Matching Your Article with Your Landing Page
Something people often don’t consider when writing an article, is where the link will take the reader. They know that they are building a link to a particular page, but they don’t really think about the content on that page in a strategic manner.
You article and landing page should match in a way that enhances your reader’s experience. Think of the article as the first step in your reader’s journey for information, and your landing page as the second step in their journey. The third step is of course the purchase of the product (or some other action), but that is outside the scope of this resource.
Each step of the journey should logically flow into the next. You don’t want to be bombarding the user with the same information every step of the way. People have a very short attention span on the internet, and they are always looking for new and better information.
For instance, when writing an article for SA, don’t just rewrite your landing page – that is not adding anything to the user’s journey. Don’t provide a product comparison in your SA article if your landing page also provides a product comparison.
A more effective strategy would be to write a SA article that discusses how to compare similar products in that niche.
For instance, my SA article on “How to Find the Best Asus Eee Pad Transformer Case†provides the reader with helpful information on what to look for in a good Asus Transformer case. It tells them to avoid plastic, to consider the different types of leather, and that it is important to look at product comparisons (hint!). Every link in that article takes them to a product comparison page (my landing page), where they can take the knowledge they have gained in the SA article, and apply it to selecting a case that fits their needs.
Notice how the landing page provides them with the next logical step in their journey. I am not bombarding them with the same information; I am strategically enhancing their experience every step of the way.
I am not merely trying to get them to buy a product. I am trying to provide them with the information and tools necessary to make an informed decision BEFORE they buy a product.
@urn357: I understand where you're coming and you do raise some legitimate concerns. I'm not claiming these techniques will work for everyone, but I have certainly noticed a higher CTR on most of the articles I submit using these strategies. I'll upload some screenshots when I have a chance, but it's not uncommon for me to get CTR around 20 - 30% on my SA articles.
Part of a high CTR also has to do with the article topic and the quality of the article. Some topics are just not going to give you a high CTR for various reasons (e.g. not something people are passionate/emotional about).
In response to SA not coming up in webmaster tools, I have noticed a similar thing as you sometimes. However, webmaster also doesn't show ALL of the links going to your website. Just because it doesn't come up in webmaster doesn't mean Google doesn't recognize it. And no, SA has not changed their links to NF.
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And I've said this before in the forum. Google webmaster tools no longer recognizes my links from SA. They used to about 6-10 months ago, but nope not anymore. So if you are looking for Google to recognize your links from SA, then good luck on that. Yeah, your article may rank high in their search engine, but I think SA changed their links to NF or something. I will think this way until they clarify and show me I'm wrong anyway.
And I've said this before in the forum. Google webmaster tools no longer recognizes my links from SA. They used to about 6-10 months ago, but nope not anymore. So if you are looking for Google to recognize your links from SA, then good luck on that. Yeah, your article may rank high in their search engine, but I think SA changed their links to NF or something. I will think this way until they clarify and show me I'm wrong anyway.
