Do you think a hybrid Lead/Sales page could work? (7)
So I been blowin through some money on Google Ads now and I've run into this problem.
Commercial Intent Keyword - There's no volume so I can't really target this.
Informational Keywords - Lots of volume but not targeted.
So lets say I have a "XXXXXX Exercise Plan" to sell (not my product, just an example). A keyword like this has zero/low search volume, so maybe I target a keyword like "How To Lose Weight"
So strategies I've tried so far sending Google Ads traffic to:
1. Squeeze Page to capture leads: My optin rate seems to be too low to make this profitable. Also if no one opts in, I just pissed away money since I didn't even get to show them a sales page.
2. Straight Sales Page: No success because prospect isn't really "warmed up enough" to buy. Also since there's no opt in option, I get nothing if this person doesn't buy.
So I was thinking of structuring a page like this:
Top 1/3: Video + Opt in Form (give them something free related to my XXX exercise plan)
Body Of Content: Informational Keyword Content ("How To Lose Weight" article)
Bottom few lines: CTA to lead to sales page of product I'm pitching (If you're looking for a great way to lose weight check out my course...)
Do you think something like this could work?
My thinking is if the person visiting doesn't opt-in to my email list at least I can possibly get them over to my sales page after they read my content.
So it's kind of like a "hybrid" strategy.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
You can always split test it against your control page to see if it works better. Most marketers recommend to have only one clear action on a page though.
An other solution is to work on improving the optin rate:
- put a 3/5-question form + optin, instead of video + optin, to see if it works better. Survey landers engage more the readers
- put the optin again at the back after your copy, so that the user have a logical way to optin after reading
- work on your copy. I don't know if this is your call to action, but it is weak: "looking for a great way to lose weight check out my course"
I've seen that type of structure - definitely worth testing!
However: Why not start with what you KNOW works?
This is what I would do:
-Make a list of the top 10 products that are similar to mine
-Reverse engineer their funnel - opt-in to their list, join their FB group, whatever else
-See how they follow up / monetize
-Use a spy tool to see what keywords they're bidding on (spyfu/semrush/other - please do some research to see which one is the best)
That way you'll have lots to model after - funnels, target keywords, angles, copy, everything.
The best products have likely spent a ton of money doing split-testing already - there's no need to reinvent the wheel in the beginning. Imitate, then innovate - can potentially save a lot of time and money this way. 
Amy
Have you tried blog style articles like the ones used in native? Those mostly to deliver some coverage for informational keywords.
Not sure what your product really is, but if you want to cover informational keywords, I believe a blog or something (that can bring organic traffic too) might be your best bet to trigger readers to optin to your form. Especially in the weight loss niche people tend to read loads of articles and stuff in the hopes of finding something for free that might have worked for someone else.
Obviously the above depends a lot on the product and the strategies you are willing to invest into.
Like @jeremie already mentioned, quizzes are a good option worth testing. They tend to work really great when asking visitors the right questions, plus if you are able to keep track of the answers you might be able to tag your leads intent rate based on the provided answers.
Also, something worth testing with quiz landers can be something like:
Looking for a personalized weight loss program?
Find out now!
Q1: Q2: Q3: Q4: Q5: .... Results!
In the results page add a thumbnail of one of 3-5 different programs (all but one greyed out - meaning the person qualified for that), the add the optin form to get a copy of the personalized guide.
Inside the guide besides a few "personalized" exercises and suggestions you can link your product as a core supplement for faster results, etc.
I saw something similar to the above round a year ago, used in a really strange niche, and I was literally shocked to see the results, both conversion rate and sales.
Hope it helps
Thanks for the tips guys!
I'm going to try some of these suggestions out
Just wanted to say one thing.
So set your strategy and try to make it work. Focus on collecting leads and at the same time use the pixel to build the audience. Those who at least clicked the ad have shown some interest, so you might want to retarget them with the direct sale funnel.
Using a hybrid might work of course but make sure you're properly building it. I mean, quite often when mixing things, you end up with something that doesn't work for either of the goals you are after. So you might end up with a lander that has a poor email collection part and a poor direct sales part... in the end, the overall results might be worse than when using a lp with one clear goal that the whole page is designed around.
Sorry for the lateness - this is one of those posts I forgot to finish writing and send from days ago. 
Another thing I want to point out: Trying to figure out whether to do opt-in or sales page or both, is not half as important as 1)defining your target audience and 2)figuring out what they want, and coming out with sales text and ad angles that appeal to them.
For example, when talking about low opt-in rate, it may be that you're not offering the right thing to the right audience.
It means that you'd need to either:
-Create a different lead magnet - one that will attract the audience you're targeting now. (Copy is of course also important.)
OR
-Target a more appropriate audience - one that would be attracted by your current lead magnet.
OR
-Both.
Another consideration is how good your audience targeting is in the first place. If you're targeting a broader audience, your lead magnet may only appeal to a subset of that audience. Effectively, your lead magnet would serve to pre-qualify your visitors - attracting only the ones that are truly interested in what you have to offer.
Meaning, a low opt-in rate isn't necessarily a bad thing. If your opt-in is so good at pre-qualifying that it only attracts buyers, such that a large percentage of the people that DO opt-in, would go on to buy - then even a low opt-in rate can result in profits. The entire funnel needs to be examined as a whole - important thing is whether the funnel as a whole backs out for you.
A high opt-in rate and a big list may look good on paper, but if only a tiny fraction of that list will go on to buy, then what's the point. I've been burnt by that before - good thing I was running small-scale testing to test the waters, and was able to turn things around with more testing.
So - even before testing funnel structures (opt-in vs. sales page vs. hybrid) it's important to make sure you have good alignment among the following elements:
-A well-defined audience that is PROVEN to convert well for the product/service you're promoting. If you don't yet have this, then audience testing would be needed.
-Ways to target the proven audience(s) above, on various traffic types and sources (again, may require testing).
-The right message/angle to attract the ideal audiences to your product/service. This message should be in everything you put in front of the audience: Ads, opt-in, sales page, follow-up sequence, etc. etc. Note: You may need to create a separate message/angle for each audience.
Will stop before I turn this into a novel. @jabong82 Have you done some testing since your first post? Would love to hear how you're getting on!
Amy
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