Testing your landing page can narrow down errors, saving you a lot of headaches. A landing page may be keyword optimized to draw in traffic, but that doesn’t mean it’s optimized to meet your goals. Think about what you want your landing page to accomplish and ensure that every element is designed to move readers toward that goal.
Landing pages that aren’t getting conversions likely have one or more elements that aren’t in tune with your goals. Before you start creating new landing pages, know which elements on your current page are causing the problem. Remember to look at things from your reader’s point of view so you can make adjustments that will resonate with them more effectively.
This simple test will allow you to evaluate the quality of your landing page in 5 minutes:
- Skim the Copy: Read your landing page out loud and time yourself. It should take fewer than 15 seconds to read all the essential information about your offer. Too much text can be overwhelming, causing viewers to click away rather than following your call-to-action. If your page seems bulky, cut down the text and move all essential information to the top of the page.
- Evaluate Your Organization: All information about your offer and its value should be placed above the fold. Your call-to-action should also be above the fold since most readers don’t scroll down once they’ve reached a page. Therefore, any information that’s below the fold is likely to be missed.
- Check Your CTA: Your call-to-action button should be easy to find, easy to follow, and stand out from the rest of your page. Text on the CTA should be under five words and include a command that indicates what you would like your readers to do. Clear direction eliminates guesswork that could make readers hesitate about following through.
- Think About Images: Your landing page should include at least one image that’s relatable to your product or service. Statistics also show that unique images of people get the best conversion rates, so avoid using stock photos if possible. Try a photograph of a member of your team showing off your product is a good choice.
- See if Your Page is Responsive: Most people browsing the Internet are doing so from a mobile device. If your landing page won’t scale so it’s easily viewable on a smart phone, it will be hard to read and interact with. Low usability almost guarantees that users will navigate away from your page. If your page is responsive, make sure it stacks well. You should still be able to view the basic information about your offer and the call-to-action button without scrolling.
- Check if Your Address Crawls: PPC-only landing pages may be designed not to appear in search results, which could limit your traffic. Type “site:” and your landing page’s address into a Google search, i.e. site:yourdomain.com. See if your landing page appears. If it doesn’t, you will need to upgrade your page’s PPC status.
- Compare Your Content: When you run a search for the keyword your landing page is targeting, what other results pop up? If your page is drastically different from the content that appears, your page might not be meeting readers’ expectations. Adjust your content or target another keyword so you can draw in readers that are more likely to engage with the offer you’re promoting.
Once you’ve tested your website you can start making adjustments to make the page more user friendly. Consider running A/B tests on more subjective elements such as the copy to see what style resonates more with your audience. The guidelines you set will make it easier to create landing pages that convert more effectively in the future.