7 Common Landing Page Mistakes That You Need To Avoid

As marketers, we know that landing pages are the backbone of any successful digital ads or SEO campaign. But without a strong landing page, you might be spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars driving traffic to your website, without delivering many valuable conversions. 

That's where CRO comes in! 

CRO, or conversion rate optimisation, is the process of optimising your website to improve the likelihood of visitors taking a desired action. 

Whether you’re building a new landing page for your products or services, or you need to optimise an existing page to improve your number of conversions… here are 7 big mistakes you need to avoid in order to start seeing quality results.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make on your landing pages is not including a clear and compelling value proposition. 

Your landing page should immediately communicate the benefit or solution that you offer to your target audience, otherwise you run the risk of low engagement and high bounce rates.

For example, using the storybrand framework immediately presents to a consumer how your product or service is able to accomodate their wants/needs or the problem that they’re facing. Importantly, it places the consumer at the forefront of your messaging.

At the end of the day, you can fix all the other points in this article, but if you don't have a compelling value proposition, you won't get conversions.

No CTA, or an uninspiring, hard to spot one is a big problem. 

You want your call to action to stand out! Don’t hide it in a page of copy. You want to make each touch point with your audience as easy for them as possible. See this example below for instance:

Website: Housing Industries Association

On the other hand, including multiple calls to action on your landing page can be overwhelming for users, leading to decision paralysis and decreased conversions. Should they “get in touch”, “start a free trial” or “request a demo”? 

Instead, focus on one clear and concise call to action that aligns with the primary goal of your landing page. Do some research on different CTA options, use ChatGPT to consider other variations, decide on the main action you want your user to make, and then make your CTA strong and consistent throughout your page.

In today's digital landscape, the majority of searches are taking place on mobile devices. If your landing page isn't optimised for mobile, you're missing out on a significant chunk of potential leads. 

A mobile-optimised landing page loads faster, fits better on smaller screens, and provides a more intuitive navigation experience, resulting in higher engagement and conversions. 

This also means that some elements that look terrific on a desktop or tablet, aren’t going to suit mobile sizing - no matter how small in size you make it. You need to consider whether this element is really needed on mobile to make that conversion, or whether it’s best removing it altogether for a great user experience.

Nothing is worse than someone landing on your website and seeing visual chaos! 

This is especially the case when it takes on average, 11 seconds to determine whether they want to keep reading or exit out of your website. 

A cluttered landing page can be overwhelming, leading your website traffic to lose focus and interest quickly. And studies show that as the number of elements on a page increases, the probability of conversion drops drastically.

In short, you need a good-looking landing page, and this comes down to a genuinely good design.

Keep your page layout clean and simple, with limited visual elements and text-heavy sections. Consider implementing a clear hierarchy for your users as they scroll down the page, considering what problem you are trying to solve for them and then highlighting your solutions. 

Here are some great landing page designs that make their message clear for users (and look great too):

Website: Rezdy

Website: Blue Wealth

Website: Jamesons Strata Management

If your lead capture form is too long or asks for too much information, users are less likely to fill it out. On the other hand, if your form is too short, you might not have enough information to qualify the lead's quality. This means that you could have double the amount of form conversions, but a small margin actually fit your buyer persona.

Strike a balance and only ask for the necessary information that you need to make first contact. 

Consider what information is absolutely pivotal for you to include in your database, and what information you can gather at a later date.

Website: The Plant Man

Here are specific actions you need to take on your Ecommerce site to convert your visitors into paying customers (and keep them coming back):

• Use high-quality images and videos: Your website visitors want to see what they're buying before they make a purchase. If they’re not 100% certain on what the product looks like, this can deter them from purchasing.
• Provide clear product descriptions and specifications: This not only provides consumers with more confidence in the product before purchasing, but it is also highly effective to improve your SEO. 
• Use social proof to build trust: Include customer reviews, ratings and testimonials on your product and brand to build trust and credibility with your customers.
• Clear shipping information: Being transparent with shipping costs and time is extremely important for user experience. 
• Use scarcity and urgency: A limited-time discount or a countdown clock to show that a sale is ending soon are effective to drive sales, since customers will feel more eager to purchase before time runs out.
• Ensure your checkout is as friction-free as possible: If a consumer is keen on purchasing your product, you don’t want a complex checkout experience to be the reason the sale doesn’t go through. Consider your check form length and layout from a user perspective, and don’t overcomplicate this.

In today's competitive digital landscape, speed is everything. If your landing page takes too long to load, users will quickly exit and move on to your competitor's site. 

You can check if your landing page's load time is optimized for desktop and mobile devices by running a quick test on Google’s page speed insights.

If your website conversions aren’t increasing, your designs and page layout are looking stale, or your copy is outdated then it might be time for a creative refresh. 

High-converting landing pages means better website traffic, better online brand presenence and ultimately, more leads and sales!