Estimated read time: 10–12 minutes

Why Landing Pages Are Costing (or Earning) You More Than You Realise

In today's digital marketing ecosystem, landing pages often represent the pivotal moment in a user's journey—where curiosity is either converted or lost entirely. During our recent Webinar hosted by ASPs Jon Monk and Tom McMahon, CEO of event-specialist digital agency MCM we took a deep dive into the science, psychology, and structure of high-performing landing pages.

The session explored how the synergy between pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and landing page optimisation can either supercharge a campaign's ROI—or sabotage it altogether.

As Jon noted in the kickoff, "It's one thing to build great websites—but when someone lands on them, do they actually do what you want them to?" That central question laid the groundwork for an hour of practical tips, actionable strategies, and candid conversations about what makes landing pages succeed or fail—particularly in the high-stakes world of event marketing.

The Cost of a Bounce: Wasted Investment and Lost Opportunity

The most expensive landing page mistake is also one of the most common—getting clicks without conversions. According to Tom, "It can consume 100% of your budget… if bounce rates go through the roof due to poor performance, you've literally burned all your ad spend."

This failure often stems from a disconnect: paid ads might be expertly crafted, but if the landing page doesn't meet expectations—be it due to technical errors, loading speed, or poor UX—campaign effectiveness plummets. Jon added a critical layer to this cost analysis, reminding listeners not to forget the investment made in building the website itself: "Beyond your ad spend, there's your site investment and your team's time. That's a huge combined cost at risk."

This sets the stage for why landing page optimisation isn't optional; it's a non-negotiable element of campaign strategy.

Optimising the Conversion Journey
When you look at the end-to-end journey of a user engaging with an event ad—from initial exposure to the final registration we'd advocate a phased approach to digital campaigns:

• Awareness: Introduce the event and establish curiosity.
• Consideration: Deepen the narrative through audience-specific reasons to attend.
• Conversion: Remove friction and amplify urgency.
   

Tom explained the "think-feel-do" framework: For each campaign phase, define what the audience should think, feel, and do—then ensure creatives and copy align accordingly. "Is your job to create intrigue, drive emotional connection, or incite action? Get that part right, and then your landing page becomes the final nudge," he said.

Key insight: Your landing page is only as good as the journey that brings users to it. Cohesion in visual style, messaging, and experience increases conversion odds significantly and contributes directly to your broader conversion rate optimisation goals.

Common Landing Page Mistakes to Avoid 

1. Slow Loading Times 

Page speed is directly linked to conversion rates—the slower your page loads, the more likely visitors will bounce. Large images, uncompressed video, and bloated widgets are common culprits. Use tools to test your loading time and consider: 

• Compressing images properly 

• Limiting the number of widgets and external libraries 

• Optimising video files (if used) 

PRO TIP: Drop your web page into ChatGPT and ask for optimisation tips—it's surprisingly effective for diagnosing speed bottlenecks.

2. Key Information Below the Fold - First Impressions Are Everything

Above-the-fold design—the content visible without scrolling—emerged as a make-or-break area. Don't bury critical messaging, particularly for mobile users. What someone sees immediately should confirm they're in the right place. 

What should sit above the fold?

• Clear event title and logo
• Date and location
• A compelling value proposition
• Bold call-to-action (CTA) button with high contrast and sticky positioning
   

3. Lack of Visual Consistency - The Visual Jolt

A "visual jolt" occurs when users click an ad expecting one experience and land on a page that looks totally different—often causing immediate drop-off. Tom advocated for visual consistency throughout paid platforms and landing pages: colour palette, font, imagery, and tone should all connect seamlessly. It should feel like a natural continuation of your story, not a teleport to a different website.

• Use consistent branding, colours, and fonts 

• Maintain a similar look and feel to your ad campaigns 

• Create a seamless journey from ad to landing page
   

4. Poor Mobile Optimisation 

Mobile Optimisation is Mandatory—Not Just a Trend. Mastering mobile usability contributes directly to successful landing page optimisation and ultimately supports your conversion rate optimisation strategy.

Regardless of whether your event is B2B or B2C, a significant portion of your traffic will come from mobile devices. If you're not sure what that looks like for your own event use Google Analytics to identify device preferences—many B2B audiences use mobile more than assumed. 

Beyond responsive design, mobile optimisation should include:

• Larger text for readability
• Faster interaction paths
• Touch-friendly CTAs
• Reduced clutter or unnecessary elements

5. Inadequate Tracking and GDPR Compliance 

Without proper tracking, you miss opportunities to improve campaigns.  

It's really important whenever setting up the landing pages to ensure that you're putting tracking in place right from the beginning, and avoiding altering or making any significant changes to that page without also updating the tracking. 

• Implement tracking from day one 

• Ensure GDPR compliance with proper cookie policies 

• Use tracking data to build retargeting audiences 
   

Compliance and Tracking: Essential, Not Optional

Before building out any conversion-driven page, set up robust tracking and ensuring GDPR-compliance. Installing tracking early doesn't just power your analytics. It builds retargeting audiences while you sleep. Do it late, and you've lost weeks of invaluable data.

Key additions not to miss:

• Cookie policy explicitly enabled
• GDPR functions working site-wide
• Google Tag Manager and Meta Pixel integrations verified

 

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): The Next Big SEO Shift

Tom closed with insights into Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO—preparing your landing page content to be discoverable by AI models like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and others. This complements traditional SEO but addresses the future of AI-driven content curation.

"You'll need content-rich pages. Tools like FAQs, speaker bios, and detailed programme summaries give LLMs something to chew on," Tom said. Jon confirmed, saying, "If your event page doesn't answer basic questions like what, where, when, and why—it won't surface in either search or LLMs."

Quick GEO Wins:

• Add FAQs tailored to your audience's core questions
• Use structured data and semantically rich headers
• Prioritise plain-language explanations and descriptive copy
   

The Perfect Landing Page: UX Elements That Convert

Jon concluded by giving a 'cheat sheet' walk-through of a perfect landing page design based on thousands of real-event case studies.

Clear and Specific Headlines 

Your main headline should immediately communicate what your event is about - think clarity, not cleverness.

Often primary headlines sounds nice but they aren’t specific or don’t explain what your event is actually about. While it may not seem that creative, people only have a very short time attention span and you need to give them the information they need very quickly.  

Prominent Call-to-Action Buttons 

• Use a consistent, high-contrast colour for your primary CTA 

• Keep the CTA visible (consider making it "sticky" so it remains visible while scrolling) 

• Include a brief explanation of why visitors should take action 

Trust-Building Elements 

Include social proof elements that build confidence in your event: 

• Industry leader logos 

• Featured speaker highlights 

• Attendance statistics (if impressive) 

• Testimonials from previous attendees 

Comprehensive Event Information 

Break down information into easily digestible sections: 

• Event focus and topics 

• Speakers and sessions 

• Venue details and dates 

• What attendees will gain, why should they attend?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQs serve multiple purposes: 

• Answer common questions that might prevent registration 

• Provide detailed information for those who want it 

• Improve SEO and optimise for AI search engines 

Landing Page Cheat Sheet

AB Testing: The Secret Sauce (You're Probably Ignoring)

AB testing was hailed as the most overlooked yet most potent tool in optimising landing pages and improving conversion rate optimisation over time. Tom encouraged small, manageable experiments: "You don't need to test entire versions—just test button copy, icon positions, or image types," he said.

Jon agreed and reminded viewers that AB testing is even more essential for events with annual cycles: "Testing just one element per year helps you build stronger performance over time."

Test-worthy elements:

• CTA wording ("Register Now" vs. "Get Your Ticket")
• CTA colours and shapes
• Hero headlines
• Testimonials vs. speaker line-ups at different positions
• Form placements
   

Final Thoughts: Build Once, Learn Always

Jon wrapped the session with a powerful call for continuity. "Too often, we see event pages wiped after each show. You lose all that SEO value—and worse, all your insights."

Instead, both speakers urged marketers to:

• Maintain old landing pages for benchmarking and historical data
• Build refinements from previous year's tests
• Treat landing pages as iterative projects, not single-use assets

Your event landing page is like a chain—it's only as strong as its weakest link. Make sure each part, from ad to on-site UX, is polished, tested and true to your audience.

Whether you're an event marketer refining your next PPC journey or a web design team revamping your conversion flow, one message came through loud and clear: treat your landing page like the high-performance engine it is.

And remember, good campaigns are crafted in the clicks—but great ones are won on the landing page!

Stay Tuned!
Join ASP's next webinar in the series — "Managing Your Event Budget: SEO vs PPC" — on Tuesday 24th June 2025. It promises even more insights into optimising spend for maximum return.

VIDEO RECAP: Watch the Full Session