New pay per click advertisers might think that you can’t target the separate landing pages with the same ad. Actually, you can. But I would caution that you do so with separate keyword phrases.
It is likely that your two landing pages use two different keyword phrases. Unless you are testing landing pages to see which one converts more sales (which is a useful and intelligent strategy), you are likely using landing pages to target specific keyword phrases. Your ads should do so as well. So I see two ways to use the same ad to promote two separate landing pages:
- As an A/B test where you want to test the landing pages to see which one converts better
- Where the only element you are testing is the destination URL
In the first case, you are targeting separate keyword phrases altogether. Your content is different and your page layout is likely different as well. You might use the same ad, but you replace your primary keyword. For instance, ad A may read:
Widgets Increase Speed
The only widget in the world
that guarantees increased speed.
Ad B could say:
Gadgets Increase Speed
The only gadget in the world
that guarantees increased speed.
This allows you to test the landing pages and not the ad. All you are changing is the targeted keyword and you have make sure that you match the right keyword with the right landing page. You don’t want your “widget” using your “gadget” page as the destination URL and vice-versa.
The other option is to simply use the “widget” ad and the only difference is the destination URL. But both landing pages have to be optimized for the word widget. The content may be otherwise different, but the keyword phrase “widget” must be the common element between them. It’s perfectly OK to use the same ad to target separate landing pages. Be sure that you give them separate names in your PPC interface.
