Figure 4-11. Amazon.com ad for the search term “Dora Dolls”
Figure 4-12 shows the MyToyBox.com landing page for the same search. The ad seems relevant and also includes the incentive of free shipping. However, the landing page is a different story. Although we see Dora items displayed on the landing page, the results do not directly relate to the term. The products on this page include Dora quilts, books, and even toy boxes, but no Dora dolls. So, although the ad is relevant, and the products on the landing are relevant to the term “Dora,” they certainly lose scent for the term “Dora Dolls.” The landing page has broken the cycle of continuity at this point.
Figure 4-13 displays Amazon.com’s landing page, which has a similar problem to the landing page of MyToyBox.com. Although Amazon.com’s ad may have enticed the user to click through because of the free-shipping incentive, the lack of continuity on the landing page may result in a quick bounce off the page. The first six items on the page are “related” to Dora—Diego, Daisy, Dora furniture, etc.—but are not actual Dora dolls. Dora dolls didn’t appear until the bottom section of the page. Amazon.com is expecting visitors to be patient enough and scroll down to find these dolls. As a general rule, the landing page should be relevant immediately. Figure 4-14 shows a new and updated landing page from Amazon.com for the same term. The new page maintains relevance and avoids the mistakes we pointed out in the original design by displaying the Dora dolls first on the page.
Finally, Figure 4-15 displays the landing page for Target.com. This page maintains the most relevance to this particular search term compared to the other sites. Target’s ad displays the keywords searched for. The landing page continues the scent to enhance the user’s confidence in the site.
Relevance of ad content to keyword is important; so is the geotargeting of your ads. Displaying French ads for a US resident, for example, has little relevance. Figure 4-16 shows a banner ad targeting US residents that appeared on the lefthand panel of Hotmail.com.
Scent does not end on the landing page. You must maintain the message throughout your site. Every site maintains a uniform design, because if each page had a different design, look, and feel, the site visitor would lose scent quickly. Your page is delivering a promise to the user; as the user clicks through to the next page on the site, you will need to anticipate what the user expects to see.
