Building Landing Pages for Mobile Games

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1 Contents... 1 Introduction... 2 Pre Launch Landing Page... 3 Design... 3 Messaging... 4 Call to Action (CTA)... 5 Conversion Process... 6 Testing and Analytics... 6 Marketing Methods... 7 Additional Strategies... 8 Final Thoughts... 8

2 Introduction With mobile gaming revenue predicted to reach $6.3 billion in , the financial opportunities for game developers is rising at incredible rates. New devices and platforms are hitting the market on a regular basis and the number of people in the world buying smart phones and playing mobile games is skyrocketing rapidly. The amount of mobile games already available to consumers is so high, that developers face an ever-growing competitive environment when trying to get their games to worldwide audiences. Developers not only need to learn how to comply their games to the fragmented device market, but also need to become savvy marketers in order to earn any revenue from their creations. That being said, the games they develop need to live up to growing user expectations. Promoting your mobile game is just as important as perfecting the game design and features. For a successful marketing approach, developers should research and educate themselves about the many online marketing methods that are at their disposal. Once of the most integral parts of any marketing strategy is the use of an effective landing page that serves to turn passive visitors into actual conversions and game downloads. A landing page, by definition, is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a certain action or result. For mobile games, strong landing pages need to successfully compel the visitor to download your game, therefore completing a conversion process. Check out these tips about creating powerful landing pages for mobile games that will get your games discovered and played. 1 The report, titled "Dataquest Insight: The Outlook for Mobile Gaming

3 Pre Launch Landing Page Before getting approvals from online stores or app-stores, building a pre-launch landing page gives you the opportunity to start promoting your game, increase excitement and anticipation of your game, and build up an list. You shouldn t give away too much in your pre-launch landing page. The information shared should be just enough to peak your visitors interest. Visual Stimulation Pre launch landing pages should consist of either an image screenshot or a teaser video of your upcoming mobile game. Signup Form The most essential element of a game s pre launch landing page is an subscription box. Give your visitors the opportunity to be the first to know as soon as your game goes live. This will also help you get a better understanding of the anticipation your game has generated. Once you have added a download capability to your page, use the following guidelines to fully optimize your landing pages. Design Above the Fold The whole landing page should reside above the fold (i.e. the viewer doesn t need to scroll down to read more content). Keep the information clear and to the point, all within the top section of the website. Allow Space Make the design is uncluttered and inviting, leaving a margin of clear space throughout the page. Experiment with Different Media Use videos of the game, screenshots, logos, banners, and other visual aids. but don t overdo it. Certification and Brand Logos Show off your affiliations with operators, app stores and certifications you might have by adding their logos. If your game is supported by many device platforms, show the platform logos.

4 Consistency Branding, design, messaging and tone should be consistent - every element supports your core value proposition, design and copy. Make sure your marketing efforts that refer users to your landing page are aligned with your branding and messaging. If users click on a banner and land on a page that looks completely different, they will think they re on the wrong page. Don t use random images from the internet that don t convey your brand. Messaging Have a Clear and Distinct Headline The headline should be the title of your game. Add it in a very noticeable and relevant position on the page, usually at the top. Add a cool catch phrase to your title that describes the game in a few words. Have a Persuasive Description Directly Beow the Headline Describe the premise of the game in a couple sentences. Make the benefits and rewards very clear why will people enjoy your game and why should they download it? Show Off Your Game Make sure the offer is something valuable enough that people will want to try out or pay for it. For instance, show off logos of awards that the game has won, all the platforms that it s compliant with, or state that the game is popular among certain platforms. Testimonials If your app has received positive reviews or has been featured on leading gaming sites, make it known by sharing the review in a testimonial section. Adding testimonials is a very powerful way to get users interested in your game.

5 Tell A Friend Button Adding a tell a friend button in a visible part of your landing page is a great way to increase word of mouth advertising. This button should allow users to enter an of someone they want to send your page link to. Don t Bore Us Keep it Short Get right to the point and remove the clutter keep reading to a minimum. Blink Test Can you get the gist of the page in 3 seconds? If not, consider readdressing the messaging and Call To Action. Call to Action (CTA) Call to Action: Focus on a clear, unambiguous call to action that conveys what the user will receive when clicking the CTA button. Don t use over-used words such as Click Here!, Buy or Subscribe because this can be a turnoff for users and search engines will not find these generic words. Instead, use softer and more descriptive CTA s that include quality keywords such as Download The Game Now! Or Own The Action! The Oversize Button Rule: For mobile game landing pages, calls to actions in the form of a large distinct buttons work very well. Large shiny buttons tend to work best. The button should be very visible. Leave space around the CTA for it to stand out. Button Color: Some say red, green, or blue or the most converting colors. However, testing is required to determine the optimal button color.

6 Conversion Process Short and Easy Conversion Process Keep the steps to conversion to a minimum. The download button should link to no more than one external page before the download process begins. If possible, have the download process start on the landing page itself. Explain the Conversion Process in Layman s Terms Add a short explanation of the game s download terms. For instance, state if it is free, a pay-per game model, or try before you buy model. Explain how easy the process is. For instance, write that once users press download, they will only need to enter their phone number and instantly get the game on their mobile phone. That s it! If the game is for sale, state the price. For instance, write download for Only $1! Remove Exit Points Don t add links that direct users out of your page. Drop navigation and other page distractions. Keep the page focused on the offer only. Testing and Analytics Testing A/B/C testing and multivariate testing with varying colors, page layouts, icons and other variables is critical for figuring out which configuration has the highest conversion rate. Analytics Use Google Analytics, ClickTracks, Omniture, Google Website Optimizer or other analytics platforms should be used to measure performance metrics such as conversion rate, bounce rate, day segmentation, click through rate, referral sites, funnels, keyword efficiency and much more.

7 Marketing Methods SEO Research good SEO practices.for instance, use H1 headings, meta-tags, incoming links, quality keywords, URL names and alt tags in your page. SEM Research good SEM practices. For instance, build PPC campaigns in all the main search engines. Ensure relevancy between keywords and page content, write appealing ad copy, optimize bids and increase Quality Score in Google. Keywords Having quality keywords in your pages is the most effective way for search engines to find your page. Once you research and find relevant long-tail keywords and competitive keywords, add these keywords to your page in an informative way. Display Advertising Create banners for your game and start campaigns with global display networks. Target websites that are relevant to your games within mobile verticals, games verticals or other relevant verticals. Optimize your campaigns by monitoring geographical trends, CTR, frequency capping, ecpms, conversion rates and more. Social Networks Take a moment to understand your long term strategy. Will you be creating several mobile games or a single game? Once you have your strategy in place, you can start working on building your social presence based on your long term goals. Create pages and accounts for your game on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other popular networks. Place social network sharing plug-ins on your page to create a buzz on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Reddit, and similar sites. Remember that video content plays an important role in generating visibility for your game. Uploading video content from your game to YouTube, Viddler, Dailymotion and dozens of other video sharing sites is very beneficial. In addition to the video, a link back to your landing page should also be added to the video s description.

8 Additional Strategies Competitive Analysis Check out what your competitors landing pages look like and see what they re doing right. Would you download their game? This serves to give you ideas to mimic or ways to stand out as innovative and different than your competitors. Get Feedback Print out your landing page and show it to others - you ll gain tons of insight. Co -branding If you created your game with a reputable third party product or game studio, add the company s logo. Sound If your landing page has sound, provide the ability to adjust volume and mute, or else sers may leave the page. QR Codes Services such as make it a breeze to create and share QRCodes. These codes link back to your website or directly to your game. If you really want to go all out, print out the QRCodes and have them distributed through your neighborhood. Final Thoughts There are clearly dozens of methods of creating successful mobile game landing pages. However the main ingredient remains your game s content and value. If the game is intuitive, fun and exciting, your promotional efforts will be much easier to achieve. Remember that no amount of marketing can make a bad game any better. MoMinis Mobile Game Promotional Channels MoMinis Ltd is a company providing free mobile game development tools as well as comprehensive game distribution and monetization channels. Developers who create games with MoMinis can promote their games using MoMinis built-in global distribution partnerships with global operators and online stores as well as promote their games by using the MoMinis Promote Your Game Program. To find out more about these distribution opportunities, please visit MoMinis Distribution Page.