Firstly let’s clarify exactly what a landing page is: A landing page is any page that has a specific purpose, such as making a sale or getting a visitor to subscribe.

Whilst the home page on a website can be considered a landing page, because visitors usually have several options from a home page, this is considered too general to be a landing page as per the definition above.

There are essentially two types of landing pages, a sales page (intended to generate sales), and a squeeze or opt-in page (intended to generate leads).

These types of landing pages are typically very easy to test, since the target actions (sale or opt-in) are clearly defined.

However each type of landing page requires a different approach in terms of interpreting the results.

For example in long sales pages, the idea is to keep the visitor engaged in the copy long enough in order for them to be led towards making a purchase.

Whereas, squeeze pages are designed to rapidly grab the visitor’s intention and get them to instantly make a decision to opt-in, so naturally a shorter engagement with your visitors is required.

It is these subtle differences and applications in the split testing of landing pages that can make the difference between a mediocre or major increase in conversions

When one split tests a landing page, it always important to consider the objective (target action) and then to design and interpret your test accordingly.