I’m a big proponent of testing—but you have to use testing right. In fact, according to Optimizely, while only 17 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using an A/B testing platform, companies who do see significant improvements to their business. 

So, to answer your question, I would always suggest that you test different elements on your landing page versus testing different landing pages altogether.

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Here are two reasons why:

1. The context behind your landing page is critical to the kind of results you get

It’s not just the design itself that makes a big difference when it comes to your landing page’s efficacy. Factors such as timing, communication style, paid advertising channels backing your efforts—all these could contribute to the success of your landing page.

2. It’s easier to determine which elements work and which don’t when you have a stable set of variables

Testing two different page won’t help you identify which exactly elements on your landing page are actually making a difference on your results. For example, if you have two different landing pages, and landing page A is doing better than  landing page B—you want to know what makes landing page A more successful. But with this method, you only know that landing page A is doing better, not why. This makes it harder to replicate the success you achieved for landing page.

On the other hand, testing the same landing page with varying elements helps you figure exactly what makes your landing page a success. It gives you very specific results.

Now, with that said, here’s what I recommend marketers to test in order of importance.

a. Headline

Your headline is the first thing that your audience sees. With this line alone, they can already make judgments about your brand or offer. This means you have only a few seconds to clearly communicate the value of your product and service.

Often, how you construct your headline and how you phrase will make a big difference on the level of engagement you get from users. This is why I always advise marketers to prioritize testing their headline.

b. Call to action (CTA)

Your CTA represents your conversion goal. Copy and design play a huge factor in this and changing one or two elements could spell the difference between a good or bad CTA.

Be sure to check and test different design elements such as button size, typography, and color to see the most clicks.

c. Your hero shot

The kind of image or video that you use on your landing page could engage or turn your audience away. Test different variations of your main multimedia to see what works best to hold the attention of your audience and usher them further down towards your CTA.

d. Form length

How long or short your opt in form is critical to conversions. For example, longer forms could potentially turn away users, but it could also help build more credibility. Shorter ones may be easier to fill out, but it could communicate that you’re not too serious about your offer. Find out how your audience responds to it so you can apply the right one.

Hope this answers your question. If you need to follow up on anything, reach out to me at Leadspanda and I can personally help you out.