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It is very simple – more revenue! The return on investment on landing page optimization is significant.  Take a look at the example below to understand the magnitude:

A $10K a month media buy generating 50K monthly landing page visitors converting at 3% will generate revenue of $52,500 (based on a $35 Life Time Value).  Let’s assume a 20% improvement which will increase the conversion rate to 3.6%, and will increase revenue generated from the media buy to $63,000.  A $10,500 monthly revenue lift over one year will lift total revenue to  $126,000!  

In many optimization projects we frequently experienced revenue boosts ranging from 15% to over 100% with the majority of improvements in the 20-60% range.  So if we want to be optimistic with this example, and assume a 40% lift we could generate an additional $252,000 a year! That isn’t small potatoes…

Walk Before You Run

Landing page optimization can be complex but once you get the hang of it the results start becoming addictive. Like anything in life you need to walk before you run, and practice makes perfect.   Landing page optimization or any page or flow optimization can be confusing as there are many variables to take into consideration:

1. Should one start with split testing or multivariate testing?
2. What page elements should I test?
3. How many versions of each page element should one test?
4. Do I have enough traffic to reach statistical significance?
5. Should tests be segmented by media source, geography, day of the week etc?
6. Do I need to use a new technology or service provider for testing? If so which one?

If an organization does not have experience testing, it is recommend to start with a simple split test of the main element on a landing page such as the layout’s (template) unique selling point (USP) or pictures. It is very important to test the main elements as they will most likely have the highest impact on the conversion rate.  Make sure each element version in a test is visibly different from each other, if the changes aren’t bold enough and the versions are only subtly different then most likely the results will not be significant.

Once you get the handle of split testing you should use more advanced methodologies such as multivariate (MVT) and traffic segmentation. These techniques will enable you to test hundreds of combinations of landing pages as well as traffic sources and other sub segments such as Geography, Browser type, time of day etc.

Success Will Come

Persistency pays off. Make sure you persist, as it can take a few tests until you get the handle of what page elements are the most impacting.  Also, guiding your creative team to design and write ideas outside of the box might take some practice. Remember that you are testing, therefore it is important to experiment outside stringent brand guidelines as you never know what will make a user respond and take action.

Test in Waves…

As traffic is usually limited and testing many page elements can be a daunting task, I recommend testing in waves. Your first wave of testing might be only for the page layout (template) and your second wave can be for the main graphic and USP. Your third wave might still be for the main graphic or image but this time you will test bolder images. In each wave you should strive to learn something, and even if you don’t gain a lift in conversion rate you can still learn. If your conversion rate dropped you learned that the tested elements do have impact, therefore you should continue to test these elements but make sure to create versions that are different. If the tested elements had no impact (the conversion rate didn’t change) you should test different elements in your subsequent waves. Basically each wave provides an opportunity to build on the results and conclusions of your previous waves until you’ve reached satisfactory results.

The single most important aspect of optimization is patience and persistence – it will most likely take you a few tests to see first successes but as shown in the above example it pays off big time.