I’ve received a good question today about whether one should use Direct Linking or use a Landing Page while running PPC campaigns…

The answer, in my opinion is: LANDING PAGES.

I really don’t care about what others claim is best… if you’re running a PPC Campaign, you’re losing money by not Preselling the Visitor via a Review page or a Comparison page.

Review or Compare 3-7 products and, obviously, give the highest rating to the best converting product - if it’s the right thing to do. You definitely DO need to find out as much info as you can on the product, though.

When I do a review of a product that may get a lot of traffic, I tend to be honest and take the hit in sales, yet keep my conscience.

Example: I have a Google Assassin review site where I speak truthfully about the product and send the visitor to a MUCH better site — Wealthy Affiliate.

Why would I take the hit against my own commissions?

A) Wealthy Affiliate is about 120% less per month
B) Wealthy Affiliate is BY FAR, the best Affiliate Marketing training system out there…
C) 95% of the people I recommend WA to send me thank you emails or find me on the WA forums and private message me a “thank you” message.

I don’t like recommending very many products… I will never recommend a product I wouldn’t personally stand behind, as I don’t want anyone bashing me for sending them to a crappy product.

Sure, you can hide behind a domain name - but you still have to look at yourself in the mirror!

Landing pages increase Sales Conversions, and this is why so much money is being spent on learning about Landing Page design and optimization. This is also why I speak about Landing Pages on nearly half of my blog posts lately

Direct linking takes the visitor STRAIGHT to the page and once they’re gone…they’re gone! You have no chance of explaining WHY they need to buy the product or how the OTHER product is not as good… you’ve lost them! =(

Not to mention… if someone else bids on the same keyword and direct links to the same merchant - chances are, your ad will not show. Remember: Google only allows ONE ad per URL.

Direct linking doesn’t allow you to track your campaigns down to the Keyword level… it doesn’t give you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.

Direct linking doesn’t allow you to get OPT-IN EMAILS! If you’re not building a list, you’re going to miss out on extra cash later. I’ve said it before - and I said it again…

Sure, Landing Pages take more time and you may not know how to design a Landing Page… well, spend a few extra bucks and head over to Sitepoint.com and try to find someone who can make one for cheap! Rentacoder.com is a great place for this too. It shouldn’t cost any more than $250 to get a NICE looking site that will convert well. But, you can also get free Templates from sites like Wealthy Affiliate (comparison templates).

I, personally, design each and every one of my landing pages. I try to make each one similar to the best overall feel I’ve found through other landing pages promoting similar, or the same, products.

Just do yourself a favor and don’t “save the extra money” by throwing up a cheesy, non-converting Landing Page - while spending the extra cash on a loser campaign!

…TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT RIGHT!

Also… just a quick tip… there have been a few occasions in which I found the Merchant’s Sales Copy to be absolutely HORRIBLE… what to do? Easy! Pre-sell the visitor and send them to the Merchants Checkout page, IF POSSIBLE. It’s worked on a few products that I’ve promoted and increase Sales Conversions in the end.

Now, this tip won’t work for any merchant - so you’ll have to check it out for yourself. But, it’s definitely a wise choice in some instances