What to Look for When Split Testing a Landing Page

It is important to split test your landing pages because even small changes can have a significant impact on conversions. Although there are best practices for creating lading pages, the elements of the page that will work are not always what we might expect. Here are some things to look for.

1. Navigation Bars
It is best to make your landing pages as simple as possible because this makes it easier for visitors to focus on signing up. Therefore, by eliminating navigation bars from the top of your site, you will increase your conversion rate.

2. Calls to Action
The placement, look and language used for the call the action is important. It is usually best to put calls to action near the top of your page, but this is not always the case. For more complex products, it can be better to first introduce what the product is about before introducing your call to action. In some cases, the call to action may be at the bottom of the page. Also, “Register”, “Download”, “Sign Up”, and “Order” are the most commonly used action words, but it has been found that “Get” works better than “Order”.

3. Graphics
The graphics placed on your landing page should portray a part of your offer that your copy does not. In some cases, images can actually lower conversions by pushing the opt-in further down the page. An example of using an image well is displaying an image that shows a product being used.

4. Social Proof
Social proof helps to reassure people and encourages them to take your offer just as others have. But since the standards of social proof have risen, in some cases it is actually best to leave out social proof rather than show low numbers if you don’t have many followers or lots of proof. It is okay to leave out social proof from your landing pages because it won’t hurt your results.

5. Ad Copy
The heading and subheading in your landing page should tie in with the text in the ad copy that led people to your landing page. This effects your search engine ranking and quality score. It is also important because it lets visitors know that they are in the right place. So, it is good to use some of the same text that you used in your ad copy in the heading of your landing page.