The Rising Cost of Customer Acquisition - III

In our last article, we visited the importance of Ad positions in managing customer acquisition costs. This time we discuss the relevance of your website content; it is an element which you can control tightly and its importance is frequently underestimated by many advertisers.


When you visit a new website, can you tell quickly what the page is all about and what the advertiser wants you to do next? The publisher of that website could have a problem of relevance if you can’t answer clearly in less than 5 seconds. When conversions are not occurring at an acceptable rate or cost on your own website, could there be a relevance problem with the landing page(s) you are using? Google’s editorial policies make reference to what it calls user experience.  An example is serving information which is closely aligned with the searcher’s expectation. In a nutshell, if the public interacts well with your page, chances are so will Google.  

Google Analytics may provide some insight. By navigating to Content > Site Content > Landing Pages try examining these metrics: bounce rate, pages/visit and time on site. The objective is to ensure your traffic is landing on your most relevant, compelling page. This might not necessarily be your Home page. Aim to make every page you publish unique and relevant to the term it is targeting.  

In Part I of this series, we touched on the importance of content which is abreast of your competition.  The strength of your landing page content & the offer you are making is of equal (potentially more) importance to the Position of your Ad alone. This is where user experience comes into play.  A/B and multivariate landing page testing can help you prove beyond doubt which content brings in more conversions and identify the best optimal cost for your business.