You can tune many design and copywriting elements of your website. If you have a single product or service with an optional up-sell/cross-sell you can also tune to find the profit-optimum pricing.

So, what should you test?

The focus should be on the "mission critical" parts of your site that lead to your desired trackable actions. These parts can include any pages from your initial landing page to the last step in your trackable action process. In the simplest case, your landing page and trackable action may be on the same page (when the action is a single-step form-fill). In an e-commerce setting your landing pages may be the website site home page, category or brand pages, or individual product pages. Your trackable action may happen several pages downstream at the shopping cart, or after the completion of the actual sale.

Once you have identified the page or pages involved in the test, you can decompose the landing page design into specific elements to test. For each of these elements (or variables), you should test your current version and one or more alternatives.

The following variables are common in landing page design tests:

• Headline
• Page layout
• Navigation
• Color scheme
• Form layout
• Button text
• Sales copy
• Graphic images
• Call to action
• Offer or promotion

One key thought to keep in mind: "your mileage may vary". Do not automatically copy recent changes that your competitors have incorporated in their sites. They may not actually know what is best, or their audience may respond differently than yours. The only way to be sure is to test with your own audience. Landing page optimization is definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

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