It’s 2025, and while I was busy recovering from a holiday cookie coma, I found myself obsessing over one thing: landing pages.
Specifically, I wanted to figure out what’s still working, what’s no longer cutting it, and how we can tweak our pages to convert more visitors into leads—without resorting to gimmicks.
Naturally, I turned to someone who’s been in the trenches of conversion for years: Apryl Syed, Founding Partner, of Conversion Strategy Group.
Apryl’s approach to landing pages feels different from what you might hear in your average marketing workshop. She has a background in psychology, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), and even hypnotism, plus years of real-world leadership experience at companies like Sage and Bloomreach. In other words, Apryl’s got both the data-driven perspective and the deep-rooted understanding of how people actually think and behave.
If you’re a performance marketer, growth lead, or anyone who wants to boost your landing page conversions in 2025 (and beyond), this conversation is for you.
Below, I’ve captured the biggest insights from our talk, sprinkled in direct quotes so you can hear Apryl’s perspective, and tied it all back to practical steps you can use right away.
Meet the “Fixer”: How Apryl Got Here
Before we get into the meat of landing page strategies, it’s worth knowing a bit about Apryl’s journey.
Apryl has always been a “fixer”—someone who gets parachuted into projects that need a serious overhaul.
Apryl told me:
“I ran three product lines at Sage, but prior to that, I kind of worked every position that I ended up managing and leading—sales, marketing, that side—until I was running full product lines,” she told me. As a fixer, I got deployed in lots of different areas.”
Over time, Apryl realized that her real passion was in conversion strategy: figuring out precisely why some people click “buy now” and others disappear into the ether. That led Apryl to Conversion Strategy Group, where Apryl and her team help brands overhaul their landing pages, paid traffic funnels, and overall conversion strategies.
Since then, Apryl has helped some many big brands like Calm, Oracle, Amdocs, Close, and many more unlock more conversions through conversion focused strategies.
Why Mindset Matters
One of the biggest “Aha!” moments for me was hearing how Apryl combines her psychology and NLP background with landing page optimization. She believes understanding your audience’s emotional state is the key to unlocking high conversions.
“NLP, the biggest users of NLP, right, would be like Tony Robbins,” Apryl explained. “They definitely utilize a lot of it in their conversion strategy and how they get folks to convert both in their programs and on websites. It helps you understand where somebody’s coming from and what emotion you need to transition them to in order to get them to convert.”
It’s not enough to just list product features or show off a cool design. You’ve got to figure out what your visitor is feeling—hesitation, excitement, skepticism, curiosity—and speak directly to that.
Dealing with Failure and Using It to Win Big
We all know the sinking feeling when a campaign falls flat.
Apryl’s stance, though, is refreshingly candid: failure is part of the process. The key is to leverage what you learn instead of brushing it under the rug.
“Failure is basically telling you something about your audience,” she said. “It could be the color scheme, the placement of a button, or lack of trust. They’re giving you a clue about what you need to change.”
It sounds so straightforward, but many marketers panic at the first sign of low conversions or a high bounce rate. For Apryl, analyzing user recordings (via tools like Hotjar), checking where people get stuck, and systematically testing fixes should feel routine. Every “failure” is a step closer to a winning formula—provided you actually take the time to learn from it.
Pro Tip: Apryl emphasizes that not all conversions are created equal. You can optimize your ad or page for sheer volume, but that might lead to junk leads who never close deals. She recommends paying close attention to sales feedback and churn rates. If sales has to wade through hundreds of useless leads just to find one that converts, you’re still losing.
The Biggest Landing Page Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
We covered a lot of ground in our conversation, but a few common stumbling blocks popped up again and again:
Treating a Product Page Like a Landing Page
So many B2C brands assume their product page—complete with specs and an “Add to Cart” button—is “good enough.”
Apryl’s data says otherwise. A dedicated landing page typically beats a straight product page because it can address the emotional journey, the testimonials, and the objections in a more cohesive flow.
Only Talking About the “What,” Not the “Why”
Apryl told us:
“We see a lot of communicating about the what, but nobody buys by what or what you do.”
In other words, people aren’t sold by a list of features. They want to know why those features matter—how does it make their life easier, save them money, or make them feel good?
Burying Social Proof
Apryl is adamant that testimonials need to be front and center:
“Use imagery of people. People want to buy from people. Product photos don’t convert as much, but a person wearing a product does.”
Put a relevant testimonial (with a photo!) near the top of your page, so a visitor quickly sees real human validation.
Leaving Navigation Links
A typical website menu up top gives people too many paths to wander. If your goal is a single conversion, funnel them there with minimal distractions.
Forgetting Who Actually Scrolls
“80% of folks might not scroll past the hero. They’ll decide in the first few seconds,” Apryl said.
“But you still need that deeper info below the fold for your skeptics—like CFOs, lawyers, or detail-oriented buyers—who want the full story.”
Don’t assume no one scrolls, but don’t stuff crucial content at the very bottom.
Competitor-Focused Strategies
One of Apryl’s top tactics involves looking at competitor-based keywords and building landing pages specifically for people who are frustrated with another solution.
For example, if someone Googles “Alternative to [X Competitor],” chances are high they’re coming off a bad experience. They’re in a state of frustration and actively looking for something better. A targeted landing page that acknowledges their pain—and offers a clear, trust-building solution—often converts at a much higher rate than a generic brand landing page.
Apryl recalled a scenario with an accounting software company:
“We did a head-to-head comparison page showing how easy it was to switch from the competitor, how great the customer support is, plus testimonials from people who switched. We got a 14.67% conversion rate, up from 3% on our generic page.”
The takeaway? If you can confidently show how you stack up, a competitor comparison page is worth the effort.
The Button Color You Need to Test
Yes, we all know about the classic “button color test” — Red vs. green, black vs. yellow—every brand tries it at some point. But Apryl surprised me with her go-to recommendation:
“I’m a big fan of cranberry. Cranberry converts really well. It’s not red, it’s not pink. It’s kind of this neutral color that everybody feels good about.”
Why does cranberry work?
Possibly because it stands out but doesn’t scream “WARNING!” or blend into the background. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’ll crush every scenario—always A/B test to confirm. But if you’re looking for a fresh color to try, cranberry is worth adding to your shortlist.
Embracing “Above the Fold” and Below
A huge debate in the CRO world is how much to cram “above the fold.” Apryl offers a balanced view:
Put your most compelling stuff up top because you’ll lose about 80% of people if you don’t hook them. But don’t neglect those who do scroll.
“Think of the people who really want the details,” she explained. “Your skeptics are the ones who actually read the FAQ or check your ingredients list if it’s a product. Give them the space below the fold to find what they need without feeling rushed.”
Her agency’s approach is to make the hero section pop—clear benefit statement, a strong CTA, and possibly a testimonial—then build out more comprehensive sections underneath for those who keep scrolling.
Dealing with Failure: Iteration Is Everything
One of the most striking parts of our conversation was hearing how Apryl’s agency treats failure as a data goldmine. They have a four-stage process when working on landing pages:
- Phase 1: The Kitchen Sink
“We’re throwing everything we know works—our best guess—onto one page,” Apryl said. “We use all our proven insights, but we assume we might need to fine-tune.” - Phase 2: Moving Blocks Around
Here, they rearrange sections without changing too many details. Maybe the testimonial block moves above the features list. Maybe the CTA bumps under a quote. They observe how each layout shift affects conversions. - Phase 3: One Variable at a Time
Now they get granular—changing only the button color, or only the headline, in an A/B test. This isolates exactly which change drives a bump in conversions. - Phase 4: Maintain and Refine
Once a page stabilizes, they revisit it if they find a new insight from another client or test that might boost performance further.
Apryl said, “In my experience, a lot of conversion is about finding things to fix and continuing to fix them.” That’s why they move rapidly, test often, and welcome any data that shows them where to go next.
Apryl’s POV: The #1 Thing You Can Do Right Now to Increase Landing Page Conversions
So after all this talk, what’s the single most crucial step? Apryl has a clear point of view:
“Use pictures of people”…
And…
“Get inside your visitor’s head. Understand who they are, what they’re feeling, and how they talk about their problem. Then build your landing page around that.”
Apryl emphasizes aligning your offer, audience, and message so they feel tightly connected. If you’re talking to stressed-out parents, use language and imagery that acknowledges their chaos. If you’re appealing to a CFO, highlight ROI and risk mitigation. In other words, your number-one task is to shift from a purely feature-first mentality to an empathy-first approach.
Final Thoughts
The key takeaway from my chat with Apryl Syed is that landing pages in 2025 demand empathy, clear benefits, and constant testing. Beyond that, her insights around competitor-focused strategies, surprising button colors, and the importance of social proof can reshape how you approach your landing pages.
If you’re ready to see a significant lift in your conversion rates, start by diagnosing the emotional state of your users, refining your offer to speak directly to their needs, and investing in real tests rather than chasing vanity metrics.
As Apryl put it, “All of these ‘failures’ are clues—they’re telling you what your audience actually wants. Once you figure that out, you can’t help but convert them.”
Want the full story in Apryl’s own words? Check out the LeadCapture Podcast Episode 1 on YouTube, where we dive even deeper into landing page psychology and how you can crack the conversion codes for 2025 (and beyond). And yes, I guess that means we’ve got a podcast now! Here’s to leveling up your marketing game, one test at a time.
If you do watch or read this and come away with any newfound insights, drop a comment or shoot me a message—I’d love to hear which tactic you plan to try first, or what’s been working for you as we head into a brand new year.
In the meantime, here’s where you can find some more info about Apryl and Conversion Strategy Group.
