I’ve roasted 850 landing pages in 2.5 years. Here are the 15 most common mistakes (and how to fix them)
Mistake 1: No pain
Explanation: The visitor does have the problem you solve. But doesn’t feel the pain acutely and leaves
Fix it: Use the pain-agitate-solution framework to evoke the pain and drive conversion
Example:
Mistake 2: Objections not addressed
Explanation: The visitor has objections and doubts but they’re not addressed
Fix it: Review FAQs / support tickets and ensure common doubts are answered early on your page
Example:
Mistake 3: Lack of social proof or bad social proof
Explanation: The visitor doesn’t trust you or your proof isn’t relevant or authentic
Fix it: add testimonials to your landing page in multiple places. Tools like Senja.io make it easy to collect testimonials and add them to your website.
Example:
Mistake 4: Not speaking to visitors
Explanation: You’ve not asked visitors why they didn’t convert so how can you improve?
Fix it: Add an exit intent survey and ask people leaving what was missing
Example:
Mistake 5: Don’t know how your page is performing
Explanation: You don’t know your LP conversion rate but you’re spending time updating it anyway
Fix it: Add @posthog to measure conversion performance and identify opportunities
Example:
Mistake 6: Complex language
Explanation: Your page language is complex and conversion decreases as a result.
Fix it: Use plain language, remove buzzwords and initialisms, test with @toolforlanguage
Example:
Mistake 7: Messaging is unclear
Explanation: Your page has no clear who / what / why but you’re still expecting people to convert
Fix it: Add who you product is for, what it is and why they need BEFORE the first CTA
Example:
Mistake 8: No USP language
Explanation: You sound like every other product in the space. Visitors cannot compare you
Fix it: Add comparison language like “the only product to… ” or use comparison tables
Example:
Mistake 9: All tell, no show
Explanation: Your page is only benefits language and unsupported text claims
Fix it: Add interactive demos, product animations, walkthroughs and case studies to evidence what you’re saying
Example:
Mistake 10: Centred on you, not your visitor
Explanation: Your page is focused on your business, not your visitor and their problem
Fix it: Add ‘you / your’ language, and prioritise your visitor over and over again.
Example:
Mistake 11: Poor clarity and walls of text
Explanation: Your page is difficult to scan so visitors lose interest
Fix it: Add headings to each section, break up walls of text, support with visuals
Example:
Mistake 12: Missing CTA
Explanation: The visitor likes what you do but there’s not CTA nearby when they’re ready to convert
Fix it: Lock your CTA to your menu (especially on mobile) so it’s ALWAYS available
Example:
Mistake 13: Horrible demo booking page
Explanation: Visitor’s interested, has gone to book a demo, form doesn’t convert
Fix it: Use this example Calendly before and after
Mistake 14: Social proof is inauthentic
Explanation: The visitor likes your product but your testimonials look faked and inauthentic
Fix it: Text testimonials = good. Video testimonials and social media mentions = conversion gold. Add them to your website with a tool like Senja.io
Example:
Mistake 15: Hard to get setup
Explanation: The visitor likes your product but worries setup is too complex
Fix it: Offer templates, how to guides, and concierge migration
Example:
I also manually audited 150 startup landing pages.
CTA colour and language, use of social proof, length, sign up fields, load times and more:
Download free here: https://landingpageroasts.gumroad.com/l/landing-page-audit