Landing Page Checklist Before You Spend on Ads
By CodexierPublished 4 min read
Ads do not fix a landing page; they multiply whatever it already does. If the form is broken, you pay to send people to a broken form. If tracking is missing, you pay and learn nothing. This is the checklist to run before the first krona goes to Google, Meta or LinkedIn, in the order problems usually show up.
Message match with the ad
Write the ad first, then read the page as if you had just clicked it. Is the promise visible without scrolling? Does the page use the words the searcher used? A mismatch between ad and page is the most common reason for paid visitors leaving within seconds.
- Headline echoes the ad's main promise and, for local ads, the town
- The offer in the ad is the offer on the page, with the same price, deadline or guarantee
- Visuals show the actual service, not generic stock imagery
- The page targets one audience; separate audiences get separate pages
Form and thank-you page
Submit the form yourself, from two different phones and a computer, and check where the enquiry lands. Forms fail silently more often than people think: an email filter, an expired API key, a full inbox.
- Ask only for what you need to reply: name, contact detail, one or two qualifying questions
- Test every field on mobile, including validation messages
- Confirm the enquiry arrives where someone actually reads it, and within minutes
- The thank-you page says what happens next and when
- Link to your privacy notice and state how the data is used
See contact forms that get filled in for form design in detail.
Conversion tracking and consent
Ad platforms optimise towards the conversions they see. Set the conversion on the thank-you page or the booking confirmation, not on a page view. Then test it: submit a test enquiry and check that the conversion appears in Google Ads or Meta's events manager.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Conversion fires once per real enquiry | Double counting teaches the algorithm the wrong thing |
| Consent banner blocks tags until consent is given | Required under Swedish and EU rules |
| Consent Mode v2 is configured for Google | Needed for ads measurement in the EEA |
| Phone clicks tracked separately | Calls are often your best leads |
| UTM tags or auto-tagging active | So you can tell paid visits from organic ones |
If you are unsure about consent, read our guide to cookie banner rules in Sweden.
Speed on mobile
Paid traffic is heavily mobile. Test the page in PageSpeed Insights on mobile and on a real phone using mobile data. The goal is simple: headline and call to action visible almost immediately, no layout jumping around while it loads.
- Hero image compressed and correctly sized
- No heavy scripts, sliders or chat widgets loading before the content
- Fonts limited to what the page really uses
- Phone number clickable, buttons large enough to tap
A clear offer and next step
Visitors arriving from an ad know nothing about you. Tell them what you offer, who it is for, what it costs or how pricing works, and what happens when they click. One primary action; everything else supports it. A page with three competing buttons makes visitors choose, and many choose to leave.
Add proof close to the action: reviews from a named platform, certifications, years in business if true, and clear company details. Swedish buyers look for an organisation number and a real address.
When to wait before buying ads
If you cannot handle more enquiries next month, or you have no one to answer them quickly, ads will burn money and reputation. The same applies when the offer is not settled: test it in conversations with customers first, then put money behind it. And if organic search already brings more leads than you can take, the priority is capacity, not traffic.
When you are ready, our landing page build includes the tracking and consent setup on this list. See pricing or book a short call to go through your page against this checklist.
Frequently asked questions
How long before launch should I run these checks?
A few days before. That leaves time to fix a broken form or tracking tag and re-test, without delaying the campaign start.
Do I need a separate landing page for every ad?
No, one page per distinct offer or audience. Ads that promise the same thing to the same people can share a page.
Is a cookie banner really necessary for ads tracking?
Yes. Setting advertising cookies or similar tracking in Sweden requires prior consent, and Google requires Consent Mode v2 for measurement in the EEA. Without consent handling, you risk both compliance problems and missing data.
What if my conversion numbers look too high?
Check for double firing: a tag on both the form and the thank-you page, or a thank-you page that fires on refresh. Test with one enquiry and count what appears.
Want a second pair of eyes before launch?
On a short call we go through your landing page against this checklist and point out what to fix before the ad budget starts.
Book a free 15-minute call