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While landing pages have tra-ditionally been a focus for paid search marketers, landing page effectiveness is becoming a core component of an effective SEO and content marketing strategy.
Optimizing a landing page to provide answers and desired
next actions for users entering through
organic search and social media can make the difference be-tween a quick bounce off of your site and a lifelong customer.In anticipation of peak travel
season in the Show-Me State, take a few moments to review the pages on your website that most frequently serve as land-ing pages from organic search. Think critically about how they can be improved to encourage more visitors to journey to the Missouri.
Landing Page data can easily be found in Google Analytics. It provides insight about where to get started optimizing your pages. Be sure to take a look at which search terms are driving the traffic to each of your top landing pages.
The Missouri Division of Tourism has launched our new advertising campaign that includes a robust media mix. With a new logo and tagline, our creative campaign builds on Missouri’s moniker as “The Show-Me State.”
“Enjoy the Show” is used in all marketing messaging, encouraging visitors to experience the wide variety of tourism assets our state offers. Throughout this process, we, and the creative team at Hoffman|Lewis, our advertising agency of record, wanted to create a clean, colorful and charming graphic animation to play at the end of each advertisement.
Rukus, a Missouri-based full service, post-production facility was hired to create the 2D animation using the new logo and tagline. Here is a backstage look at this new creative that highlights Missouri’s beauty. Enjoy.
The Monthly Newsletter of the Missouri Division of Tourism
The Travel VanHoffman|LewisIt’s our favorite time of the year again…travel season. And with the start of tourism marketers’ most magical time of the year comes a new ad campaign for the Missouri Division of Tourism.
The new ad campaign, “Enjoy the Show,” launched April 22 in Missouri and more than 25
surrounding markets. It features seven TV spots, seven billboards and five print ads in addition to online and mobile banners,
Facebook ads, native ads and Chicago transit.
The new tagline, “Enjoy the Show,” capitalizes on consumers’ familiarity with Missouri and the Show-Me State nickname, building top-of-mind awareness. The new tagline also encourages visitors to consider the variety of Missouri tourism experiences available – from small towns to urban destinations – outdoor activities to world-class arts and culture.
The final creative work reflects tourism assets in five key, revenue-generating categories: outdoor recreation, family fun, arts and culture, sports and gaming, and nightlife and entertainment. It features destinations throughout Missouri that are unique and surprising, and encourages consumers to take another look at Missouri.
So go ahead, take a peek backstage at the creative work and enjoy the show – your Missouri experience is about to begin.
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May 2013
If your business is listed on VisitMO.com and is Travel Guide eligible, make note of this date: June 7, 2013. That’s the last day to update your business information
for the 2014 Official Missouri Travel Guide. If you don’t remember the process or need assistance with updating your information, send an e-mail to: [email protected].
May 18-21, 2013National Restaurant Association ShowChicago, Ill.
May 21-24, 2013PRSA Travel & Tourism ConferenceMemphis, Tenn.
June 2-4, 2013MACVB Annual ConferenceJoplin, Mo.
June 4-5, 2013ASAE MM&C ConferenceWashington, D.C.
June 8-12, 2013International Pow WowLas Vegas, Nev.
June 20-22, 2013TTRA International ConferenceKansas City, Mo.
July 15-17, 2013DMAI Annual ConventionOrlando, Fla.
July 22, 2013MTC Board MeetingJefferson City, Mo.
July 22, 2013Joint Meeting Planners TradeshowJefferson City, Mo.
Aug. 3-6, 2013ASAE Annual MeetingAtlanta, Ga.
Aug. 4-7, 2013GBTA Annual ConventionSan Diego, Calif.
Aug. 8-18, 2013Missouri State FairSedalia, Mo.
Aug. 18-20, 2013ESTORichmond, Va.
Aug. 23-27, 2013SYTA Annual ConferenceLos Angeles, Ca.
Sept. 4-5, 2013HSMAI’s MEET NationalWashington, D.C.
Oct. 1-3, 2013Missouri Governor’s Conference on TourismSpringfield, Mo.
Nov. 15-17, 2013Boomers in Groups ConferenceCleveland, Ohio
Coming Events
This photo of the Alley Mill Springs was submitted by Flickr member “phldavis” to the newly-revamped Picture Missouri photo contest.
Do you know any photog-raphers who would like to have their photos published by the Missouri Division of Tourism? Check out
PictureMissouri.com
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Travel Guide Updates Needed Got a news item for us to include next month?
Send details and contact info to [email protected]
Once you’ve established the top priority pages, use the tips below to optimize your landing pages so when a potential visitor lands on your site, you gain a new cus-tomer and a lifelong visitor to the Show-Me State.
1. Make sure the landing page answers the question posed by the most popular search key-words quickly and concisely. Once you’ve established which terms send traffic to your most popu-lar landing pages, ask yourself if you’d be happy with the result. Users typically bounce from an ineffective landing page in less than five seconds. To avoid the fast bounce, utilize header text and image space on your page to ensure the most important points stand out and deliver what was promised in the search engine result. For example, if your page is ranking for “the top ten lakes to visit in Missouri,” the individu-als who land on the page expect a numbered list, likely with photos. Be sure to give them their answer in the format they expect.
2. Provide your visitors with a clear path to the “finish line.” If the ultimate goal of the website
visit is to book a reservation, be sure to provide a clear and easy-to-navigate path to get there. Utilize design cues such as but-tons and bold text to start; make sure you don’t provide too many options for the next step by giv-ing users five ways to do the same thing. Too many options confuse visitors; they’ll look for a simpler solution on someone else’s site.
3. Integrate signals of au-thority and credibility. As Internet users become more savvy, they expect websites to include certain signs of authority. Many of these signs have nothing to do with the words or buttons on your site, but with the skin itself. Reduce bounce rates from organic search visitors by ensuring branding is carried throughout the page and it communicates legitimacy. A poorly designed landing page with little or no branding makes the user question the legitimacy of the page. Symbols of authority are even more important for landing pages encouraging a conversion prompting the user to provide credit card or payment informa-tion.
4. Provide an easily acces-sible means to share your site’s content. This is especially impor-
tant for users who visit your web-site on an information-gathering mission. If an individual lands on your website and finds your content meets or exceeds their expectation, they’re likely to share the information with their social networks, and even use a social media network to bookmark the site for their own future use.
For example, if a potential visitor is in the early phases of planning their Missouri vacation and a search for “Must-See Attractions in St. Louis,” lands them on your content and they find it extremely useful, they’ll want to tweet the link, post it on Facebook, and even pin an image to their “Vacation” Pinterest board. An optimized landing page provides opportuni-ties for individuals to share the page and creates opportunities for referrals and return visits by incorporating the necessary shar-ing buttons the audience is likely to utilize.
Get ready for peak tourism season in Missouri by refreshing your landing pages to include quick answers, easy paths to conversion, signs of authority and the right so-cial sharing icons today. Then, get ready for a great summer tourism season in the Show-Me State.
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Find a better place than Missouri to hike, bike, ride, paddle, and backpack? I think not. Missouri was recently named the Best Trails State by American Trails’ National Trails Awards program, a biennial recognition honor-ing those who work to create a national system of trails to meet the recreation, health, and travel needs of Americans. The Best Trails State award recognizes innovative and successful trail sharing efforts, programs, and systems.
American Trails recognized Missouri State Parks as a leader in promoting the importance of trails to the health and vitality of citizens. In addition, they noted many federal, state and local agencies; nonprofit organizations and private groups; and volunteers work cooperatively to plan, fund and maintain the hundreds of miles of Missouri trails.
Missouri’s extensive trail system offers an abundance of varied terrain and scenic beauty along its many miles of multi-use trails. This system includes the nation’s longest rails-to-trails project, the
Katy Trail, as well as many other significant trails including – the Pony Express; Trail of Tears; Lewis and Clark; Route 66; and Santa Fe.
No excuses…get out, get healthy and enjoy nature on one of Mis-souri’s award-winning trails!
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