I recently need to replace my water heater.  I started searching for water heater installation and found an abundance of plumbers in the area.

But one stood out.  He had a landing page that said he specialized in water heater installation – it was his main service.

I converted as a lead and he won my business.

My family was in the mood for Thai food.  We searched for a local restaurant and found two.  One was an “Asian bistro” that had a variety of Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese foods.

The other was strictly a Thai restaurant.  The website showed that it was run by a Thai family, using totally authentic recipes.

We went to the Thai restaurant instead of the bistro.

Businesses that offer a bit of everything – but specialize in nothing – often create the problem of goal dilution.

Goal dilution is a term from behavioral economics that refers to how multiple goals are harder to achieve than goals pursued individually, and also how products that promise multiple benefits are less convincing than those that appear to only do one thing.

An easy way to understand goal dilution is to compare Google’s homepage to Yahoo’s:

Google:

Yahoo:

 

There are dozens of choices and links on Yahoo’s homepage.  It’s not just a search engine, it’s the news, weather report, sports report, social media trend report, entertainment portal…

Google is just a search engine.  That’s it.  With goal dilution, we perceive that Google is a superior search engine – because that’s all they do.

 

Matching My Goal

Goal dilution has a big impact on the behavior of online consumers.

There is so much content and choice available online that goal dilution can overcome us.  When I need something like my water heater installed, I want to find a solution to that problem.  I don’t want to sift through a bunch of irrelevant material to find what I need.

Advertising content that matches consumers’ active needs with specific, relevant information has a big advantage.

 

The Specialist

When I want Thai curry, I make an assumption.  A place that specializes in Thai food will have better curry than a bistro that serves a variety of Asian food dishes.

When I see a plumber that specializes in water heater installation, I assume he’ll be more efficient at that particular job.  He’ll do better work for a lower price.

Keep in mind that these are assumptions based on a perception the marketing content creates.  The Asian Bistro might have wonderful Thai curry, but their content doesn’t create the perception.  Any plumber can install a water heater, but when one guy says he specializes in it, it creates the perception that he’s better.

The internet also creates different expectations.  With the power of search, I feel like I should be able to find a specific solution to my problem.  I don’t just want anybody or anything.  I don’t want an abundance of options.  I want an exact solution.

 

Landing Pages  and Message Match

When you consider goal dilution and the power of being perceived as a specialist, you can see why creating ad campaigns with specific landing pages is so valuable.

One of the most common mistakes businesses make is to run ad campaigns for specific services, then direct traffic to a general homepage.

For example, say your kid got busted for a DUI.  You need a lawyer for this legal problem.  This is the ad and landing page sequence you want to see:

Goes to this page:

Phrases like “Over a decade of experience”, “accomplished/certified DUI specialist” let me know I’m in the right place.

The “experienced” theme in this ad and landing page are a good example of message match, meaning that the message in the ad and content of the landing page match up.

Businesses that send ads to their homepage often lose the specificity of their message, causing it to dilute and actually making it harder for visitors to complete their task.

 

Match Your Services to Campaigns

At the strategy level, start thinking of what your best services are and how you can connect them to specific keyword search phrases.

A lawyer might do DUI, taxes, and divorce.  Segment these into separate ad campaigns with matching landing pages.

A restaurant may serve burgers and steaks.  Run ad campaigns for searches on each, then highlight those menu items on the landing page.

One of the states of mind you must strive to overcome is hesitation.  When we are confused by too many choices, the most common response is to do nothing.

Make yourself look like the best at things you specialize in.  Reduce the options you put in front of people so you don’t dilute their goals.

People are searching for solutions that are an exact fit for their needs.  Match yourself to those searches, or risk getting lost in the crowd.