Andy Black
Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
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What's the single biggest landing page mistake?
This mistake is almost universal.
This mistake causes people to do all sorts of stupid things with their landing pages.
I see this mistake made over, and over, and over again.
I'm going to try and save you from making this mistake, whilst giving you a massive advantage over your competitors.
I've had businesses show me their "testing wall" displaying all the landing pages they've used...
... the dates the tests ran
... the % conversion rates for each landing page
... and the winning landing page picked to go through to the next test.
They proudly show me how the winner from the previous split-test is used in the next split-test.
How they've scientifically increased their landing page conversion rate from 1.1% to 2.5% over the course of 5 months.
I just look at them and open my mouth... nothing comes out, then I shut it again with a sigh.
.
.
.
So what's the single biggest landing page mistake?
.
.
.
Are you still reading?
.
.
.
(This is going to mess with your eyebrows.)
.
.
.
The single biggest mistake people make with landing pages is:
.
.
.
Thinking that landing pages convert!
WTF? Is that it?!
Yep, you heard me...
Your landing page does NOT have a conversion rate.
If you even utter the phrase "landing page conversion rate", then I know you don't "get" it.
Why?
Because it's NOT the landing page that converts.
It just sits there, doing jack sh*t!
.
.
.
Your landing pages don't convert, your visitors convert!
.
.
.
You show me your Emergency Dublin Plumber landing page.
You proudly declare "This landing page converts at 30% Andy!"
I give you a (mental) slap and tell you that what you really mean is:
"People who visit this page convert into enquiries-for-an-emergency-plumber-in-Dublin ... at 30%."
I explain that if I sent people searching for a Caribbean Cruise to your landing page, then you've NO chance of getting 30% of them to enquire about your emergency plumber service.
More like 0%.
Sh*t. Does that mean our landing page has suddenly stopped converting?
There's something up with our landing page guys!
Maybe we'd better roll back to the previous landing page?
Panic! Panic!
Err, no. We've just got people visiting now with a different "search intent" (or just a plain old different "intent" if they didn't do a search - I know, I know... there are apparently other sources of visitors than paid search, and I hear they can work too).
So why is this little insight important?
Well...
Because your visitors convert, it's super important to know WHY your visitor arrived at your landing page.
Did they click on an ad?
Did they click on a link at the bottom of your email?
What were they doing before they saw the ad?
What headline was in the email that enticed them to open it?
What did you promise them in the ad?
What did you promise them in the email?
Were they on Google doing a search for fun ("caribbeen cruises")?
Were they on Google doing a search NOT for fun ("divorce lawyers edinburgh")?
Did you target homeowners who like cats who were on Facebook?
What expectation do they have when they visit your landing page?
Will their experience match that expectation?
One of the (many) reasons why I like paid search is that I can see my ads in situ, against all the competing ads.
I can then click on everyone's ads and see how they match their visitor expectation with their visitor experience (saying a silent apology each time for forcing each advertiser to cough up cash to Google when I've no intention of purchasing).
I can then get ideas from landing pages that are getting paid visitors and (you'd hope!) are converting those visitors into leads or sales.
I can then create a swipe file to study and/or show my client.
Here's an example:
(Originally posted on the inside here):
Search Term - Ad - Landing Page Review for "gadget insurance" (UK)
Below is a review of a competitive online search term.
I do this type of analysis for clients, and for myself when I'm reviewing the competitive landscape.
Many of the landing pages are bleeding awful, and these guys should know better.
Andy
This mistake is almost universal.
This mistake causes people to do all sorts of stupid things with their landing pages.
I see this mistake made over, and over, and over again.
I'm going to try and save you from making this mistake, whilst giving you a massive advantage over your competitors.
I've had businesses show me their "testing wall" displaying all the landing pages they've used...
... the dates the tests ran
... the % conversion rates for each landing page
... and the winning landing page picked to go through to the next test.
They proudly show me how the winner from the previous split-test is used in the next split-test.
How they've scientifically increased their landing page conversion rate from 1.1% to 2.5% over the course of 5 months.
I just look at them and open my mouth... nothing comes out, then I shut it again with a sigh.
.
.
.
So what's the single biggest landing page mistake?
.
.
.
Are you still reading?
.
.
.
(This is going to mess with your eyebrows.)
.
.
.
The single biggest mistake people make with landing pages is:
.
.
.
Thinking that landing pages convert!
WTF? Is that it?!
Yep, you heard me...
Your landing page does NOT have a conversion rate.
If you even utter the phrase "landing page conversion rate", then I know you don't "get" it.
Why?
Because it's NOT the landing page that converts.
It just sits there, doing jack sh*t!
.
.
.
Your landing pages don't convert, your visitors convert!
.
.
.
You show me your Emergency Dublin Plumber landing page.
You proudly declare "This landing page converts at 30% Andy!"
I give you a (mental) slap and tell you that what you really mean is:
"People who visit this page convert into enquiries-for-an-emergency-plumber-in-Dublin ... at 30%."
I explain that if I sent people searching for a Caribbean Cruise to your landing page, then you've NO chance of getting 30% of them to enquire about your emergency plumber service.
More like 0%.
Sh*t. Does that mean our landing page has suddenly stopped converting?
There's something up with our landing page guys!
Maybe we'd better roll back to the previous landing page?
Panic! Panic!
Err, no. We've just got people visiting now with a different "search intent" (or just a plain old different "intent" if they didn't do a search - I know, I know... there are apparently other sources of visitors than paid search, and I hear they can work too).
So why is this little insight important?
Well...
Because your visitors convert, it's super important to know WHY your visitor arrived at your landing page.
Did they click on an ad?
Did they click on a link at the bottom of your email?
What were they doing before they saw the ad?
What headline was in the email that enticed them to open it?
What did you promise them in the ad?
What did you promise them in the email?
Were they on Google doing a search for fun ("caribbeen cruises")?
Were they on Google doing a search NOT for fun ("divorce lawyers edinburgh")?
Did you target homeowners who like cats who were on Facebook?
What expectation do they have when they visit your landing page?
Will their experience match that expectation?
One of the (many) reasons why I like paid search is that I can see my ads in situ, against all the competing ads.
I can then click on everyone's ads and see how they match their visitor expectation with their visitor experience (saying a silent apology each time for forcing each advertiser to cough up cash to Google when I've no intention of purchasing).
I can then get ideas from landing pages that are getting paid visitors and (you'd hope!) are converting those visitors into leads or sales.
I can then create a swipe file to study and/or show my client.
Here's an example:
(Originally posted on the inside here):
Search Term - Ad - Landing Page Review for "gadget insurance" (UK)
Below is a review of a competitive online search term.
I do this type of analysis for clients, and for myself when I'm reviewing the competitive landscape.
Many of the landing pages are bleeding awful, and these guys should know better.
Andy
















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