Why Your Landing Page Isn't Converting (Checklist Included)

Diagnose the real reasons visitors don't convert — UX, messaging, trust signals and technical issues — plus a practical checklist you can run in 30 minutes.

7 min readCRO

Why Your Landing Page Isn't Converting (Checklist Included)

If traffic is coming but conversions are not, the issue is rarely a single cause. Use this diagnostic-first approach to identify the weak links and fix the highest-impact items quickly.

Start by defining conversion

Is conversion a booked demo, form submit, call, or download? Define a single primary KPI per landing page and measure it first.

Common conversion killers

  • Message mismatch: headline and ad/organic snippet promise different value than the page delivers.
  • Poor above-the-fold clarity: users can't tell what to do in 3 seconds.
  • Too many choices: cluttered CTAs or long forms increase friction.
  • Trust gaps: no social proof, unclear pricing, or missing guarantees.
  • Technical friction: slow load, broken validation, mobile layout issues.

Psychological levers (use ethically)

  • Authority: short credentials or recognizable client logos.
  • Social proof: short testimonials with names/roles and measurable outcomes.
  • Reciprocity: offer a small audit or checklist for free.
  • Clear commitment: remove ambiguity about next steps and deliverables.

30-minute CRO checklist (run this now)

  1. Confirm headline matches campaign intent.
  2. Make primary CTA obvious and singular above the fold.
  3. Shorten forms to minimum fields; test autofill and validation.
  4. Add at least one real testimonial or metric (e.g., “+30% organic traffic in 3 months”).
  5. Run Lighthouse for performance issues and fix any blocking LCP problems.
  6. Test on mobile (tap targets, form usability, viewport).
  7. Confirm analytics events for CTA clicks and form submissions.

A/B testing ideas

  • Headline variants that state the outcome vs headline that states the problem.
  • Short form vs long form (test friction trade-off).
  • Different social proof formats: logos vs short case quote vs metric.

Measurement (what matters)

Track CTA conversion rate, form abandonment, and downstream quality (lead → qualified lead). Avoid optimizing vanity metrics without lead quality context.

Final tips

Fix obvious trust & clarity issues before running A/B tests. Tests work best when the baseline is clean: once the big leaks are patched, small optimizations compound into meaningful uplifts.

Want this adapted into a downloadable checklist?