It’s the summer, business owners are away, referrals have slowed down and panic begins to set in for bookkeeping firms – welcome to the off-season, a season that demands a different approach for lead generation. A solution to this is to go digital and give yourself a temporary boost using pay per click (PPC) with optimized landing pages. Sounds very technical, right? In theory yes, but we are going to show you how to get started in four simple steps.
PPC and Landing Pages
The notion of PPC may seem alien to many bookkeeping firms and the select few that have used it more often enough see little return in terms of conversions, those hot leads that we all vie for. A simple search on google for “bookkeeping services” reveals why. Four out of the five ads that were returned for that search term all went to the homepage of these businesses.
Why shouldn’t I use my website homepage, you ask? According to conversion experts, Unbounce, a landing page should focus on a single objective that matches the intent of the ad rather than a homepage which is designed with a more general purpose in mind. A homepage is typically loaded with links and navigation to the areas on your site that will distracts visitors and reduce conversion goals.
Therefore your new optimized landing page should have these five key elements minus your website menu and footer navigation; (1) Hero shot, (2) Headline & subheading, (3) Features & benefits, (4) Call to action and (5) Social proof.
FreshBooks landing page example
1. Setup your Account
A big challenge for bookkeeping firms can be the lack of in house technical expertise. Although your website may have been built by a web designer calling upon this expert to help will not be feasible for many. This is where landing page solutions such as Unbounce can help. Unbounce provides a DIY solution for anyone to easily design and publish landing pages using best practice templates.
Signup for an free account (Allows up to 200 visitors per month)
2. Design and Copy
Once the account is setup you’re ready to start your landing page build like a pro. First, select a template from the list provided and then prepare your copy and images to fit the design. Access these free photo services to help with this.
Next, use the simple editor to update the template with your information and adjust the form fields as needed.
Unbounce template example
Finally add your preferred email address for lead notifications, you’re nearly there.
3. Publish Your Page
After you’ve saved the template, your new lead capturing machine is now ready. All what’s left is to simply publish and record the landing page URL for your next PPC campaign.
4. Choose a PPC Service
With more than one PPC service out there choosing the right one for you can be very daunting. This can depend on your preferred industry and what social media platforms they use the most. Some careful research can determine this but for most bookkeeping firms, starting out with Google Adwords would be a great first step.
Remember, if a good PPC account isn’t converting, in 99% of cases the landing page is the problem – Brad Geddes (PPC Expert)
