You've researched your keywords, written great ads, set your budgets and bids, and have embarked on what promises to be a really butt-kicking PPC campaign. But wait… you’re not seeing the conversion numbers you expected. So you go into crisis mode… you check the conversion code, you test the campaign by actually clicking on your own sponsored search (or PPC) ad; and your results show that everything is right and perfectly implemented. So what is the problem?

Before you throw more of your budget at the search engines, or spend needless time looking at keywords and what users are searching for, take a look at your landing page. Is it telling users what they need to know? Is it friendly and good looking? Or do you arrive at a page loaded with information in a font or format that is hard on the eye? Are you able to immediately see the relevance of the page to the information you searched for, or do you have to wade through screens worth of waffle with no way out, and no other navigation options? Can you request information from the site owner on this page or do you have to go elsewhere to do that? These are serious concerns and my advice to you is…

When building landing pages for your PPC campaigns the best thing you can do is KISS! (Keep It Seriously Simple)

I firmly believe that if you have a PPC campaign showcasing various services your company offers; that you should have a landing page built specifically for each service. Don't send users to a generic page that tells them what “Chantelle's Holidays" is all about, if they have searched for “things to see in cape town". If you are going to use this as a keyword, get proper value from the cost of the click by giving the user the information they are looking for. The more relevant and fresh you make this page, the higher your chances of making that conversion or sale.

I recently worked on a campaign (in my capacity as PPC Campaign Manager for Quirk eMarketing) that hadn't shown the results we'd expected over a period of time. By simply adding a few textlinks to the existing page, we started to see a considerable increase in the conversion rate. Another great idea is to use a very simple technology called a navigation panel.

In fact, visit any good website that provides information and you're likely to be greeted by options that allow you to navigate to other pages on the site – and other options that allow you to navigate the page you're on. This is especially important if the information on the page extends below the fold. Instead of asking browsers to scroll down, you are giving them the ability to quickly find the information they are looking for; making the entire browsing experience easier and more efficient.

Once again, “keep it simple". Give users what they are looking for in a way that is easy for them to access. Whether it's a site aimed at business people or holiday makers, or the youth, or the general public - make visiting your pages a memorable experience. If people know they can get relevant information quickly by visiting you, not only will they keep coming back to your site: there will also be willingness and a certain trust when it comes to doing business with you.

Focus on one aspect of the business and build a PPC campaign around that one area. Start Small! Tweak that campaign until it is running the way you want it, and only then shift your focus to another area - slowly building pages and campaigns for each aspect of your business as you go. These simple baby-steps will ensure that you don't waste any of your precious budget, and that each part of the campaign goes smoothly and operates at its peak; optimising your business performance. If all else fails, get an expert opinion!