Creating Microsites:

A Step-by-step Guide With Examples

Increase traffic and drive conversions with microsites

Perhaps you're wondering, "Why should I care? Do I really need this, on top of everything else!?" A valid concern, but here’s why you'd be unwise to ignore it: Although microsites aren't the latest or most cutting-edge in the marketing toolbox, they remain a staple in the digital marketing world because of the potential they carry. When constructed and marketed properly, microsites do in fact contribute to the bottom line. This guide will demonstrate how - in as little words as we possibly can - so you can start replicating success for your own campaigns. This is something we hear a lot, but we’re going to tell you why this thought is completely and utterly off base. There is always a need. Heck, you probably have dozens. Is your company introducing a new product to the market? Do so with a microsite. Are you launching a seasonal campaign? Make a microsite. Rebranding? Show it off on a microsite. You get the point: There are many uses for microsites. This guide will point out the best of them. Now that you're convinced, we've got some chapters ready for you with everything you want to know about microsite design and marketing. We'll examine what a microsite is, how you can benefit and where to begin, followed by best practices, examples, and lots of expert advice.

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What is a microsite? "A microsite is a smaller, simpler auxiliary site that is different from a company’s main website, serves a specific purpose, and is sometimes temporary. Some have their own domain names, while others live happily on a brand's main site.”

Notice the last point of the definition. It’s often overlooked, so here it is again: "Some have their own domain names, while others live on a brand’s main site." This creates a lot of confusion for marketers, and many focus only on the former (a microsite with its own domain). We will expand on the topic of the URLs/domain name later on, but it's important that you understand early on that there is more than one way. The rest is just as important: Simpler, smaller, auxiliary. A microsite can launch a product, promotion or campaign in ways that full websites can’t (CreativeBloq). How so? By conveying information in creative ways and serving a single purpose (unlike a company’s main site). Microsites eliminate the clutter and distractions that come with a full website. Paul Boag of Boagworld points out that microsites integrate content with design and give marketers complete control over the look and feel of the website. Irrelevant headers, footers and menus are eliminated, leaving only microsite design that perfectly fits the content. By removing distractions and seamlessly integrating content with design, marketers can push readers to complete their calls to action far more quickly and effectively than is possible on a brand’s main site. Later in this guide we will explore more benefits, uses and best practices, but first, know this: Microsites are smaller, simpler websites that are associated with a company or brand that look and behave differently than the brand’s full site. The microsite serves a specific purpose, like launching a product or campaign, with the goal of pushing users toward a call to action. While they have the benefit of giving marketers total control of design and content integration, microsites can cause confusion if they stray too far from the company's branding, among a few other challenges. In the next article, we dive deeper into the many benefits of microsite marketing.

Microsites can offer real value to your digital marketing. In addition to helping you push out your key messages and better engage with your target audiences, microsites can, and do, contribute to your business’s bottom line(s). Here are just a few examples of companies that were able to do just that:

The decade-and-a-half-old microsite, BeingGirl.com, was created to provide information and expert advice on topical self care issues for young girls. The microsite offers plenty of helpful content, such as body and wellness, beauty and style, life, relationships, and even some free stuff (courtesy of a handful of P&G brands, think: Secret, Venus, Covergirl). When the site first launched, it earned a lot of media attention and was the subject of numerous case studies. Nicolette Beard writes for TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog, “BeingGirl.com offered a gathering place that helped position the brand in a way that would have been lost on the main site. Ultimately, the purpose of a microsite is to provide deeper content that’s easier to consume, which P&G accomplished.” The company’s big-sister approach garnered some impressive results... Results: While the site was originally limited to a bulletin board format that controlled peer-to-peer interactions by screening all posts before they went live, it transformed into a community where of 100 percent of daily posts are user generated, which allows P&G to focus on developing the evergreen content the site is known for (DeWitteDigital). BeingGirl.com has over one million site registrants and is indexing 436,000 unique visitors per month, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings. The site continues to grow as it drives awareness through schools, sampling, and smart search engine marketing. Although no specific numbers were reported, a study by Forrester Research found that BeingGirl.com was four times more effective as a similarly priced program using traditional media (Content Marketing Institute).

Courtesy Chevrolet, established 60 years ago in Phoenix, AZ, is a premier ecommerce dealer that achieved over 4,000 online sales when it deployed an intense microsite and search engine marketing campaign to boost sales. While there were many parts to Courtesy Chevrolet's strategy (sponsored posts, PPC and display ads, etc.), we are going to focus on the company’s microsite strategy and how its micro-site contributed to product sales. The strategy went like this: Courtesy created ads, then used key search words and microsites to target which people saw the ads. Using a simplistic microsite design, the company was able to quickly recoup its investment in developing them. Results: According to Auto Dealer Monthly, “Courtesy saw an immediate increase in leads, conversion ratios and sales volume with Courtesy’s keyword segments coupled with the boost delivered by its microsite.” In addition to lowering the cost per lead by nearly 50 percent, Courtesy Chevrolet’s SEM and microsite combination generated closing ratios on SEM leads at 7.27 percent, surpassing the closing ratios on third party leads (5.15 percent). The dealership’s cost per sale on SEM/microsite leads was $134.93, while the cost per sale on third party leads was $358.24 (a 2.6x higher cost).

Logicalis, an international IT solutions and managed services provider, launched a B2B brand storytelling content marketing campaign to introduce new HP hardware, software, and related services to customers and prospects. The ultimate goal was to increase its HP sales and pipeline. The thought leadership campaign included an eight-page microsite with six targeted messages based on the prospects’ interaction with the campaign. To drive traffic to the microsite, the organization used a series of six emails and a call to action for a free downloadable e-Book to capture names and emails as folks requested the download. (This is an excellent example of how content assets work together in a campaign and contribute to different areas of the buyer’s journey.) Results: According to Logicalis agency partner, Communications Strategy Group, the 12-week campaign targeted nearly 2,000 existing and prospective customers, with the microsite generating a 15 percent click-to-open rate. The creation and delivery of the marketing materials cost the company $20,000, and brought in nearly $8 million in closed and new pipeline business. Logicalis was so pleased with the campaign that the team opted to run this type of program once a quarter. The process remains the same, but the content of the microsites and emails change to reflect what's going on in the marketplace and what information prospects are looking for. *The campaign earned the company (and partnering agency) a Killer Content Award for “Best Sales Enablement.”