One simple click and the mystery was solved. When the landing page loaded it was very obvious what the problem was. No call to action. No contact information. No conversion form. No sight of the special offer mentioned on the banners. No even any information related to the product being offered on the banners. Other than the company logo, there was no discernable way to tell if the site you were on was the same one as the company on the banners.
Apparently no one had bothered to tell the advertiser that he still had to actually sell his product and earn the visitor's business. No one thought to design a page that was a continuation of the banner with information pertinent to the offer on the banners. It hadn’t occurred to anyone to try and gather any contact information from the visitors so they could follow up with them. Somehow, clicking on a banner was supposed the replace basic marketing principles. If it was that simple, we’d all be sipping fruity drinks on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean.
As is often the case, it wasn’t the advertising that wasn’t working, it was the site that was not converting. One of the topics we always make sure to cover when we meet a new client is their marketing strategy and how their website fits in. Your site should not BE your marketing plan, but it should be an integral cornerstone that will help turn your efforts in to ROI. If your website is not contributing to the positive growth of your business in a meaningful way, then it is a bad marketing decision. If you are not sure if your website is working, then it probably isn’t. Call us up we’d be happy to discuss how to turn your site in to a good marketing decision and wise investment.
