/ Conversion optimizationThe Conversion Marketing Scorecard By Oli Gardner on October 13th, 2009 in Conversion optimizationTotal19 12 5 2How awesome or lame is your landing page? There's no hiding from the Conversion Marketing Scorecard.Let’s start with a simple statement: Most Landing Pages Suck More Than You Think!Following the principles of denial, the first step in recovery is admitting that you have a problem. If you followed my last post about the 4 Truths of Conversion Marketing, you’ll know that there is a fair amount of psychology involved in delivering the best landing page experiences.To make things easier, I’ve created an interactive scorecard that walks you through the “4 Truths” and allows you to apply them to your existing landing pages in a simple checklist format.Scoring your landing pageIt’s drop dead simple, just walk through the scorecard while observing your landing page. Answer each question honestly and find out how well your page scores.Note: if a question is not applicable to your landing page, it’s OK to check the box if you think you would have done this were it relevant. Assessing Truth #1Are you describing what the page is about?Remember that Truth 1 asserts that the customer knows nothing when they first arrive at your landing page. Let’s see how well your elevator pitch is going at the point of introduction.Does your landing page headline match the message on the ad?Is your landing page messaging focused on a single purpose?Could a stranger understand the purpose in 5-10 seconds? (test this)Is it clear who your company is and what you do? (a logo and tagline)?Do you have a simple secondary description to enhance the headline?Do you use bullet points to describe your product/service?Are you using a relevant and original main image (photo, diagram etc.)?Does your page message have the clarity of an elevator pitch? (try it)Is your primary headline phrased to answer the question “What is this page about?”Have you removed extraneous navigation (like the global nav) to focus on one thing?Score: 0/10Assessing Truth #2Are you giving visitors a reason to care?Truth 2 points out that your landing page needs to improve your customer’s work or personal life in some way. How well are you explaining the benefits of your product or service?Does your primary headline describe a benefit of your product/service?Do you present a photo or graphic showing it in use?Does your landing page explain how your product/service is unique (USP)?Does the writing focus primarily on benefits rather than features?Are you asking for any unnecessary information in a form (be completely honest)?Do you provide a safety net call to action? In case they care but not right now.Do you explain how easy it is to proceed (30 seconds, or 3 simple steps)?Do you explain the value or size of your giveaway (discount, eBook pages or $ value)?Do you offer a guided tour to aid the visitor in making a decision now?Do you provide examples of previous customers using or complimenting your product/service? (Testimonials etc)Score: 0/10Assessing Truth #3Are you trustworthy?Truth 3 is about legitimacy. It’s time to test how well you are presenting transparency, integrity and trust to your visitors.Do you offer multiple contact methods (phone, email, live chat, Twitter)?Do you make it clear what the visitor will receive by clicking your CTA?Does your landing page appear to be professionally designed?Does the design of your landing page match the visual style of your ad creative?Does the design match the style of your main website or brand? (Only relevant if you will end up there after clicking the CTA)Do you have zero popup/popunder windows?Do you provide any privacy and or terms & conditions statement/link?Are you providing a sample (preview of first chapter etc.) of your giveaway, if applicable?Do you show certifications or logos of partners/affiliates/security registrations (like Verisign)?Are your claims and facts verifiable?Score: 0/10Assessing Truth #4Is it easy to get started?Truth 4 is about the white-glove treatment, and leading your customers to the all important call to action. Let’ grade how well your CTA is presented.Do you repeat part of your offer on your form button (if you have one)?Do you use visual cues (eye direction or graphical arrows) to direct attention to CTA?Is the CTA large enough to stand out?Is your CTA in a prominent position near the top of the page?Are you using white space to help the CTA stand out or appear connected to relevant info?Do you use highly contrasting colors to make the CTA pop out?Are you including a trust indicator beside a form button? (padlock icon, link to privacy policy)Is your secondary CTA (safety net) close to, but less prominent than, your primary CTA?If your offer is time limited, do you make this clear?Have you reduced the number of links on the page to the absolute bare minimum?Score: 0/10Total Score: 0/40Interpreting Your ScoreScoreRatingWhat it Means36-40Rock Star Landing PageNot much left to do here, you’re basically a design and marketing god. The best use of your time would be sipping on a fine wine while you watch the conversions on your iPhone.31-35Second BestThis is a great achievement, but like winning a Silver medal in the Olympics, it’s not quite good enough. Just don’t wait 4 years until you make the necessary improvements.26-30Better than mostChances are you are converting fairly well. Go back through the checklist and spend a few minutes with each unchecked box to figure out what’s missing. Implement them, and check your score again.21-25MehYou are very slightly above average. Mediocrity is only exciting for one reason: there are a lot of conversions out there that you’re missing out on. Go get ’em champ.16-20One eye closedWith a score in this range, it’s as if you are trying to ignore half of your potential customers. Imagine yourself standing in the street handing out fliers – everyone on the other side of the street is missing your message.11-15UnmemorableIf you want people to convert, you need to be unique and memorable. If your product or service isn’t all that different, then the least you can do is follow the basic usability principles of smart landing page design. Try reading our 101 Landing Page Optimization Tips eBook for inspiration.6-10The second least popular kid in schoolOne off the bottom. Way to go. Get back to the drawing board and start applying first principles to your landing pages. A good start would be running through our HOW TO: Create a Landing Page Design Concept in 10 Minutes post.1-5PatheticFind a different profession.What Now?What you choose to do with your score is up to you. But if your goal is to convert more customers and be more awesome at landing page stuff, then you owe it to yourself to refine your landing page (through testing, observation, analysis and optimization) until it’s busting above that 36 threshold.How to get startedThe simplest way to get started is to keep a list of all your unchecked checkboxes. Consider this your TO-DO List, and work your way through each point until your page is performing better.Good luck.— Oli GardnerThe Unbounce ChallengeTell us your scoreIf you use our scorecard to rate your landing page, we’d love if you’d share your score and a URL to you landing page in the comments below. Then you can come back and comment again once you’ve made some improvements.About Oli Gardner Unbounce co-founder Oli Gardner has seen more landing pages than anyone on the planet. He’s obsessed with identifying and reversing bad marketing practices, and his disdain for marketers who send campaign traffic to their homepage is legendary, resulting in landing page rants that can peel paint off an unpainted wall. A prolific international keynote speaker, Oli is on a mission to rid the world of marketing mediocrity by using data-informed copywriting, design, interaction, and psychology to create a more delightful experience for marketers and customers alike. He was recently named the "The 2018 Marketer to Watch," in the under 46 category, by his mother.» More blog posts by Oli Gardner