A landing page checklist for paid traffic

Paid traffic is the most expensive way to find out a page does not work. Every problem on it is paid for by the click, and the ad platform will keep sending visitors whether the page converts them or not.

This checklist is ordered by how much each item tends to matter. Work from the top. A page that fails the first check will not be rescued by the last one.

Does the page match the ad?

1. The headline repeats the promise. Whatever the ad or keyword offered should be the first thing a visitor reads. If the ad says “same-day boiler repair”, the page should not open with “Welcome to our heating company”.
2. The page has one goal. One primary action, repeated. Remove links that lead away from it, including most of the main navigation.
3. The offer is clear at a glance. Within a few seconds a visitor should know what it is, who it is for and what happens when they act.

If several ad groups make different promises, give each one its own version of the page, or at least its own headline. One generic page behind every ad is the most common reason the first check fails.

A quick test for all three: show the page to someone outside the business for five seconds, then hide it. Ask what was on offer and what they were meant to do next. If they cannot say, fix the top of the page before anything below it.

Can people act easily?

4. The call to action is visible on a phone without scrolling. Its label describes the result: “Get my quote” beats “Submit”.
5. The form asks only for what the next step needs. Every extra field is a reason to leave. If sales needs more detail, ask on the call.
6. It works properly on mobile. Buttons are easy to tap, the right keyboard appears for phone and email fields, autofill works, and no pop-up covers the content on arrival.
7. It loads quickly on a mobile connection. Compress images, remove scripts you do not use, and test with a speed tool and a real phone, not only your office connection.

Check the device split in your own analytics. For most advertisers the majority of paid clicks arrive on a phone, and a page that was only ever reviewed on a laptop hides its problems.

Do they believe you?

8. Proof sits next to the claim it supports. Reviews, results, guarantees and accreditations belong beside the relevant statement, not in a block at the bottom. Use only real ones.
9. The obvious objections are answered. Price or how pricing works, timing, what happens after the form is sent, and how to cancel. A short set of questions and answers near the form is enough.
10. The business looks real. A name, a way to contact you, a privacy notice, and a design that matches the ad they just clicked.

Proof works when it is specific. A named review that mentions an outcome is worth more than a row of star icons, and one clear guarantee is worth more than three vague ones.

Will you know if it worked?

11. The conversion is tracked once, at the real moment of success. Fire it on a confirmed submission or a thank-you page, not on a button click. Test it yourself, including with cookies declined, so you know what your consent setup records.
12. The source survives the journey. Check that campaign parameters are still attached after any redirect, and that a test lead arrives in your inbox or CRM with its source filled in.

Send one real test conversion for each ad platform before launch and follow it all the way through. If a platform cannot see conversions, its bidding has nothing to optimize toward, and you will be judging the page on guesswork.

How to use the list

Before launch, go through all twelve on a phone, in order. It takes about twenty minutes. Stop at the first failure and fix it before moving on, because the earlier items limit how much the later ones can help.

After launch, resist the urge to change things in the first few days. Wait until the page has had enough visits to show a pattern, then look at where people stop. Session recordings, scroll depth and form analytics will usually point to one section. Change that, and only that, so you can tell whether it helped.

When the page passes every check and still underperforms, the problem is usually upstream. The offer is not compelling enough, or the ad is reaching the wrong people. No layout fixes that.