Mile long pages with calls to action
-
Do these mile-long pages with a call to action at the bottom really produce more conversions? For example, see http://www.keywordelite.com/. Has anyone A/B tested this format vs. breaking up the content into tabs or some other format with multiple pages? Personally, these turn me off as they seem disorganized, they take forever to read, and they always sound like scams.
-
Thanks for the answers everyone! It's still crazy to me that these pages actually work.
-
What a nice article. I LOVE case studies which are well presented like this one. Thanks for sharing!
-
Weird, I just sent this blog post link to another person with the same question.
Long scrolling narrow pages have always irked me. The design goes against every design sensibility and principal. It's the kind of feeling you know in your bones. But lots of A/B testing has shown that it works. And I couldn't find a designer that challenged this incumbent with a better design. Until NOW.
Check out 37Signal's post on their tests to see what performed BETTER:http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2991-behind-the-scenes-ab-testing-part-3-finaltheir previous posts part 2 and part go into more detail.But wow, do the results surprise you? They made me happy and relieved all at the same time.
-
When I first got interested in marketing online I read a lot of tutorials on how to best do affiliate marketing. They all suggest a huge long page of copy like this. The funny thing is, most of these pages that I see are selling books teaching other people how to do affiliate marketing!
These always look like spam to me. I expect that when I go to leave the page I'm going to get javascript saying, "Do you really want to go?"
Personally I would never buy a product from a page like this.
-
They always look like spam to me but I have seen that viperchill uses them and I know he tests continuously
edit: Shoemoney does this same tactic with his videos.
-
me to. I still keep on getting them
-
Hi Christopher,
I suspect that there are a huge amount of these types of sites that aren't spam but the point that I was trying to make is that because a large proportion of them are spam, my perception is that I instantly don't trust the credibility of any site using the same format.
This is an observation on my perception of the sites and not a reflection on all of them.
-
All that was needed was a compelling set of training DVDs and perhaps three or four years to accumulate the email addresses. Then, to keep it going, put a new series of training DVDs. The topic can be just about anything, but various types of sports training are quite common. Most probably don't do much, but a few do really well.
Best,
Christopher -
In that case, John and I can partner up and start opening up a dozen of these sites and quit our day jobs.
-
I'm sure there are many that are spam, but the ones with which I am most familiar are not. The DA is not great, but all the incoming links are legit. They sell instructional DVDs and gross about $10K per month. Most of the traffic is email driven. There is zero Adsense and ad revenue. The one web pages goes on for pages and pages of scrolling with one purpose--to sell the DVDs, or failing that, to get an email address so they can sell the DVDs next month.
Anyway, that format can work. Sure are ugly, though.
Best,
Christopher -
In regards to the SEO world, the site owners that use these type of mile-long pages seem to be all part of a group with affiliate links to each others sites.
Somewhere along the line I have ended up on their mailing list and every couple of weeks I get an email from another miracle solution to driving relevant traffic towards your website. For me the common theme for all of these sites is that they are pretty much Black Hat and shady.
Based on the sites that I have seen using this one-page format, my perception is that any site I see with the same format is Spam. This of course may not be true but personally I wouldn't see any site using this format as credible.
-
I can't cite any A/B studies so I wouldn't know if they generate more conversions, but I do know of several of these that do generate good income. One conversion that is common with the ones I know include a freebie (maybe some type of report) in exchange for an email address. Those large lists of opt-in email addresses are gold.
Best,
Christopher -
I have never had a client with such a page, but they are very popular. I can understand how a percentage of people are continuously enticed by the presentation and read further down.
My best guess is it's like junk mail. If you can find a way to present it to enough people, a small percentage convert and profit margins are extremely high. This site sells a service for $97 and I would guess it is all profit.
With respect to other formats, the single page presentation forces readers into a funnel. Sure it will cause a lot of readers to bounce, but they probably achieve the best conversion rate by forcing readers into a single funnel (i.e. scroll down the page and not get lost on various site pages).
Yes, it seems like a complete scam, but people still fall for scams every single day, and they will 100 years from now too.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does anybody know of a reliable website phone call lead tracking service that integrates with Google Analytics?
We are trying to get more detailed data about where direct website phone calls are coming from (not just Adwords call extensions). We know there are a few services available that do this. However are there any recommendations for a reliable one? We would like to show our clients Google Analytics conversion metrics that shows incoming phone calls from different campaigns.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | RosemaryB1 -
Has anyone ever used Adwords' Forwarding Numbers as a Call Tracking Service?
Hi, I was taking over a client's Adwords account from a previous agency. It appears the former agency added the Google Forwarding Number (for call tracking on call extensions) and added it to the client's website. Therefore, if anyone calls that number from the website, it would register within Adwords (just not as a conversion but as a click under "call extensions") The problem: you can't filter by phone number (the same number calling +1 would indicate spam) you can filter by device (so tablet / computer) can be considered spam generally. Questions: Anyone ever used this before? Your thoughts? Does anyone know if there is spam coming from mobile devices now-a-days? Please tell me what I'm missing. Any advice / anyone else seen this / done this? Thanks Moz Community, Cole
Conversion Rate Optimization | | ColeLusby0 -
Is putting an email address in the page title a good idea?
As our Contact Us page title was a little short I added in sales@example.com So "Contact us : Sales@example.com" We don't get a lot of spam and it hasn't noticeable increased since we did this. Tynt suggests that a reasonable number of people have copied and pasted the email - presumably to contact us Is it worth experimenting with further or a waste of time?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Zippy-Bungle1 -
Landing page on a separate domain?
I want to start a PPC campaign for an ecommerce site, but my ads are rejected due to my URL being offensive. The name works great from a branding perspective, but it has kept me from being listed in certain directories and advertisements. I thought about buying a separate domain to host the landing pages for the PPC campaign where the user would then be redirected to my product page for purchasing. Is this a good idea? Would you recommend another approach?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | RaginCajun0 -
How Do I Create a Google Analytics Dashboard for My Designer To Monitor Landing Page A/B Testing
Hello All, We recently started doing some "AdWords Experiments" using A/B testing of our search landing pages. My web design team does not have access to our AdWords account, but they do have "user" access to our Google Analytics account. What I need to figure out how to do is setup an easy dashboard (or custom report) that will show them at a quick glance how the two versions of their page are performing in terms of: Goal Completions (Conversions) where the specific page is the entrance/landing page. Bounce Rate Time spent on site where the specific page is the entrance/landing page. Pages viewed where the specific page is the entrance/landing page. Possibly a way to see the most popular page visited 'next' after starting on the specific entrance/landing page Anything else that might be useful The two URLs would be like: http://www.domain.com/search/testa/
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Robert-B
http://www.domain.com/search/testb/ Any insight about the best way to do this is greatly appreciated! Cheers!0 -
Call extension only showing with some keywords/ads?
I've enabled Call Extensions with Call Forwarding on my Adwords Campaign (found out Location Extension must be enabled, so enabled that, but left out phone number in location settings). I thought these extensions should work on a campaign level. However, I can only see the google voice call forwarding extension on some of my keywords/ads. What's up?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Mozzin0 -
Call-to-action is literally a call/dialing a number...
The call-to-action for this site is not some sort of webform, nor adding an item to a cart; it is a call, that is the action this business wants to elicit. Would there possibly be any advantage to making the number clickable and having a landing page for that, any suggestions on how to make this call-to-action more pronounced/clear? Thanks! =]
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Mozzin0 -
What company/person do you recommend for improving conversion rates on landing pages?
Hello! I'm looking for specific recommendations of companies with whom you have been "Tickled pink at fantastic conversion improvement results!" I'm the customer for this service. 🙂 I seek a page-level review of a specific area of my site. I'm looking for output of specific recommendations for improving conversion rates. I want to avoid paying for a "generic best practices report" with one or two ideas for my site sprinkled in. I realize that I will be called to complete proper input into the process. I am ready to do my share with the level of detail required. So, if you have an enthusiastic recommendation, please share. Details are appreciated. Most important, please tell me why this company made you very happy. I sincerely look forward to SEOMozzer input. Thank you kindly, Loren
Conversion Rate Optimization | | groovykarma0