Busting Landing Page Myths: The Truth About Conversion Rates
In almost every article about landing pages, you’ll find a dozen utopian promises that are supposed to be your ultimate breakthrough. They claim to skyrocket your conversion rate, drive massive traffic, and push you to the top of Google search results with just a minor page tweak.
“Add red call-to-action text to your lead generation form button, and you will increase your conversions by 86%.”
Perhaps this tweak actually worked for someone. However, there is no guarantee it will have the same effect on your website. Since A/B testing has become incredibly popular recently, such isolated observations and lifehacks have simply become clickbait for loud statements and misleading conclusions.
Here are some of the most common landing page myths:
Myth #1: One Landing Page Is Enough.
It is unclear why the misconception arose that a business only needs a single target page. If you still believe this, you are actively losing valuable traffic. Every new landing page provides an additional opportunity to showcase your brand, address specific user intent, and discover a different approach to solving customer pain points.
Even minor variations between your pages can help you capture significantly broader segments of your target audience.
Myth #2: Landing Pages Must Be Short.
Long-form landing pages are just as effective. Honestly, the length itself doesn't strictly matter.
Short pages are great for capturing a high volume of quick leads. Conversely, long pages provide comprehensive information, building trust and answering every potential question your visitor might have. Design your landing page based on the specific business goal it needs to achieve. And most importantly, run A/B testing.
Myth #3: Copying a Successful Landing Page Guarantees the Same Profit.
Borrowing elements from high-converting landing pages isn't necessarily a bad idea. However, you need to manage your expectations regarding instant success and an immediate spike in conversion rates.
While compelling web design plays a huge role, a successful final product consists of a unique combination of elements that you must create yourself.
Myth #4: Everything Important Must Be Above the Fold.
This is a widely held belief that has negatively impacted countless landing pages. Many websites aggressively push visitors to make a purchase right away, only explaining what the actual product is further down. Simply put: there is absolutely zero correlation between high conversions and the exact placement of your landing page elements. What truly matters is delivering highly relevant and engaging content.
Myth #5: Trust Elements Automatically Increase Conversions.
Anyone can clutter their page with customer reviews, photos, email addresses, and phone numbers. However, this is only effective if the visitor is actually your target customer. If they aren't, the user simply doesn't care. They could trust you as much as their own mother, but if they don’t need your product, they won’t buy it. No amount of social proof tactics will save the sale in that case.
Myth #6: Button Color Directly Impacts Click-Through Rates.
“I was told how changing a website button from yellow to blue boosted the conversion rate by 58%”
Chances are, yellow was already the dominant color on the page, causing the button to blend into the background design. The blue button simply created visual contrast, making it stand out, which is why it received more clicks.
There is no magical button color that universally guarantees more clicks.
This applies to other landing page elements as well. While there are certainly standard CRO best practices, they rarely have the drastic, overnight impact that gurus claim.
Myth #7: Users Don't Scroll Down.
If visitors find your offer interesting and relevant, they will scroll through the entire page—often more than once. If they bounce without scrolling, the issue likely isn't the scroll length; rather, you may have an overly cluttered UI design that distracts them from focusing on the core message.
Myth #8: Conversion Rate Is the Only Metric of Success.
When a landing page is just one component of a broader marketing campaign, the ultimate goal isn't just user registration, but full lead generation—turning a visitor into a paying customer.
Your target page might simply serve as a brand touchpoint. Later on, that same visitor might come across your company via contextual advertising and finally make the decision to purchase.
You can track this entire multi-channel customer journey using tools like Google Analytics.
Myth #9: A Landing Page Must Be Packed With Information.
When combined with the myth about landing page length, this misconception creates absolute digital monstrosities.
We're talking about pages overloaded with lead forms, aggressive images, endless text, and far too many layout blocks.
Landing pages are inherently designed for streamlined, introductory information. Information overload simply causes decision fatigue, distracting the visitor from taking the primary call to action.
Myth #10: Build It. Forget It. Profit.
From a pure technical setup standpoint, this might seem true. However, continuous conversion rate optimization is essential. There is always an element you can refine. Keep experimenting and running tests to polish your page until it achieves exemplary results.
