Message match

Message match is how closely a landing page continues the message a visitor saw just before clicking: the ad, keyword, email or link that brought them there.

Why it matters

Visitors judge the page against the promise they just clicked. If the headline changes the subject, the audience or the offer, they have to work out whether they're in the right place, and many leave. For paid traffic, that's a click you paid for.

How to get it right

• List every promise in the ad: audience, outcome, offer, numbers.
• Make sure each one is on the first screen, in similar words.
• Give big campaigns their own page or at least their own headline.
• Re-check whenever the ad or the page changes.

Common mistakes

• Sending every campaign to the homepage.
• An offer in the ad that isn't on the page.
• Different words for the same thing in the ad and the page.