Pete Bowen's Landing Page Guide
You are applying Pete Bowen's conversion principles, distilled from 2,500+ websites and 2,000,000+ form submissions. These are practitioner-tested rules, not theory. Applied together, they've increased conversion rates 10-40x.
Core Truth
No PPC campaign delivers positive ROI if the landing page doesn't convert. Great QS, low CPC, and compelling ad copy are worthless if the site doesn't turn clicks into enquiries.
The 3-Second Rule
Most people reject your site in seconds. They won't come back. Ever.
The first question every visitor asks: "Am I in the right place?"
She will leave if you can't answer YES before the countdown hits zero. The landing page must scream "You're in the right place."
What drives instant rejection:
- Not what she sees, but what she doesn't see
- She can't read your site in 3 seconds, so poor writing isn't the cause
- It's not your prices (she leaves before finding them)
- It's the absence of immediate relevance confirmation
After confirming relevance, nail two things:
- Make the site look easy to use (impression, not reality yet)
- Make the site look fresh (dated design raises "are they still in business?" doubts)
The One Next Step Principle
Your landing page exists to get your visitor to take ONE next step closer to the sale.
Don't try to close the sale on the landing page. Don't offer five different actions. Choose ONE primary action and make everything on the page serve it.
A landing page that tries to pull visitors in all directions ends up going nowhere.
Make the next step prominent by:
- Showing it early, near the top
- Making it bigger than other elements
- Using contrast (different font, color, background)
- Giving it generous space around it
Add secondary CTAs at the bottom of the page (anchor link back to form, or duplicate form). The contact form scrolls off-screen as visitors read. Don't leave them wondering what to do at the bottom.
The Right Words
She doesn't care about:
- Your mission statement
- "Personal, friendly and efficient service"
- "Driven by knowledge and quality"
- "Over 20 years' experience"
- Awards from your industry banquet
- Your company values
She wants: Evidence she's in the right place + help getting what she searched for.
Establishing credibility matters later. But self-congratulatory copy gets in the way at this stage. Focus on what she wants.
Simplify Everything
Writing
- Run copy through Hemingway App (hemingwayapp.com)
- Target Grade 6 reading level or lower
- Poor readers understand it. Good readers appreciate the clarity.
Declutter
Every element either helps or hurts conversion. There are no neutral elements.
"You make something look important by removing things around it. The Mona Lisa hangs alone."
Your landing page has one purpose. Remove anything that distracts.
Design Rules (Practitioner-Tested)
Be Conventional
Convention = familiarity = comfort. An unconventional layout may win a design award but won't win leads. Menu at top, underlined links, forms with submit buttons. Don't make her ask "What now?"
Mobile-First
No excuse for a mangled mobile experience. Test:
- Is the right stuff at the top on mobile?
- Is text big enough without zooming?
- Can you see AND fill in the form with fingers?
- Can you tap the button without hitting something else?
Typography
- Big fonts. Tiny fonts are a print legacy. Nobody charges for pixels.
- Light background, dark text. Low contrast = beautiful but unreadable.
- White space. Paper is cheap on the internet. Be generous.
Images
Testing across 2,500 sites showed: pictures don't increase form completions. No picture doesn't decrease them either.
- Big pictures slow the page
- Small pictures are useless
- If you must use one, put it near the bottom where it can't do damage
- Remove most pictures for an instant speed boost
Layout
Single column. Simple, distraction-free, clear flow from top to bottom. Looks much better on mobile.
Speed
Your visitor hits the back button if the page takes too long. Those beautiful hero photos might win awards but won't win business. Use PageSpeed Insights to check.
Page Architecture Rules
Don't Send Traffic to Your Home Page
- Home page = about your business. Landing page = about the visitor.
- Home page needs navigation. Landing page must be distraction-free.
- Home page shows your brand. Landing page shows her solution.
Use HTTPS
Some visitors are security-savvy and bounce without the lock icon. Browsers warn when filling forms on insecure pages. No reason to lose leads over this.
Use Contact Forms, Not Email Links
Forms work on all devices. Email links fail on mobile, Gmail/Hotmail, and shared computers.
The Form Is the Weakest Link
Your form is all that stands between you and a sale. Don't make it an afterthought.
Quick form changes can double, triple, or 10x conversion rates:
- Minimize fields (every field is friction)
- Big, tappable fields on mobile
- Clear, action-oriented submit button
- Don't ask for information you don't need yet
Audit Checklist
When auditing a landing page against these principles:
| # | Check | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Does the page answer "Am I in the right place?" within 3 seconds? | |
| 2 | Is there ONE clear primary action? | |
| 3 | Is the primary CTA visible near the top AND repeated at the bottom? | |
| 4 | Is the copy about the VISITOR, not the business? | |
| 5 | Is the writing Grade 6 readable (Hemingway test)? | |
| 6 | Is every element helping conversion? (No neutral elements) | |
| 7 | Does the design follow web conventions? | |
| 8 | Does it look good on mobile? | |
| 9 | Are fonts big enough? | |
| 10 | Light background + dark text? | |
| 11 | Generous white space? | |
| 12 | Minimal or no images? | |
| 13 | Single column layout? | |
| 14 | Useful, scannable headlines? | |
| 15 | Page loads fast? | |
| 16 | Traffic goes to landing page, NOT home page? | |
| 17 | HTTPS enabled? | |
| 18 | Contact form (not email link)? | |
| 19 | Form is simple and mobile-friendly? | |
| 20 | Does the site look fresh and current? |
Application
When building a new landing page:
- Start with the ONE next step you want visitors to take
- Write the headline that answers "Am I in the right place?"
- Write copy focused on the visitor's needs (not your credentials)
- Simplify until Grade 6 readable
- Build single-column, mobile-first, light background
- Place form prominently at top, repeat CTA at bottom
- Remove everything that doesn't drive toward the one action
- Test on mobile with real fingers
- Check page speed
When auditing an existing page:
- Run through the 20-point checklist above
- Identify the biggest conversion killer (usually: unclear relevance, too many options, or bad form)
- Fix the biggest issue first — you don't have to apply every principle to see a lift
Related Skills
- page-cro: Broader conversion optimization with additional frameworks
- copywriting: For writing persuasive page copy
- marketing-psychology: For understanding why these principles work
- form-cro: For detailed form optimization
- ad-creative: For the ad copy that drives traffic to this page
- landing-page-architecture: For page structure patterns