Relevancy is becoming religion. If a customer is searching for “yoga mat”, then we are duty–bound to drop them on the “yoga mat” page on our site. Or not.
To be clear, it is virtually always better to show relevant content when a customer clicks through from a keyword (or display!) ad because you are responding to the customer’s intention. However, those “deep” pages –– product, service, or category –– are often so utilitarian in presentation that a willing consumer may not be willing to buy from you.
So try this now: Turn a main image or a copy area on your home page into a “content slot” into which you can rotate different creative. The branding elements on your home page will help build the trust that is required to make the sale, and the relevance of the copy and image will increase relevance.
Alternatively, you can reserve space on your product pages for branding and trust elements usually used on the home page.
But why bother?
Consider the subject of deep–linking: If you’re a retailer of outdoor gear, and someone searches for “hiking boots,” you might direct them to footwear, boots, or hiking boots, depending on your capability.
Conventional wisdom (as conventional as you can get in an almost brand–new industry) has it that the further into the site you link visitors –– that is, sending the hiker to the hiking boot sub–category –– is the best answer. The consumer lands on a page featuring his actual search term! And, he’s only a click away from the shopping cart!
Here’s the problem: product pages, and even category pages, are often all but stripped of branding messages. There are no third–party endorsements, no shipping information, nothing about a returns policy, and nothing to make the company stand out from a competitor.
Send him to your home page, though, and its too generic. He may think, “Outdoor gear? I don’t want a backpack or a pair of thermal underwear! I just want some hiking boots!”
That brings us back to our two suggestions:
1. Content slot on the home page
When you turn your main image or copy area into a content slot, you can then substitute the searched–for item’s image for the usual image on the home page. Visitors who search for “hiking boots” would see a product shot of hiking boots, while those who are looking for “sub–zero sleeping bags” would see a sleeping bag and someone looking for a fishing rod would see… well, you get the point.
The difference between this and deep-linking to a product page is that the visitor sees your home page in all its branding glory, with the hiking boots (or tent, or bag) prominently featured rather than a generic (to this particular visitor) product image.
By substituting a new product image on the home page based on the search term, you’re giving your visitor not only a highly targeted page but one on which you have lavished all your branding love and care.
2. Deep–linking to a product page with branding elements
Alternately, you can continue to send visitors to a product page deep within your site. But leave room for the branding elements, the things you say and show on your home page that make you who you are.
The topic of deep–linking versus linking to a home page is really one of branding versus relevancy. It doesn’t have to be all one way or all the other. You can have your branding cake and eat it with relevancy, too. You just have to have the right recipe.