In a world where attention spans are getting shorter while gamification and mobile browsing are on the rise a microsite can help brands stand out from the crowd. However they aren't always an ideal solution.
So should you be using microsites as part of your eCommerce marketing? Read on to find out.
A microsite is a small-scale website that businesses can use to promote an individual product sub-brand campaign event or competition. They can be made up of a single web page or a small cluster of pages.
Microsites are hosted separately from a brand's main website. They usually have their own unique domain names but they can be hosted on a subdomain too. These simple sites don't include 'About us' pages or information about brand values. They don't usually have eCommerce functionality either. Instead they feature informative fun or interactive content that aims to engage visitors.
Microsites can help brands achieve a multitude of marketing goals. Whether they want to supercharge a product launch generate leads or target audience segments with specific content microsites can help.
Here are just a few microsite benefits worth mentioning:
Whether you want to build top of mind awareness for a new product or highlight a brand partnership microsites can keep visitors focused on the information you want them to see. They won't get distracted by an unrelated page or click on the wrong button. Instead microsites allow brands to manage and monitor the consumer journey.
Because microsites concentrate on one particular product brand target market or promotional campaign the analytics gathered are highly accurate and informative. Analyzing data from your main brand website will generally provide less conclusive results.
This means microsites can be SEO optimized for maximum impact. But a microsite is also the perfect medium for testing out new content. Brands can then use this data to make informed business decisions.
When implemented for the right reasons a microsite benefits your brand in countless ways. But there are some downsides too.
Building a website from scratch can require significant time and money. You'll need the help of designers developers and copywriters. Then there's ongoing costs like domain registration and site maintenance. While a microsite won't require complex coding it will cost more than adding pages to an existing brand website. But it doesn't need the same kind of investment as your main website, which has more use cases for the whole company and brand. But it can be a vital part of your SEO and Digital Marketing Strategy.
In the past many microsites enjoyed SEO success. Brands dominated search results with multiple domains and used backlinks to boost their main site. But Google has adapted.
Today microsites don't often generate huge amounts of organic traffic. They may even compete with your main website for keywords and backlinks - especially if you duplicate content. That's why modern microsite campaigns are often launched alongside paid advertising campaigns.
We've already touched on lots of situations where microsites can prove useful. But here is an overview of what to consider before deciding to create one.
Microsites are ideal for one-off events temporary advertising campaigns and seasonal product promotions. Any content that doesn't need to be on your brand's main website year round could be a contender.
Microsites work particularly well as landing pages for PPC ads. That's because brands can send prospects to a microsite related to the ad viewed. By providing relevant content and clear navigation brands can keep visitors' attention and nudge them to take action.
If you want to direct attention to a specific product sub-brand influencer collaboration brand partnership event or any other company initiative building a microsite might be the right choice.
If you're creating content for a subset of your target audience hosting this content on its own website is advisable. This will give your brand the freedom to create distinctive content that will appeal to this audience segment - without alienating other key demographics.
If you're trying out something new creating a microsite will allow you to accurately track the results without running the risk of ruining your main website's user experience.
To inspire your brand's campaigns here are three well-executed microsite examples we came across recently.
Walmart's main site is jam-packed with content. So to promote its drive-in movie events Walmart set up a standalone microsite. Its simple design encourages users to find their nearest event and book tickets. Walmart has also used in-store advertising to promote this microsite so having a simple domain name was important.
To build out its mailing list Crabtree & Evelyn launched a free gift campaign at Halloween. It hosted the campaign's content on a seasonal black-and-orange microsite.
Through point-of-sale advertisements and online ads the beauty brand directed shoppers to the site which looked very different to its main website. This 'No tricks just treats' campaign successfully increased footfall and online engagement for the brand.
Audi
Audi makes great use of microsites to present consumers with highly relevant content. It's got a ton of microsite examples to choose from but here are just a few.
The process of creating a microsite will vary depending on your brand's goals and needs. But here are some general steps to follow.
Be clear about why you're building a microsite and who it's for. What do you want to achieve? Is a microsite the right solution? Have you created a buyer persona yet?
Be sure to buy a domain name that will appeal to your target audience. Will it stand out and be memorable enough for visitors to find again? Is it short enough to use offline?
Content is key when it comes to building a successful microsite. You need to connect with your target persona while also considering how the keywords used could impact your brand's main website. It may make sense to prioritize a niche keyword that won't compete with your parent website.
Your microsite should have a simple design that directs users towards a single CTA. But you can also get creative with color and visuals because you aren't restricted by the branding of your parent brand's website.
Because microsites provide in-depth insights into content performance and visitor behavior's hooking up your analytics tools of choice is essential. Integrating an A/B testing solution is a good idea too.
Microsites are a great way to promote products and generate targeted leads for your business. Whether your brand runs a D2C store or solely sells products through sites like Amazon microsites can form an effective part of your eCommerce strategy.
