Best Practices for Landing Pages

A landing page is the Web page that is opened when a potential customer clicks an ad. A landing page must be in place to run an ad, and it must contain content relevant to the business being advertised. All landing pages must comply with the following guidelines or they may be rejected by one or more ad networks.

If the advertiser does not already have a landing page, consider using the WebVisible Landing Pages product.

Managing a landing page is only one aspect of running an ad campaign. You should also review the best practices for keywords and ads.

Use the following guidelines when evaluating an advertiser’s landing page:

• Links to the landing page must allow the potential customer to enter and exit the landing page easily and to return to the search results page by clicking the Web browser’s Back button once.

• The advertiser’s Web site accessed through the landing page should use a secure server when collecting personal information from users.

• The landing page must not use pop-up windows or the ad networks will refuse service to it.

• The landing page must not be under construction, have filler data as place holders, or be directed to a domain host site or the ad networks will refuse service to it.

• The landing page must not contain only photographs and must contain content that relates to the business or the ad networks will refuse service to it.

• The landing page URL must begin with either the http:// or the https:// protocol.

• The landing page URL must not use anchor tags.

• If tracking URLs are used, they must ultimately redirect to the same page as the display URL.

• Landing page URLs that automatically redirect to another Web site will be revised in Geneva to reflect the URL of the actual page that is displayed when a potential customer clicks an ad.

• Online pharmacies must have PharmacyChecker ID.

• Web sites soliciting donations must have the IRS designation 501(c)(3) or designated non-profit IRS status code displayed on the landing page.

• Web sites must be in English or Spanish.

• Landing pages must be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Ad networks refuse service to any Web site that contains or promotes any of the following:

• • Online gambling or related content

  • Alcohol, with some exceptions for beer and wine

  • Aids to pass drug tests

  • Violence against any organization or person (public, private, or protected)

  • Bulk marketing

  • Cable descramblers or black boxes

  • Counterfeit design goods

  • Defamatory subject matter

  • Dialers

  • Drugs and/or drug paraphernalia

  • Fake documents

  • Fireworks or explosives

  • Computer hacking or cracking

  • Gratuitous or graphic violence

  • Miracle cures

  • Material that infringes or violates the rights of others

  • Material that promotes products or activities that are illegal in the United States

  • Mirror sites or pages

  • Modification chips

  • Prostitution

  • Sexual content (Google, however, allows certain adult content as long as models do not appear to be under legal adult age)

  • Cigarette/tobacco and associated accessories

  • Traffic devices

  • Weapons or ammunition