Landing Page Audit Checklist: 40 Conversion Killers to Look For

What should you look for in a landing page audit checklist?

Look for anything that stops a qualified visitor from understanding the offer, believing it or acting on it. That means checking the offer and message first, then proof, then friction, tracking and speed, and finally the visual details. The 40 items below follow that order.

Most landing page reviews go the other way: they start with what's visible, like colors, spacing and imagery, because that's easy to comment on. That produces long lists of small fixes while the real problem, often a hero that doesn't say what the product does, stays in place. This checklist is ordered by impact so the expensive problems surface first. It's one part of a wider conversion rate optimization process and works as the page-level detail inside a full CRO audit.

Tier 1: Is the offer and message right?

Tier 1 decides whether the visitor wants what you're offering at all. These are the highest-impact checks on any landing page, and failures here can't be fixed by better design.

1. The headline says what it does for whom. A cold visitor can explain the product after reading only the H1 and subhead.
2. The page matches the traffic source. The headline echoes the ad, keyword or email that brought the visitor.
3. The offer fits the visitor's readiness. Cold traffic isn't asked for a sales call when a trial, demo video or guide would suit them better.
4. There's one primary goal. The page asks for one action, not five competing ones.
5. The outcome is concrete. The benefit is described with specifics, not adjectives like "powerful" or "easy".
6. The difference is clear. The page says why this over the obvious alternative, including doing nothing.
7. The problem is in the buyer's words. Phrases come from customers, not from internal product language.
8. The CTA says what happens next. "Book a 20-minute demo" or "Start a free trial", not "Submit" or "Learn more".
9. The price question is answered or addressed. Either a price, a starting point or an honest note on how pricing works.
10. The page answers the top objection. Whatever sales hears most often is handled on the page.

If several of these fail, you need a rewrite, not edits. Our anatomy of a high-converting landing page shows the section order that carries a strong message.

Tier 2: Does the page earn trust?

Tier 2 checks whether the visitor believes the claims. A clear offer without proof still asks the buyer to take your word for it, which B2B buyers rarely do.

1. Proof sits next to the claims. Evidence appears beside the claim it supports, not only in a testimonial section at the bottom.
2. Testimonials are specific and attributed. Name, role and company, with a concrete result or situation, used with permission.
3. Logos are relevant. Customer logos match the visitor's industry or size where possible.
4. The product is shown. Real screenshots or a short demo, not only abstract illustrations.
5. Numbers are defensible. Every statistic on the page is true, sourced and current.
6. Security and compliance are visible where they matter. For buyers who need them, certifications or data handling are easy to find.
7. There's a real company behind it. Team, address or contact details are reachable from the page.
8. Risk reducers are present. Free trial terms, cancellation policy, guarantee or "no card needed" where true.

Be careful with recycled conversion claims. Lines such as "logos lift conversion 43%" circulate widely, and our research traced them to unsourced figures. Add proof because buyers need it, not because a statistic said so.

Tier 3: Is there friction stopping the conversion?

Tier 3 checks how hard it is to act once the visitor wants to. Friction rarely stops a highly motivated buyer, but it stops the uncertain majority.

1. The form asks only for what you use. Every field has a clear purpose in the sales or onboarding process.
2. Field labels are visible. Labels stay visible after the visitor starts typing, not just as placeholder text.
3. Errors are clear and kind. Validation explains what's wrong and keeps what the visitor already entered.
4. The CTA is visible without hunting. It appears near the top and again after the main sections.
5. Nothing distracts from the goal. Full navigation, unrelated links and pop-ups are minimized on campaign pages.
6. The next step is explained. The page or form says what happens after submit and how soon.
7. The confirmation page works. It confirms, sets expectations and offers a useful next step, such as booking a time.
8. No forced account creation before value. Visitors can see or try something before handing over a password.

Tier 4: Are tracking, speed and mobile working?

Tier 4 checks the technical layer. Broken tracking doesn't lose conversions directly, but it hides every other problem, so it's the first thing to test in practice even though it sits here in impact order.

1. Each conversion fires once. Submit the form on desktop and mobile and confirm one event per conversion.
2. Sources are attributed. UTM parameters and referrers survive to the conversion event and the CRM.
3. The page loads fast on a real phone. Test on a mid-range device and a normal mobile connection, not just office Wi-Fi.
4. Heavy scripts are justified. Chat widgets, trackers and testing tools earn their weight or get removed.
5. The mobile layout keeps the argument. Proof and the CTA aren't buried or cut on small screens.
6. Tap targets and inputs work on mobile. Buttons are easy to tap; inputs bring up the right keyboard.
7. Nothing is broken. No dead links, missing images, layout shifts or console errors on key browsers.

On speed, be wary of the claim that every second costs 7% of conversions. The SOASTA data our research checked reports about 7% for a 100-millisecond delay and about 20% for one second, while a SiteSpect controlled test found a 4.4% drop on mobile. The effect is real but varies. For scroll behavior on long pages, see what scroll depth does and doesn't tell you.

Tier 5: Does the design support the message?

Tier 5 checks the visual layer. Design problems matter mostly because they affect clarity and trust, so judge each item by whether it helps the visitor follow the argument.

1. There's a clear visual hierarchy. The eye goes to the headline, then the key proof, then the CTA.
2. The CTA stands out. It has contrast with its surroundings without fighting other elements.
3. Text is readable. Body size, line length and contrast are comfortable, including for older eyes.
4. Imagery explains, not decorates. Each image shows the product, the outcome or the people involved.
5. The design looks finished and consistent. Spacing, type and components feel like one system.
6. Motion helps or stays out of the way. Animation guides attention and doesn't delay reading.
7. The page is accessible. Keyboard navigation, alt text and focus states work.

How do you turn a landing page review into fixes?

Turn the review into fixes by grouping failed items into a few changes, ranked by tier. Most findings cluster: a weak hero, missing proof and a vague CTA are usually one rewrite, not three tickets.

Write each fix with the evidence behind it, then decide whether the problem is the words or the build. If most fails are in Tiers 1 and 2, the platform isn't your issue; our article on whether your problem is the platform or the copy explains how to tell. Before you relaunch, run the separate landing page launch checklist, which covers QA rather than conversion. If you want a scoring framework behind your judgments, CRO heuristics gives you one.

How is a landing page audit different from an SEO audit?

A landing page audit asks whether visitors convert; an SEO audit asks whether search engines can find and rank the page. They share speed, mobile and content checks, but they optimize for different outcomes and often recommend different things.

Campaign landing pages are often excluded from search entirely, so SEO matters less there. Organic pages need both: a page that ranks but confuses visitors wastes the traffic, and a page that converts but can't be found has none. If the page you're reviewing gets organic traffic, run our SEO audit checklist alongside this one, and resolve conflicts in favor of clarity for the reader.