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Landing Page Test Results

by jamawebinc
23 replies
I have some results I thought people would be interested in. Let me first give you the background on the market. It is the health market. It deals with finding a cure to rare illness - not life threatening or anything, but a less known illness.

The original set up of the landing page:

A very simple opt in page with a Headline and 4 bullet points of what they will discover inside. An optin form underneath with name and email.

Using confirmed opt in (double opt in)

Conversion rates were about 20%. I think the exact number 18.6%. This was with over 120 visitors

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The experiment:

I changed the landing page to a lengthy article with a video of myself at the top that played automatically.

The article talks about "What the illness is and how to get rid of it". I talk to the viewer in the video for about 1 1/2 minutes with the long article underneath. The length of the article is about 6 screenfulls at 11pt type size.

At the bottom of this article I give a link to go to view a free video which demonstrates one of the supplements you can take to get rid of this illness.
This would be the opt-in page.

I also give a link to learn about my complete program.
This would be the salesletter

The Result: 104 visitors
Opt-ins: 0

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The change back to the control landing page:

I changed back to the original page this morning and got the following immediate results...

visitors: 12
opt-ins: 2

for a 16.6% conversion rate

Summary:

This test was done with the following hypothesis in mind:
"If you give people a nice piece of content they would be warmed up so they would be more apt to give out their email address for more information."

I think you can see that test was a complete failure. It worked much better to force a yes or no from the visitor rather before giving them any type of content beforehand.
#landing #page #results
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    You figure some people won't even finish watching the video, so by taking up more time, you may lose opportunity. Do you think this might be the reason?
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  • Profile picture of the author Droopy Dawg
    Try testing with the Video and the bullet points and see what you get. Some people only need the "tip of the iceberg" and if your video and bullets are compelling then they'd be willing to optin for the "whole shabang". The lengthy salesletter may have turned them off...

    Just a thought...
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    • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
      Originally Posted by Droopy Dawg View Post

      Try testing with the Video and the bullet points and see what you get. Some people only need the "tip of the iceberg" and if your video and bullets are compelling then they'd be willing to optin for the "whole shabang". The lengthy salesletter may have turned them off...

      Just a thought...
      I wasn't testing video vs no video.

      The whole test was based on giving people some good content first and then giving them the option to go to a link for more content (but they must opt-in to get it)

      In other words, is it better to force the visitor to make a decision or to give them something first and then let them make their own decision.
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      • Profile picture of the author Droopy Dawg
        Ah OK... wasn't exactly sure what you were testing. Thanks.

        DeShon

        Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

        I wasn't testing video vs no video.

        The whole test was based on giving people some good content first and then giving them the option to go to a link for more content (but they must opt-in to get it)

        In other words, is it better to force the visitor to make a decision or to give them something first and then let them make their own decision.
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      • Profile picture of the author TheCren
        Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

        I wasn't testing video vs no video.

        The whole test was based on giving people some good content first and then giving them the option to go to a link for more content (but they must opt-in to get it)

        In other words, is it better to force the visitor to make a decision or to give them something first and then let them make their own decision.
        The second scenario (give them a lot of something before they make a decision) works for pre-sell pages or actual sales letters. Would you mind doing another test? I'd like to see someone do an entire sales letter in video form.

        I'd design the test so that there was one control (all text) and two video sales letters - one page with a single looooong video, and another with a short video for each section. I think several short videos might work in some niches.

        Do you guys think that's worth a shot? :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author scattermouse
    Those are some very interesting statistics. Of course, the exact content you used is going to make a huge difference. Is there any chance you could give us some links so we can see the test in more detail?
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyrus Antas
    Don't forget that making a compelling video is as import as making a compelling squeeze page or salespage. You still have to apply AIDA: attention, interest, desire, action.

    Most people are making videos that look and feel like boring powerpoint presentations and obviously end up getting no results.

    Tyrus
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    • Profile picture of the author Wordpress Champ
      Originally Posted by Tyrus Antas View Post

      Don't forget that making a compelling video is as import as making a compelling squeeze page or salespage. You still have to apply AIDA: attention, interest, desire, action.

      Most people are making videos that look and feel like boring powerpoint presentations and obviously end up getting no results.

      Tyrus
      That is right, Tyrus. Video marketing could really do so much trick these days in order to promote your service. Having one on your landing gives your visitor some heads up of what your site has to offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheCren
    Videos generally work well for opt-in conversions. I think your article was way too long though. And your link was at the bottom? What were you thinking? The whole point of an opt-in page is to be concise - you gave a sales letter worth of information pretty much.

    Basically, your test was to see whether people like to a) read a short bit of info then give their email in order to get more information about it, or b) watch a video, read a lot of information, click a link, watch another video, then opt-in. I'm no rocket scientist, but you really shouldn't have had to do a test to figure this one out.

    You should test the short control against the video page with the opt-in form and tell us something we may not already know. Since all the gurus (particularly Frank Kern and Mike Filsaime) are doing simple video opt-in pages, my guess is that it will beat your control. What do you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author Droopy Dawg
      This is pretty much where I was going with my post... thanks you spelled it out completely. And yes videos are slowly taking over as the preferred method for optin conversions... as long as your video is worth a damm anyway

      DeShon

      Originally Posted by TheCren View Post

      Videos generally work well for opt-in conversions. I think your article was way too long though. And your link was at the bottom? What were you thinking? The whole point of an opt-in page is to be concise - you gave a sales letter worth of information pretty much.

      Basically, your test was to see whether people like to a) read a short bit of info then give their email in order to get more information about it, or b) watch a video, read a lot of information, click a link, watch another video, then opt-in. I'm no rocket scientist, but you really shouldn't have had to do a test to figure this one out.

      You should test the short control against the video page with the opt-in form and tell us something we may not already know. Since all the gurus (particularly Frank Kern and Mike Filsaime) are doing simple video opt-in pages, my guess is that it will beat your control. What do you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
      Originally Posted by TheCren View Post

      Videos generally work well for opt-in conversions. I think your article was way too long though. And your link was at the bottom? What were you thinking? The whole point of an opt-in page is to be concise - you gave a sales letter worth of information pretty much.

      Basically, your test was to see whether people like to a) read a short bit of info then give their email in order to get more information about it, or b) watch a video, read a lot of information, click a link, watch another video, then opt-in. I'm no rocket scientist, but you really shouldn't have had to do a test to figure this one out.

      You should test the short control against the video page with the opt-in form and tell us something we may not already know. Since all the gurus (particularly Frank Kern and Mike Filsaime) are doing simple video opt-in pages, my guess is that it will beat your control. What do you think?
      The test was not about 2 opt-in pages.

      Let me try to explain it better.

      (I use the term landing page below with the definition of the page someone lands on after clicking some link to get to your site, this doesn't have to be a squeeze page - in this case, most people came to the site through google ppc ads)

      The test was to see the difference in opt-in rate when presenting the visitor with 2 options of a landing page.

      1st option: A squeeze page. Right away asking the visitor for the contact info without warming them up by giving them content

      2nd option: first giving them content - an article with a video on top - describing, what the illness is, and what steps need to be taken to get over it. Then at the bottom of this article - it is NOT a salesletter, strictly an article - giving them links to go watch a video (which takes them to the opt in page where they have to opt in to see the video) or another link to go read more about my program which cures the illness - (the salesletter)

      What I wanted to see was, would people opt in at a higher percentage if they were first given content and not asked for anything in return and then taken to the squeeze page through a link in the article. Maybe, if they felt like they got some free information they would be be more apt to opt-in.

      In essence, testing

      1) Here is some free information about what you were looking for. Take it, I hope you learn a little something. If you want more info click the links, but you'll have to give an email address.

      vs

      2) I have some info you may want to see. If you don't want to see it, you can leave this page. If you do want to see it, you need to give me your contact info.

      I hope that explains it better.
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      • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
        My thinking on this (after testing similar approaches to giving more content versus more promise) is that people want results not information.

        It's the same for the people I help with information products - when you move beyond "informing" to providing systems, formulas, methods and tools to actually get the overriding result that caused them to arrive at your website in the first place (ex. cure for or relief from the medical condition you mention).

        The content you give away needs to simply wet the appetite of your consumer so they will buy your top systems and formulas.

        Giving too much information away is like knowing what is under the tree at Christmas...it's just not the same.

        Jeff
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        • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
          Originally Posted by jbsmith View Post

          My thinking on this (after testing similar approaches to giving more content versus more promise) is that people want results not information.

          It's the same for the people I help with information products - when you move beyond "informing" to providing systems, formulas, methods and tools to actually get the overriding result that caused them to arrive at your website in the first place (ex. cure for or relief from the medical condition you mention).

          The content you give away needs to simply wet the appetite of your consumer so they will buy your top systems and formulas.

          Giving too much information away is like knowing what is under the tree at Christmas...it's just not the same.

          Jeff
          I agree with your point. The opt-in landing page promises some immediate results...

          The article landing page gives information...an explanation of the illness, an intro in to what it takes to get over it, but not any direct how to information...Not any results...

          Wetting their appetite is a good way to put it as well.

          I also like the way you state more "content" vs more "promise". Many times people don't want information...people feel information takes too much time to read and is boring. Results are never boring because that's what you are after in the first place.

          Many times that's also why exciting stories of results sell better than information. Stories can be exciting and fun to read...Information is boring.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Jamawebinc, in my opinion there was a problem with your test. You changed the experience at the landing page without considering what was happening on the front end, at least from what you posted.

          Pardon the crudity of the metaphor, but that's like trying to diagnose your dog's digestive problems by looking at the manure pile without considering what you fed the poor animal to start with.

          Presumably, your initial PPC campaigns targeted people looking for info on this medical condition. They arrived at your original control page, found an offer that might provide what they sought, and a percentage of them opted in.

          When that same type of visitor came to your test page, found a lot of the information they were seeking (as evidenced by the time on page), and left with their curiosity satisfied.
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          • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            Jamawebinc, in my opinion there was a problem with your test. You changed the experience at the landing page without considering what was happening on the front end, at least from what you posted.

            Pardon the crudity of the metaphor, but that's like trying to diagnose your dog's digestive problems by looking at the manure pile without considering what you fed the poor animal to start with.

            Presumably, your initial PPC campaigns targeted people looking for info on this medical condition. They arrived at your original control page, found an offer that might provide what they sought, and a percentage of them opted in.

            When that same type of visitor came to your test page, found a lot of the information they were seeking (as evidenced by the time on page), and left with their curiosity satisfied.
            Well, I see what your saying as far as having their curiosity satisfied.

            However, the PPC ads were targeting people looking for cures for this illness.

            They had options to get more information, even view a sample "how to" video to see one of the exact methods I used to get over this illness...not one person chose to give their email for this.

            The opt-in page was the exact same for both variants of the test. But the tested option of putting the article (and video) in front of the very same opt-in page somehow caused not 1 person to opt-in.

            If you had this illness, you would know that nobody looks online just for curiosity unless you are looking for a friend or relative and even then...you look for a way to get rid of it as fast as possible.
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            • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
              Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

              The opt-in page was the exact same for both variants of the test. But the tested option of putting the article (and video) in front of the very same opt-in page somehow caused not 1 person to opt-in.
              A third variant which I have used is to put an article under the squeeze page. This is more for keeping google happy though - not testing content vs no content, and it's effects on the visitor.

              I'm thinking of using a membership site script, and only showing the article excerpts. Above each excerpt will be the squeeze. Google sees some content (hopefully keeping the adwords campaign alive), but the user experience is pretty close to the typical squeeze (and hopefully the opt-in rate as well).
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              -Jason

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              • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
                Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

                A third variant which I have used is to put an article under the squeeze page. This is more for keeping google happy though - not testing content vs no content, and it's effects on the visitor.

                I'm thinking of using a membership site script, and only showing the article excerpts. Above each excerpt will be the squeeze. Google sees some content (hopefully keeping the adwords campaign alive), but the user experience is pretty close to the typical squeeze (and hopefully the opt-in rate as well).
                Are you saying you are getting google slapped because you use a squeeze page as a landing page?

                I know there are lots of people out there who say google doesn't want people to use squeeze pages, but there are others who say it's a myth and just adjusted the squeeze page and that google is fine with it as long as it meets their requirements.
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                • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                  Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

                  Well, I see what your saying as far as having their curiosity satisfied.

                  However, the PPC ads were targeting people looking for cures for this illness.

                  They had options to get more information, even view a sample "how to" video to see one of the exact methods I used to get over this illness...not one person chose to give their email for this.

                  The opt-in page was the exact same for both variants of the test. But the tested option of putting the article (and video) in front of the very same opt-in page somehow caused not 1 person to opt-in.

                  If you had this illness, you would know that nobody looks online just for curiosity unless you are looking for a friend or relative and even then...you look for a way to get rid of it as fast as possible.
                  I can think of a few maladies that would fit this bill...:confused:

                  Perhaps another way to look at it is that, by providing detailed information about a cure, you might have sent them off looking for that cure, even though you had a link right there on the page.

                  Either way, you answered my concern about the ads that generated the results. I would say in your particular circumstances, your original set up survives as the control...

                  It's nice when folks share actual hard data, rather than a blanket proclamation that something 'just doesn't work"...
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                  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
                    Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

                    Are you saying you are getting google slapped because you use a squeeze page as a landing page?

                    I know there are lots of people out there who say google doesn't want people to use squeeze pages, but there are others who say it's a myth and just adjusted the squeeze page and that google is fine with it as long as it meets their requirements.
                    Yes.. I've had some slapped within a few months, others have lasted nearly a year before getting slapped. I've become pretty good at keeping google automated stuff happy (I get 'great' on my qs)- the only way they snagged me was via a human. If google ever physicaly reviews a squeeze page site, good luck as they are anal about 'user experience' and really want to see content. The 'typical' squeeze page by it's very nature just goes against google's guidelines.

                    Anyways, I think my latest site will keep google happy - it could take over a year for me to know though.
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                    -Jason

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  • Profile picture of the author Travis Clark
    Thanks for the info as I have been pondering on running this test myself.

    Much Appreciated
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  • Profile picture of the author ukmarketing
    Tell you what some great information from you guys so far, keep up the good work.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    i think this an interesting test, as so many warriors try doing just this - building up content sites, whereas folks like me go the simple squeeze page route.

    I'm getting ready to do a similar test myself, as I'm getting tired of having to get new domains after google slaps my ada to $10 clicks. I'd like to find the sweet spot, as I don't want my entire adwords account to start being dragged down by the few campaigns that use squeeze pages.
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