Why your landing page isn't converting (and what to fix first)

Traffic is expensive. A landing page that converts at 1% instead of 4% means you are paying 4x for every customer. Most of that gap is not optimization — it is five recurring mistakes that show up on almost every startup page I audit. Here they are, in the order I fix them.

1. The hero does not say what you do

Visitors give you about three seconds. If the first line is a slogan instead of a sentence, they leave. Lead with the outcome, not the brand voice.

Bad: *"Reimagine your workflow."*
Better: *"Send invoices in 30 seconds from a Telegram message."*

The test: cover the logo. Can a stranger tell what the product does in one read? If not, the hero is decorative.

The subheadline does the second job

The hero line is the *what*. The subheadline is the *who and why*. Together they should answer "this is X, for Y, and it matters because Z." Three jobs, two lines, no metaphors.

2. There is no single primary action

Two equally-weighted buttons split attention and kill conversion. Pick one. Make it loud. Repeat it down the page so the visitor never has to scroll back up to act.

If a visitor finishes reading a section and feels ready to act, the button should be in their field of view. Anything else is friction you can charge yourself for.

A common pattern that works: one primary button ("Start free", "Book a call") and one ghost link ("See how it works"). Never two primary buttons.

3. Social proof is wallpaper

"Trusted by thousands" is wallpaper. A specific quote from a named customer about a measurable result is worth 100 generic logos.

Concrete > impressive. *"Cut our invoicing time from 40 minutes a week to 4."* beats *"Game-changing tool."* every time, even if the second quote is from a more famous person.

If you do not have customer quotes yet, use the testimonials you do have honestly. Three real ones beat a wall of fake ones.

4. The form asks for too much

Every field you add cuts submissions. The math is brutal — going from 3 fields to 7 typically halves completion. Ask for the minimum that lets you do the next step, and qualify on the call.

For a contact form: name, email, and one open-ended box. That is it. Phone number, company size, budget — those are sales questions, not lead-capture questions.

5. Mobile is an afterthought

Most traffic is mobile. If the CTA is below the fold on a phone, it does not exist. Three checks I run on every audit:

1. Is the primary button visible on a 390x844 viewport without scrolling?
2. Are tap targets at least 44x44 px?
3. Does the page reach LCP in under 2.5s on a throttled 4G connection?

Fail any of those and you are leaving mobile money on the table — which is to say, most of your money.

The order matters

Fix them in this order. Clarity first, then focus, then proof, then friction, then mobile. Reversing the order is the most common mistake — teams optimize button colors before the page even explains what it sells.