Jeff and Jane from SEOmoz have posted a detailed and very informative review of WebmasterWorld PubCon 2006. The majority of this was talked about SEO, which is definitely worth a read, but it also included an overview of the “Ad and Landing Page Site Reviews” presentation:

“Starting with a Google search for a company’s chosen keyword, the panelists first reviewed the company’s paid advertisement, then clicked through to their landing page to see what was on the other side of Google’s pay-per-click curtain.

• First up was a company bidding on the phrase "car audio." The panel’s advice was to rewrite the ad in regards to an entirely numerical 1877 number they had included in the text. The ad’s writers should either make the number more memorable (1877 CAR AUDIO) or remove it altogether. Also, a banner on the landing page looked too much like an advertisement when it was actually an important part of the page.
• Language Courses Abroad are a British organization and they were up next, bidding on "French courses in France." The panel were nonplussed with the keyphrase; however it seems that quite a few people are bidding on it. They suggested that the company target for their customer base: people in London are probably more able to travel to France to study French than are people in Idaho or Australia! They also suggested that the company try some ads using "course" instead of "courses." On the landing page, the panel felt that an application form or a similar feature should be more obvious.
• The next keyword was the potentially-expensive "diamonds." This site exhibited a quality ad that could have perhaps benefited with including some quality assurances in its text. The landing page was also strong and the only advice the panel had for the webmaster was that a price guarantee mentioned in the ad should be included on the landing page, and that there was some important information below the fold.
• The next website was not actually bidding on a keyword. Instead, the site was ranking first in Google for "chiropractor venice." While the page in question was far from stylish, its simplicity meant that there wasn’t much the panel could suggest. The simplicity was brought about by the page’s lack of a template; it had a very GeoCities appearance and was missing a definable color-scheme and pictures (although one has now been added). The advertisements at the top of the page also take precedence over the page’s more important content.
• Brink’s Home Security was next, bidding on "home security." Their ad stated that a consumer could "trust" the company, and the panel suggested that a reason should be given for this trust! It appears that the company have indeed reworded their ad accordingly. Secondly, the landing page mentions a cool offer, and the panel suggested the company should run an ad with the offer in its text as well.”

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Kevin Gibbons is Founder/Director of Strategy at SEOptimise. Kevin is well known within the search industry as a blogger for sites such as Search Engine Land, Econsultancy and Search Engine Watch. Kevin is also a frequent SEO speaker at a number of conferences including Search Marketing Expo (SMX), Search Engine Strategies (SES), a4uexpo, SAScon and BrightonSEO.

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