I recently completed a project for a client to re-design the landing page they use for their Google Adwords Pay Per Click campaign. The results of the test just came in and with a few clever design modifications I doubled the effectiveness of their original landing page (conversion rate rose from 5% to 10%, and cost per converted lead was reduced from $34 to $17). That means for the same media expenditure they are now driving twice as many leads! (Actually, it's better than that because the optimized page is increasing the number of leads from their organic search traffic and their website browsing traffic, too.) This presentation shows you step-by-step the methods used to optimize the landing page.

1. How to Optimize a Landing Page
Bob Hebeisen
http://www.Linkedin.com/in/BobHebeisen
O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 2

2. Original Landing Page
A/B Test Results:
• 393 clicks at a cost
of $670.53
converting to 20
trial downloads
• 5.1% conversion
rate, $33.53 cost
per converted lead

3. Optimized Landing Page
A/B Test Results:
• 386 clicks at a cost
of $676.23
converting to 39
trial downloads
• 10.1% conversion
rate, $17.34 cost
per converted lead
• A/B test winner
– 98% lift, or roughly
2x the conversion
rate and half the
cost per converted
lead
(99% confidence)

4. What’s GOOD about the Original Landing Page
• Very limited
number of form
fields for prospects
to fill out
• Explanation of the
privacy policy
• Explanation of trial
download features
• 3rd party validation
(magazine reviews)
... So we kept all this
stuff

5. Optimization
•The problems (original page): •The fixes (optimized page):
1. Too much navigation taking you off the page 1. Extraneous navigation is eliminated, visitors
2. No description of what the product does are “herded” through the call to action
3. Content is poorly organized, scattered 2. Brief description of what the product does
3. Content reorganized and edited

6. Optimization
•The problems (original page): •The fixes (optimized page):
1. Too much navigation taking you off the page 1. Extraneous navigation is eliminated, visitors
2. No description of what the product does are “herded” through the call to action
3. Content is poorly organized, scattered 2. Brief description of what the product does
3. Content reorganized and edited

7. Optimization
Download
Download Features
Features
Press logos
Press logos
•The problems (original page): •The fixes (optimized page):
1. Too much navigation taking you off the page 1. Extraneous navigation is eliminated, visitors
2. No description of what the product does are “herded” through the call to action
3. Content is poorly organized, scattered 2. Brief description of what the product does
3. Content reorganized and edited

8. Optimization
•The problems (original page): •The fixes (optimized page):
4. Too much copy, type too small to read 4. Fewer, stronger reviewer quotes. Larger type.
5. No HTML page title 5. HTML page title descriptive of page content

9. Optimization
•The problems (original page): •The fixes (optimized page):
4. Too much copy, type too small to read 4. Fewer, stronger reviewer quotes. Larger type.
5. No HTML page title 5. HTML page title descriptive of page content

10. Optimized Landing Page
A/B Test Results:
• 386 clicks at a cost
of $676.23
converting to 39
downloads
• 10.1% conversion
rate, $17.34 cost
per converted lead
• A/B test winner
(2x the conversion
rate, half the cost
per converted lead)

11. Optimized Landing Page
More Fixes:
Keep testing!
• Headline
• Bullet copy
• Layout
• Button copy
• Button color
• Etc.

12. Related Reading:
• MarketingProfs: Clicking Me Softly: A Five-Day Crash Course in Conversion
(http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2011/4483/clicking-me-softly-a-
five-day-crash-course-in-conversion-day-1)
• GlobalSpec Marketing Maven Blog: Winning Landing Pages -- An Eight-
Point Checklist (http://marketingmaven.globalspec.com/?p=40)
• MarketingSherpa: Custom Landing Pages for PPC: 4 Steps to 88% More
Leads, Lower Costs
(http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31348)
• ClickZ: How Obvious Is Your Call To Action
(http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1936048/obvious-action)
• MarketingExperiments blog: Landing Page Optimization: Addressing
customer anxiety (http://www.marketingexperiments.com/blog/research-
topics/landing-page-optimization-research-topics/addressing-customer-
anxiety.html)
• MarketingZone blog: Website Landing Pages
(http://www.marketingzone.com/how/websites/landing-pages)