Start with the action the page is meant to support
A landing page is often the first page someone sees after following a search result, email link, or social post. Its job is not always to produce an immediate sale or enquiry. A service overview might help a visitor choose the right service page; an event page might help them check the details before registering. Before opening an analytics report, write down what a useful next step looks like for each page.
Choose one primary action and, where appropriate, a few supporting actions. For a small community organization, the primary action on a volunteer page might be submitting an interest form. Supporting actions could include opening the role descriptions or visiting the frequently asked questions page. This gives you a more useful question than “Which page gets the most traffic?”: “Which page helps interested visitors move toward the action it offers?”
Build a simple measurement path
List the steps a visitor can take from arrival to the intended outcome. For an enquiry page, that path might be landing page visit, click to the contact page, form submission, and confirmation page. Record the events your measurement tool can detect reliably, such as a button click, a form submission, or a visit to a confirmation page. Check that each event fires only when the action actually happens; a click on a submit button is not proof that a form was successfully sent.
Keep the setup modest. Start with page views, the primary action, and one or two supporting actions rather than tracking every interaction. Give events clear names so someone else can understand the report later. If an important action happens offline, such as a phone enquiry, note that your website data shows only part of the journey. Use privacy-conscious settings and avoid placing personal details, such as names or email addresses, in event labels or page URLs.
Compare pages by purpose, not traffic alone
For each landing page, look at how many visits it received and how many of those visits led to the chosen action. An action rate—the share of visits followed by that action—can help you compare pages with different traffic levels. Read it alongside the number of visits: a page with very little traffic can show a striking rate that changes substantially after a few more visits. Do not treat a small difference as proof that one page is better.
Compare pages that serve similar needs, or evaluate each page against its own purpose over time. A pricing page and a beginner’s guide are unlikely to produce the same pattern of enquiries. Also check where visitors came from when your tools make that possible. Someone arriving through a search for a specific service may be ready to act, while someone following a broad educational post may still be exploring. A low action rate may reflect visitor intent rather than a weak page.
Look for friction between interest and action
The steps between arrival and completion can point to useful questions. If visitors often open a registration form but rarely finish it, inspect the form on a phone, check for unclear fields, and make sure errors are explained. If they rarely reach the form at all, review whether the page makes the offer and next step easy to find. These patterns suggest places to investigate; they do not, on their own, explain why people leave.
Read the page as a visitor would. Does its heading match the promise of the link that brought someone there? Can a newcomer tell who the service is for, what happens next, and what information they will need? Are buttons descriptive and usable with a keyboard? For example, replacing a vague “Learn more” link with “See volunteer roles” may make the destination clearer. Pair measurement with a hands-on review so you can identify a change worth trying.
Review, change, and keep a record
Set a regular review rhythm that suits your traffic and capacity. Keep a short record for each priority page: its purpose, the action you measure, what you noticed, and what you changed. Make one meaningful change at a time when possible, such as clarifying the introduction or simplifying a form. Then give visitors enough time to encounter the updated page before comparing results. Check that tracking still works after edits.
Treat the numbers as a guide for decisions, not a complete verdict on a page. A guide that answers visitors’ questions may be valuable even when few readers submit a form immediately. A landing page is doing useful work when it helps the right people understand their options and take an appropriate next step. Your measurement plan should make that progress visible without reducing every visit to a single conversion.
