Guide to Landing Page Testing Strategies, KPIs, and Mistakes

Jan 17, 2024 - Mike Hakob

Landing pages are the digital storefronts that attract, engage, and convert site traffic into leads and sales. However, most landing pages fail to capitalize on their visitors and achieve their full potential. There are, both complex yet straightforward and also simple landing page testing techniques to fuel the growth by finding ways to improve performance.

We’ll explore:

  • How to pinpoint invisible visitor friction points damaging your conversions
  • Ways to conduct landing page testing and explore testing strategies
  • Optimization approaches that made companies millions more in sales
  • Actionable tips for astronomic lead generation gains
  • Key metrics vital for interpreting landing page test results
  • Common errors that fail landing page testing experiments

Put these expertise-elevating insights into action right away and rapidly grow businesses to new heights.

What are The Main Components of an Effective Landing Page?

A high-converting landing page contains several key ingredients to capture a visitor’s attention, communicate value, build trust, and motivate the desired action.

The main elements include:

Headlines and Copywriting

The headline and written copy form are the core content of a landing page, communicating offers to visitors. An engaging headline sells the benefits, while the copy elaborates on details. Compelling headlines and copy can capture interest, explain value, establish credibility, address concerns, and prompt visitors to convert.

Call to Action (CTA) Optimization

Call-to-action buttons indicate the next step a visitor should take. Visual emphasis through color contrast, size, and placement is vital. Match CTA language to the offer and optimize for clarity. Include directional cues to guide users.

Visual Elements and Multimedia

Visuals include images, graphics, illustrations, videos, and other engagement-enhancing multimedia. They help to illustrate key information, showcase products visually, display social proof elements, and add engaging and explanatory content. It’s recommended to ensure optimized formatting for easy viewing.

Lead Capture Forms and User Data Collection

Lead generation is crucial for capturing potential customer information, enabling continued engagement. For effective lead generation, it’s important to keep forms brief and focused solely on essential data points. Lead generation forms enable capturing site visitor information to continue to lead nurturing post-visit.

  • Keep forms brief and focused only on essential data points.
  • Offer a compelling incentive encouraging form completion.
  • Follow up promptly with those who convert.

landing page statistics

Image Source: cience.com

What is Landing Page Testing?

Landing page testing is the evaluation of different page versions by experimenting with copy, layouts, visuals, and call-to-actions to determine what combination delivers the best conversion results.

Testing landing pages provides data revealing the most effective presentation of your offer. Systematically testing landing pages identifies the optimal balance of elements for improved conversions.

landing page testing example graphic visual

Image source: wynter.com

Why is it Important for your Business to Test your Landing?

If you want to get more leads by increasing conversion rates, then testing your landing pages is one of the most critical steps. A well-optimized landing page acts as the cornerstone of effective digital marketing strategies, directly playing a key role in elevating user engagement metrics t and sales conversions. It’s the first interaction point between your business and potential customers, setting the tone for their entire customer journey.

facts about landing page testing

Image Source: vwo.com

 

Optimizing landing pages through structured testing provides many business benefits.

  • Enhanced Conversion Rates: Testing landing pages consistently lifts conversion rates by double-digit percentages. Fine-tuning page elements directly increases the number of visitors becoming leads, customers, and subscribers.
  • Increase Sales: Higher conversion rates directly translate to more closed sales from landing page traffic. Sales growth provides a significant value boost for e-commerce merchants, consultants, and B2B companies promoting products or services.
  • Make Landing Page Improvements: Landing page testing reveals underperforming areas needing improvement, from confusing messaging to poor call-to-action placement. Iterative tests guide continual refinement for peak performance.
  • Learn About Your Visitors: Landing page testing provides visitor behavior insights, exposing subtle turnoffs. Discover sources of hesitation, confusion, and exit indicating flaws to address through test variants.
  • Get More Engagement: Testing landing pages often increases time-on-page and decreases bounce rates, producing more engaged visitors. Compelling landing pages translate to more robust lead quality and customer retention.

Key Sections to Test on a Landing Page

Landing page testing is a multifaceted process that involves examination and iterative testing of different elements to boost overall performance and user interaction. Systematic and structured landing page testing of various components not only streamlines the user’s journey but also elevates the potential for higher conversion rates and a more compelling user experience. businesses can effectively refine their landing pages by identifying and focusing on key high-impact areas. These modifications are not just about altering visuals or text but about enhancing the user’s interaction, perception, and the persuasive power of the page.

The key areas for structured landing page testing include:

Headline

The headline makes a vital first impression, selling visitors in seconds. Test different headlines of a landing page against each other to determine which best communicates value and incites interest.

Call to Action Buttons

Experiment with CTA size, color, language, and placement changes to lift click-through rates. Always test CTAs in the context of other landing page elements.

Pricing Strategies

If showcasing pricing plans or purchase options, test emphasizing different elements on the landing page like discounts versus bonuses to raise conversions.

Landing Page Image

Images can profoundly impact user engagement on your website. Test alternate visuals, graphics, and product photos against the original to pop.

Landing Page Forms

Forms on landing pages are often the most critical touchpoint for user interaction and conversion on a website. To enhance the likelihood of user form completion, simplifying and refining forms is key. Engaging in testing different aspects of the form can significantly streamline the user experience and boost conversions. Based on the data gained by form analysis you can consider experimenting with reducing the number of fields to minimize user effort, optimizing field labels for clarity and understanding, offering incentives for submission to increase motivation, and ensuring the form is prominently placed for easy access. Each of these strategies aims to reduce friction and encourage users to complete the form. Simplifying forms typically improves conversions. It’s a good idea to test a reduced number of form fields, optimized labels, incentivized submission, and prominent placement.

Unique Selling Proposition

Experiment with emphasizing specific elements of your competitive edge as the unique selling proposition to hone the most compelling positioning. Test variations of phrasing and the prominence of different benefits to identify what most effectively resonates with your target audience. Consider integrating customer feedback or success stories to reinforce the credibility of your USP.

Sales Copy

Fine-tune copy by testing rearranged content sections, different copy tones, additional proof elements, and various callouts. Observe how changes in message framing or the introduction of persuasive language impact user engagement and conversion rates. Keep an eye on metrics like time on page and bounce rates to gauge the effectiveness of new copy variations.

Text Font and Style

Subtle typography changes affecting readability can influence conversions—test alternate fonts and styles to determine the optimal approach while conducting landing page testing. Assess different typefaces, sizes, and color schemes to find the most legible and appealing combination for your audience. Consider the emotional impact of typography and how it aligns with your brand’s personality.

Page Layout and Design

Layout changes clarifying landing page flow and hierarchy often lift conversions—test layout, spacing, sizing, and styling iterations. Experiment with the placement of key elements like CTAs and forms to ensure they’re in the user’s natural browsing path. Analyze how different design elements interact and contribute to a cohesive and user-friendly experience.

Landing Page Testing Methods

To continually optimize landing pages, three primary landing page testing methods enable systematically evaluating changes. Each testing method offers a different approach to comparing variations and understanding user preferences.

A/B Testing

A key landing page testing strategy, landing page A/B testing compares a control version of a page against one or more variant versions with isolated changes. By presenting two experiences to random user groups, you can evaluate your performance to determine a better design.
a/b landing page testing example

Image Source: rocketium.com

Understand the A/B Landing Pages Testing Process

There are five key steps to A/B test a landing page:

  1. Identify a goal metric, like conversion rate or lead generation, as the performance benchmark.
  2. Create a control version representing the current landing page.
  3. Develop a variant A and possibly B version of the page with specific, isolated changes. Common examples are revised headlines, different images, or button locations.
  4. Split incoming site traffic randomly between control and variants using analytics tools.
  5. Test simultaneously for a defined period, comparing performance on the defined metric to determine a winning experience.

Some A/B landing page test cases include:

  1. Testing a complete redesign with major layout, content, and visual changes of a landing page
  2. Evaluating the impact of different high-level positioning statements
  3. Contrasting limited-time scarcity messaging against a generic offer
  4. Assessing modal pop-ups with lead generation forms versus below-page forms

Multivariate Testing

Multivariate testing is another landing page strategy that evaluates the effectiveness of multiple elements and combinations to determine an overall optimized page.

multivariate testing

Image source: wynter.com

Understanding Multivariate Testing for Landing Pages

The landing page multivariate testing process involves the following:

  1. Identifying key page elements to test on a landing page, like headlines, images, copy blocks, or CTA button messaging
  2. Defining a range of variations for each one, including the existing version as the control
  3. Generating all possible combinations of those element variants
  4. Serving different experiences with variant combinations to site visitors
  5. Evaluating the page-level performance to pinpoint the best-converting element mix

This landing page test method reveals both the individual and combined influence of various changes in the context of each other.

Multivariate testing works well for questions like:

  1. How do alternative headlines, images, and copy blocks interact for engagement?
  2. What button size, color, and text works best with a given background on a landing page?
  3. Do testimonials or awards logos produce higher credibility?

Landing page testing factors together expose compounding or diminishing effects.

Landing Page Split Testing

With landing page split URL testing, two parallel versions of a landing page receive separate URLs. Traffic is divided randomly to evaluate isolated changes without broader site navigation impacts.

Understanding Split URL Testing for Landing Pages

The landing page split test process:

  • Set a target metric and create an original landing page
  • Duplicate and modify that page, creating a secondary variant on the page
  • Set up two URLs accessing each specific page version
  • Analyze conversion performance, identifying any improvements from changes

Split testing of a landing page works well for questions like:

  • Do five benefits or three benefits perform better in a list?
  • Will a cost-saving calculator lift conversion rates?
  • How do video testimonials impact trust compared to written ones?

The dual-page approach localizes experimentation without altering existing site pages and URLs.

How to Get Started with Landing Page Testing

If you’re looking to optimize your landing pages and boost conversion rates, mastering the art of landing page testing is essential. Follow these steps for creating an effective landing page testing strategy to achieve your marketing goals.

  1. Define the landing page’s conversion objectives, such as boosting leads, sales, or overall conversions.
  2. Identify areas on the page that require enhancement.
  3. Develop a landing page test hypothesis outlining potential modifications, such as altering the CTA button color or revising the headline text.
  4. Construct a variation of the landing page with the proposed changes to elements.
  5. Establish measurable goals to evaluate the performance of the original page versus the variant.
  6. Execute the landing page testing using a suitable tool.
  7. Determine the winning version and apply its improvements to the original landing page.

landing page testing fact

Image Source: cience.com

Understand User Behavior to Decide What You Should Test First

To truly understand user behavior and decide what to test first on your landing pages, it’s essential to analyze existing visitor behaviors comprehensively. This involves digging deep into both qualitative and quantitative data to uncover the underlying reasons for visitor actions or inactions. Look at patterns in how different segments interact with your site; perhaps new visitors behave differently from returning ones, or international users have different needs and expectations. Analytics tools and user feedback forms are your best friends.

Website Analytics

In website analytics, consider the different sources of traffic and how each might interact with your landing page differently. Engage with metrics like time on page, page views, and interactions per visit to understand what’s retaining users’ attention and what might be causing disinterest. Additionally, consider the device usage patterns to ensure that mobile users are not facing a compromised experience. Website analytics often exposes obvious leak points, whether extremely high bounce rates or specific pages showing sharp drop-offs. Prioritize landing page testing to address obvious problems first.

Form Analytics

When it comes to form analytics, it’s not just about seeing where users drop off but understanding the why behind it. With form analysis you can learn the time taken for users to complete each field can indicate potential trouble spots. Frequent errors in specific fields may require clearer instructions or a simpler design. When you examine form analytics, you can easily identify opportunities for improvement, enabling you to refine your forms. Experiment with different form layouts and structures through A/B testing to find what leads to better completion rates. Also, analyze the sequence in which users fill out the form to unveil insights into how intuitively designed the form is. Review form data to identify field completion rates and fall-off points indicating form abandonment issues needing optimization through landing page testing.

landing page speed statistics visual

Image Source: popupsmart.com

Web Surveys: Gather Valuable Customer Insights on a Large Scale

Quick pop-up or exit surveys provide immediate visitor feedback revealing objections and perceptions to address in landing page test variants. When you deploy surveys, they can strategically minimize form abandonment rates and maximize response rates. Analyze trends over time to understand evolving customer needs and preferences, tailoring your landing page to better meet these requirements.

Set Your Goals and Target Audience

Clearly outline the learning objectives and identify the target audience, focusing on potential converted leads for re-engagement communications. Establish metrics to measure the effectiveness of the feedback in driving changes and improvements.

Pick Your Methodology

Choose implementation options balancing broader feedback versus focused insights on user actions.

Site pop-ups, post-conversion surveys, and always-available feedback forms have pros and cons. Evaluate use cases to select optimal approaches. Consider the context and timing of each method to optimize response rates and quality of feedback. Regularly review and adapt your methodology to changing user behaviors and emerging best practices to maintain effectiveness.

Choose Your Questions

Limit to key questions, avoiding overloading visitors. Prioritize addressing known problem areas or assumptions needing validation. For example, if cart abandonment rates are high, include questions about the checkout process. Ask questions in a way that is easy to understand and answer, using a mix of open-ended and closed-ended formats to gather both qualitative and quantitative data.

Analyze the Results

Look for trends in objections or misunderstandings. Incorporate visitor verbatim quotes into test variant messaging to directness address concerns. If multiple users mention confusing navigation, consider testing a simplified menu structure. Use analytic tools to correlate survey responses with user behavior data, helping to validate hypotheses and measure the impact of any changes made.

What Should You Test on Landing Pages?

Many elements are ripe for structured testing to optimize landing pages. High-yield areas include:

visual about what to test on landing page

Image Source: mailmunch.com

Short Vs. Long Landing Page

Evaluating the right depth and word count, balancing concise clarity versus comprehensive coverage.

  1. Test condensed bullet-point value props versus dense paragraphs
  2. Compare limited key sections to long-scrolling multi-section pages
  3. Evaluate cramming copy versus too much white space

Determine the ideal length for engagement without overburdening visitors.

Order of Elements

Arranging page sections in the optimal sequence for readership and conversion based on implicit expectations.

  1. Test moving credibility elements (social proof, security badges) higher up the page for increased trust.
  2. Shift benefit-focused copy before technical feature details for resonance.
  3. Evaluate integrating testimonials or demos earlier to establish value quickly.

Adjust the order based on user expectations for simplified processing.

Image Vs. Video

Evaluating visual medium performance for engagement and messaging reinforcement.

  1. Test photo illustrations against product usage videos
  2. Compare static infographics to animated explainer videos
  3. Evaluate rotating image carousels versus a single hero visual

Determine when video inclusion lifts conversions over standard images.

Headlines

Refine messaging to incite interest, communicate relevance, and highlight urgency through headline iterations:

Headline Test Ideas

  1. Problem-focused headlines stating common pain points
  2. Solution-focused headlines presenting the offering as the fix
  3. Emotional appeal headlines targeting feelings or identity
  4. Rational appeal headlines focused on logical or practical benefits
  5. Test generalized taglines against specific statistics/attributes

Iteratively experiment with resonance triggers based on target customer psychology.

Lead Generation Forms

While conducting landing page testing consider various placements and designs of forms on the page to determine the most effective layout for user engagement and conversion. Implement changes to produce higher-quality leads:

Lead Generation Form Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test lead-generating forms:

  1. Considering a long form requiring extensive user data vs a short form focused only on key facts
  2. Testing labeling, sizes, and field validation parameters to lift completion
  3. Evaluating different form incentive options exchanges for email sign-up
  4. Testing inline forms within page content vs. modal pop-up forms

Refine forms holistically for completion, quality, and lower abandonment.

CTA Buttons

Fine-tune CTAs to prompt clicks through changes to the shape, color, size, placement, copy, directional arrows, and surrounding visual emphasis.

CTA Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test CTAs:

  1. Square, underlined, or round button shapes
  2. Contrasting, complimentary, or matching button colors
  3. Button size growth percentage increases
  4. Page placement above versus below the fold
  5. Explicit command verbs versus soft “Learn more” offers
  6. Implied social proof with “Most Popular Offer” tagging

Check combinations to determine the optimal cue to action․

how to create CTA button

Image Source: yamm.com

Main Content

Refine copy components addressing key visitor questions and concerns.

Main Content Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test the main content:

  1. Benefits-focused copy vs attribute-focused copy
  2. Emotional appeal copy tones vs authoritative style
  3. Rearranged content priority order or depth

Refinement should align with customer psychology pathways.

Design and Layout

Subtle design changes can profoundly impact conversion through clarity and flow.

Design Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test designs:

  1. Above-the-fold layout centralized focus vs. below-the-fold priority
  2. Image/video left placement vs proper placement
  3. List versus paragraph-intensive formatting
  4. More negative space white areas vs condensed layout
  5. Element spacing, size, and styling combined effects

Evaluate visual hierarchy, information chunking, negative space, and their interactive effects on engagement.

Social Proof

Evaluate different types of social proof in a landing page testing process, such as customer testimonials, expert endorsements, or user statistics, to identify which forms resonate most with your audience and strengthen trust.

Social Proof Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test the social proof:

  1. Customer logo cases versus individual testimonials
  2. Written testimonials versus video interview testimony
  3. Awards badges versus industry certifications
  4. Clear third-party validation versus visually integrated
  5. Determine the most compelling source and integration based on audience.

Pricing Points

If showcasing purchase options or payment plans, test different price points, discounts, bonuses, and financing messaging.

Price Point Test Ideas

Here are a few ideas to test price points:

  1. Monthly cost framing versus total multi-year cost comparisons
  2. Limited-time discounts vs perpetually discounted pricing
  3. One premium priced offer vs. good/better/best-staggered tiers
  4. Can add “most popular” tag to the middle option
  5. Bonus ancillary products/services vs straight discounts

Play to psychological triggers like scarcity, social proof, and contrast principle in offers.

Landing Page Metrics to Focus On and Track

To assess your landing page’s success, focus on specific analytics like CTA performance, bounce rate for engagement, and time on page for content relevance. Analyzing these metrics before and after changes will reveal the impact of optimizations. For deeper insights, segment data by demographics or traffic source. Key landing page metrics to track include;

landing page metrics

Image Source: dashclicks.com

Page Visits

Total sessions and unique visitors provide the scale of test exposure. Segment visitors’ traffic sources as a secondary dimension:

Search engine visitors have different expectations than social referrals

  1. Traffic sources can skew test group composition, undermining the validity
  2. Compare absolute traffic levels and source contribution percentages across test iterations.

Traffic Source

Viewing landing page conversion rates by source surfaces additional insights:

  • Organic visitors may convert better for specific tests than social visitors
  • Changes in resonance across segments indicate a broader appeal

Measure test outcomes for each source—a shift can support new optimization directions.

Form Submission Rate

The form completion percentage is the core metric for lead generation landing pages.

  • Applied to gated content offers, view asset download rates
  • If multi-step forms, examine drop-off at each stage

Higher form rates directly signal better lead generation performance.

Bounce Rate

Quick exits indicate poor landing page experience. Lower bounce rates signal enhanced engagement from engaged visitors.

  • Test changes should retain or reduce bounce rates when altering copy lengths or layouts
  • High bounce rates may prompt additional surveys to uncover friction points

Use bounce rate diagnostics to avoid changes that inadvertently alienate visitors.

Form Abandonment Rate

The flipside to submissions measuring the partial form completion fallout exposes optimization areas:

  • Can indicate field validation issues, tricky user experience, or lack of clarity
  • Reviewing fall-off by field highlights specific problem points

Decreased form abandonment raises lead capture rates.

Average Time on Page

Longer durations reveal better customer experience and engagement. Significant increases in time spent on the page confirm the enhanced appeal of the changes.

  • This can be applied as a secondary desirability signal when the conversion rate is identical
  • This may indicate greater content consumption hiding accurate outcomes

Use time as supporting evidence, not the primary decision driver in testing.

Mistakes to Avoid When Running Landing Page Testing

  • Testing Too Few VariablesTesting single elements in isolation misses potential interaction effects between factors. Multivariate testing combinations are best practice.
  • Not Documenting Changes: Carefully annotate exact changes between variants. Accurately assign conversion lifts to specific page element optimizations for future refinement.
  • Not Running Tests Long Enough: Prematurely concluding tests introduce variance undermining statistical validity. Standard minimums range from two to four weeks.
  • Testing the Wrong Page: Focus optimization efforts on pages directly tied to crucial conversion events rather than content hubs. Sales funnel entry points take priority.
  • Changing Too Much: Radical revamps make isolating the variable impact to specific changes impossible. Introduce updates gradually through successive testing.
Conclusion

Landing page testing is a continual process, not a one-time event. Testing provides the data and insights needed to inform the optimization process. Mastery of these landing page testing strategies separates the businesses that thrive from those left behind. Yet, the competition never sleeps either. Forward progress depends on a commitment to continuous testing and improving landing pages. Use landing page testing to tap into boundless upward growth for your business!

Mike Hakob

Mike Hakob is a seasoned digital marketing maven with over 15 years of mastery, and the visionary Co-Founder of FormStory. As the driving force behind Andava Digital, he has dedicated his expertise to empowering small to medium-sized businesses, crafting tailor-made websites and pioneering innovative marketing strategies. With a graduate degree in Management of Information Systems, Mike seamlessly blends the realms of technology and marketing, consistently setting new industry benchmarks and championing transformative digital narratives.