Yahoo's Conversion Tips: Optimize, Navigate and Track

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<p>Over at Yahoo's Search Marketing <a href="http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2008/07/10/bringing-home-the-bacon/">blog</a>, Marketing Communications Manager Roger Park is offering up tips on converting your search ads. He breaks down a bunch of <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080527-095616">best practices</a> principles to three main steps: Optimize, Navigate and Track.</p>

<p><strong>Optimize</strong></p>

<p>Optimizing your <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080311-201947">landing pages</a> is crucial to a profitable search marketing campaign. Park advises:</p>

<ul><li>Have a <a href="http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=832921">"deep link"</a> to a product on your site</li><li>Offer several contact methods</li><li>Online shopping carts should be secure and easily visible</li><li>Remove broken links</li><li>Have good server availability</li></ul>

<p><strong>Navigate</strong></p>

<p>Park encourages site owners and developers to put themselves in the shoes of their web site visitors. I personally have found that many of my clients have a difficult time being able to do this. They're just too close to their business. So, it was nice that Park also served up some tangible tips:</p>

<ul><li>Create an obvious pathway to the product that the visitor searched for</li><li>Don't have too many layers between the landing page and the end goal - no more than 2 clicks</li><li>If the end goal is sale, move non-commercial content below the fold</li></ul>

<p><strong>Track</strong></p>

<p>Successful marketing campaigns are built on solid data. Consistently evaluate your data and tweak your paid search campaigns accordingly. <a href="http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/ysm/sps/start/overview_analytics.html">Yahoo's conversion-only analytics tool</a> can help you do that. The tool can help you analyze keywords, tweak landing pages, and improve under-performing ads.</p>

<p>What do you think of Park's advice? Anything else you would add to the mix? Share your ideas in the comments!</p><div class="feedflare">
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