8 Landing Page Mistakes You Might Be Making

A well-crafted landing page is the cornerstone of a successful campaign. If your ad is amazing, but your landing page just…isn’t, you’re wasting assets, time, and money. Read: you’re undermining your own efforts by sending paid traffic to an unoptimized landing page. From slow load speeds to disjointed messaging, there are a whole host of landing page mistakes that could be hindering your campaign.

Luckily, many of these mistakes are easy to identify and fix. Here’s a quick list of ways to optimize your landing page and watch your conversion rates increase.

Landing Page Mistakes to Fix Immediately

Slow Load Speeds

Nothing frustrates users more than a page loading slowly. In fact, as soon as a page load time increases from one to three seconds, the probability of bounce increases 32%.

Because page load speed can have the single biggest impact on your landing page’s performance, it’s important to test it before the campaign goes live. If you see the load speed passing that one-second mark, here are some measures you can take to bring it down:

Reduce redirects
Compress images prior to upload
Clean up your code
Leverage browser caching
Use a content delivery network
Lack of Mobile Optimization

With mobile traffic account for over 50% of internet traffic, mobile optimization is no longer just an option. This is especially true if you’re running mobile ads. Mobile ads should take users to a mobile landing page. Failing to optimize for mobile isolates a large portion of your traffic. Your consumers are not as patient as you think and will likely bounce from an unoptimized page.

When mobile optimizing, there are two methods to keep in mind. First, you can create a responsive design, which ensures that the same page is used for all platforms, but it is resized and reorganized according to the device used. You can also opt for a mobile-dedicated version of your landing page built specifically for mobile ads.

Too Many Goals

When navigating your landing page, consumers won’t want to be met with multiple places to convert. If there are too many decisions to be made, customers may not make any at all. Having a second conversion goal can decrease your total conversions by 26%.

It might seem obvious, but a single, well-defined goal will help to streamline your landing page and make it easier for customers to convert. The more clean and organized the page is, the higher the conversion rates. No clutter here!

Only One Conversion Path

While it’s important for your landing page to have only one conversion goal, there should be multiple paths to achieve that goal.

Let’s say you’re looking for consumers to request a demo of your product or service. Some customers prefer to fill out an online form with as little human interaction as possible, whereas others like to hop on a call within a day or two. Both options should be available on your landing page. Display the form alongside your contact information, and watch the conversions roll in.

Buried Call to Action

Your landing page should never be vague. The time that consumers spend on your page is worth a lot. So, if they have to dig for your form and CTA, they probably won’t covert at all. By placing your CTA above the fold and using a color that stands out, your audience is all the more likely to engage. The key is to make it as clear as possible. They won’t be able to miss it.

No Social Proof

Social proof is a very powerful tool when it comes to increasing conversion rates. Neglecting it is one of those landing page mistakes that could severely impact the success of your campaign. Testimonials, star ratings, case studies, and influencer endorsements are all examples of social proof that can help consumers make decisions more easily. You can easily add them to your thank-you page, reminding customers why they converted in the first place.

As your brand grows, your pool of third-party recommendations and endorsements should also grow. This gives you the chance to swap out your social proof examples, showing consumers that your products have stood the test of time. Overall, social proof is an important step in establishing customer trust and should now be left out of the campaign building process.

Irrelevant Images

Your landing page should tell a story, and this story should lead customers toward your call to action. Yet, if not perfected, some elements of your landing page can detract from your goal. Impersonal stock imagery, chaotic infographics, or an overwhelming color palette might cause potential leads to bounce.

Instead, opt for custom photography, images, and graphics that add context to your landing page. This way, you’ll ensure you have full creative control over the content. Nondescript images that don’t draw too much attention will help bring that story forward. Bonus points if they show your product or service in use.

No Message Match

Imagine you’re browsing the web, and you come across an ad for electric bikes. You click, quickly finding yourself on a landing page for bike locks. You’re probably confused, maybe a little disappointed.

This is an example of the concept of message match, which refers to matching the copy, style, tone, and voice of your ads to those of your landing page. When you’ve mastered message match, your consumers’ journey from ad to landing page will feel like a seamless transition. Aligned messaging means fewer bounces and more conversions.

Final Thoughts

Are your landing pages not producing the results you want? Fear not! Identify any landing page mistakes you might be making, optimize your campaigns, and start seeing the conversion rates you’re looking for. You’ll be headed down the right path in no time.