on your site.
To hold your potential customers’ attention, Ash shares some rules of Web awareness (e.g., "If the visitor can’t find something easily, it does not exist."), offers several keys to creating the desired awareness, and even walks you through diagnosing and fixing landing page problems.
Since "Landing Page Optimization" is laid out in a textbook-like manner, readers can decide where they should begin reading; that is if they’re not interested in reading cover to cover. The book’s layout and reading ease alone guarantee that marketers, Web designers and product managers alike are sure to keep this title on their shelves for reference.
The Secrets of Paid Search
E-mail Marketing that Works
