In December 2005 AdWords began to include the quality of the landing page into their "Quality Score". The quality score is a determination that is based on a variety of things including CPC, CTR and the quality of the landing page itself.
What is a quality landing page? According to Google, a quality landing page usually contains the following:
A link to the page that contains what you mention in your ad. Note that this isn't the actual page you mention, but a link to that page. Google doesn't mind landing pages, they just want people to be able to find stuff easily.
Relevancy. Google doesn't want you sending widget buyers to South American vacation websites.
Ads that stand out. Google wants your new customers to be able to tell what are sponsored links, and what are not. Apparently Google doesn't like deceptive advertising...who knew?
Information without registration. Unlike the Wall Street Journal, Google doesn't want your users to have to register to view content. Google, why don't you call the WSJ? They rank #1 for a lot keywords, but then display two pages, one to GoogleBot and one to real people.
Unique Content. We always knew this. Google doesn't like duplicate content, and neither do your visitors, give them what they want.
Follow those guidelines, direct from Google, and you'll be on your way to safe landing pages!
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