Landing Page Funnel Optimization – Subscription Based Learning Website
Traffic was coming to the website but people were not staying.
They were scrolling a little and then leaving. So the first thing I told myself was that this was not a traffic problem, this was a page problem.
Before touching the design, I opened the website like I had never seen it before. I tried to look at it as a stranger. I asked myself one simple question: “If I landed here for the first time ever, would I understand what this site is giving me in under five seconds?” The honest answer was no.
The headline looked nice but didn’t explain anything clearly. It was trying to sound catchy, not useful. So I wrote in my notes that branding is useless if the message is unclear. First priority had to be clarity.
The website was a skills-learning platform that sold short, practical courses for people who wanted to switch careers or learn job-ready digital skills.
Traffic was coming from Instagram and Google, but users were not converting. Bounce rate was high, signup rate was low. So the first assumption I made was that something on the landing page was breaking trust or clarity.
Before touching anything, I forced myself to behave like a visitor. I opened the site in incognito. No context, no care for the brand. Just tried to feel what a stranger feels in the first five seconds.
The first thing I saw was this headline:
“Upgrade Your Future With Us”
It sounded motivational, but it explained nothing. No product. No outcome. No audience. No reason to stop scrolling.
So I wrote in my notes: “If this headline does not change, no other test will matter.”
My first rule I wrote for myself was: Clarity > cleverness.
I started rewriting the headline by answering only one question: If someone asks me “What is this?” — can the headline answer that?
I wrote multiple options in raw form:
Version A: “Learn Digital Skills That Help You Get Hired”
This was clearer, but still generic. A hundred websites could say this.
Version B: “Job-Ready Courses You Can Finish Fast”
This was better, but now it did not clearly say which skills or in what field.
Version C: “Learn Practical Digital Skills in Weeks, Not Years”
This felt stronger. It added a time benefit. But it still sounded too broad.
Version D: “Short Courses in Marketing, Design & Tech That Make You Employable”
This one finally felt specific. It told the visitor: – what is being taught – how it helps – which fields
Version E: “Learn Marketing, Design & Tech Skills Without Going Back to College”
This worked emotionally, but it assumed the person had a college-related problem.
I tested two final headline directions:
Direction 1 (clarity-based): “Short Courses in Marketing, Design & Tech That Make You Employable”
Direction 2 (pain-based): “Tired of Degrees That Don’t Get You Jobs?”
I used Direction 1 as the main headline and Direction 2 as a subline below it.
Next I looked at the CTA. Originally it said:
“Sign Up”
I wrote in my notebook: “Nobody wakes up wanting to ‘sign up’.”
So I rewrote CTAs the same way — based on outcome.
I tried different CTAs and literally imagined myself clicking them.
“Start Learning” felt like work. Too much effort. “Get Access” felt shady. Like something paid is coming. “Start My Learning” felt fake and forced. “Explore Courses” felt okay, but also weak. “View Courses” felt simple. Like just looking. No pressure. So I used that.
Then I looked at the image at the top.
It was some random smiling student with a laptop. It didn’t prove anything. It just looked like every other course website. It didn’t make me trust the site.
So I removed it.
Instead, I added: – screenshots of how the course dashboard looks – previews of lessons – what the certificate looks like
I just wanted people to see something real instead of a fake happy face.
Then I read the page again.
Too many lines were just words without meaning. Stuff like: “Upgrade your life” “Build your future” “Learn for tomorrow”
None of this helped me understand the product.
So I removed sentences that sounded nice but said nothing.
I only kept lines that helped someone decide.
I tried to answer basic questions: What am I actually going to see after clicking? Is this easy or hard? Is this for beginners or already skilled people? Is this just videos or something more? Will this help in real life or just tutorials?
If a sentence didn’t answer one of these, I deleted it.
Then came the form.
The form was huge. It asked for too much.
Name
Phone
Email
Education
City
Goals
I wouldn’t fill that. I won’t give my phone number to a random site.
So I cut it down to just: First name Email
Nothing else.
Below the form I added one small line: “You can update details later.”
So people don’t feel trapped.
I also added: “No spam. Cancel anytime.” — to reduce tension.
After that I just watched what people did.
Assumed Observations-
More people stayed on the page.
Logic – Because the headline and content were now clear, people understood what they were seeing without scrolling too much. There was no confusion, so there was no instant exit.
More people clicked the button.
Logic – Because “View Courses” did not feel like commitment, people felt safe clicking. Earlier “Sign Up” felt heavy. Now it felt like browsing.
Less people left without trying.
Logic – Earlier the site looked like marketing. Now it looked like a real platform with a system, lessons, and outcomes. That reduced doubt.
I didn’t change the offer. I didn’t change ads. I didn’t change pricing.
I only changed confusion.
Main learning: People don’t need motivation. They need understanding.
And that itself drives more conversions, more subscriptions and more clarification.
Results?
Likely outcomes from these changes would be:
Higher signup rate
Lower bounce rate
Better trust
Cleaner user flow
Improved SEO because vague text was replaced with real keywords and topics
Note: This is a direct raw extract from my personal Notion notes. Only conclusions are documented on a separate page. This experiment is practice-based, all scenarios are assumed, and AI was used wherever required during learning.