// guide
Why isn't my landing page converting?
If you're getting visits but almost no conversions, the instinct is to blame the traffic. After scoring 100+ landing pages on a fixed rubric, the truth is almost always simpler: the page itself isn't doing its job. Here are the seven things that actually move conversion, ranked by how often they're the problem.
First: it's usually the page, not the traffic
Cold traffic gives you about five seconds and zero context. If a visitor can't tell what you do, who it's for, and why it matters in that window, they leave, no matter how good the product is.
The classic tell is "everyone says the idea is cool, but nobody converts." That gap almost always lives on the page, not in the market.
The 7 things that actually move conversion
Score your own page honestly against each of these, 0 to 4:
- Hero & value prop: does it state the outcome, for whom, in 5 seconds?
- CTA strength: is the primary button specific (action + outcome), not 'Get started'?
- Message-to-audience fit: concrete and specific, or vague and generic?
- Social proof & trust: real numbers, logos, testimonials, guarantees?
- Friction: how many steps/fields before the visitor gets value?
- Visual credibility: crafted and distinctive, or generic AI-slop?
- Copy quality: benefit-led and tight, or buzzword soup?
The two leaks on almost every page
Two problems show up far more than the rest. First, the hero describes the company instead of the visitor's outcome — the headline only makes sense if you already work there. Second, the primary CTA has no promise: 'Get started' or 'Submit' tells the visitor nothing about what happens next.
Fix those two and most pages jump an entire band. Lead the hero with the result the visitor gets, and make the button describe that result.
How to judge it objectively (you can't trust your own eyes)
You know your product too well to see your page like a stranger. Show the hero to someone who's never heard of it and ask: what is this, who is it for, and what do I do next? If they hesitate, that's your leak.
A fixed rubric does the same thing without the bias: it forces a score on each criterion tied to a real element, so the result is consistent instead of a vibe.