Lead Generation A/B tests4 Kick-ass Conversion Lessons that Will Stick

with You for Life

Stock Photos are Icky!

CONVERSION LESSON #1

Online businesses that use stock photos are like people who are trying to be what they are not

Stop Using Them!

Few quick reasons why you should avoid stock photos like the plague:

1. People simply ignore them on a page (eyetracking studies have proven this)

2. They reduce credibility of your business

3. They look fake. Yucks!

Solution?

Use Real Photos

Case Study

Replacing stock photos improved conversions by 45.45%

The Test

Harrington Movers replaced generic stock photo on their original landing page and pitted it against two new versions of its landing page.

Everything in the new versions remained the same, except that:

Version 1 - Showed an image of their crew members

Version 2 - Showed an image of one of the trucks they use for transportation

Both these images also emphasized Harrington Movers' brand identity by displaying their logo.

Result: The Crew Image Won by

45.45%!

Read the Complete Case Study Here

Stop Suffocating Your CTA CONVERSION LESSON #2

Let Your Call-to-action (CTA) Breathe!

Loiter stuff around your CTA and you will reduce its impact.

You do know this will impact your conversions. Right?

Your call-to-action needs some space. Respect that.

Case Study

Distraction-free CTA Boost Conversions by 232%

The Test

Main conversion goal : To increase Quote enquiries

Super busy masthead of one of their high traffic landing pages was tested against a clean masthead.

The new masthead removed distractions that were taking visitors’ attention away from the ‘Get a Quote’ call-to-action. This increased emphasis on the main call-to-action placed in their header.

Result: The Clean Header Won by

232%!

Read the Complete Case Study Here

Original masthead (on the left) had too many distractions. You can see: social buttons, hero shot, talk-to-us, and more.

The new distraction-free header (on the left) gave the main CTA the attention it deserved.

This version increased leads generated by 232%

Umpteen Choices = Action Paralysis

CONVERSION LESSON #3

Too Many Choices Lead to Indecision

Processing too many options is such a big pain.

One Conversion Goal Per Page

Reducing choices improve conversions.

Aim to achieve only one call-to-action per page, wherever possible.

Case Study

Reducing Time Slots for Registration Improved Lead Generation Rate by

16.93%

The Test

Unbounce arranges a weekly demo to provide a walkthrough for its prospects. To cater to different time zones, they provide multiple time slots for registration on their landing page.

Their original page contained four slots. The new version tested against this page was the same, except that time slots this time were reduced to only three.

Result: The Three Slot Registration Page

Improved Conversions by 16.93%

Read the Complete Case Study Here

Understand Preferences of Your Target Audience

CONVERSION LESSON #4

Win Their Hearts

Your target audience share similar interests and preferences.

Testing helps you understand these similarities that make them one unified group. When you begin to understand what they like, it becomes easier to win their hearts.

Case Study

Image Outperformed Video, and Recorded a Conversion Lift of 3.92%

(Estimated Additional Monthly Revenue of $106,000)

The Test

Conversion Goal: To increase ‘Find a community’ searches from the homepage

Brookdale Living offers community living solutions for senior citizens. Their original page was rather bland and communicated no value of their offerings. The whole page only displayed multiple filter options for visitors to refine their search and nothing else.

This page was tested against two new versions. While both the pages communicated value and were exactly the same, there was one thing that distinguished them.

Version 1 showed the image of an old lady. In Version 2 though, a testimonial video (of people sharing their experiences in these communities) replaced this image.

Result: The Image Version Won and

Recorded 3.92% More Searches Than

the Original

It was an easy guess that both the new versions will perform better than the original. Surprising thing was that the image version even outperformed the testimonial video version.

Why Did the Image Version Win?

It’s quite likely that the aging demographic of Brookdale Living’s target audience added the twist to the results.

As Tommy Walker of ConversionXL pointed out -- anything that is not text or images might be “too much Internet” for the older generation.

Unlike majority of the other Internet surfers who would have most likely preferred the video version, Brookdale Living now understand that their audience prefer images over videos.

Alternative Theory

Alternate theory why video version didn’t win can be that a good majority of Brookdale Living’s target audience might have slow Internet speed, spoiling their experience. This theory is based on data collected from different sources, which shows:

1. Brookdale Living’s target audience over-represented by women who didn’t go to college and browse internet from home.

2. In US, people who didn’t go to college are less likely to have high-speed broadband access than those who went to college.

Using A/B tests to learn more about your audience helps you understand preferences of the demographic you’re targeting.

This improves your messaging and also gives great conversion lifts in future tests.

Read the Complete Case Study Here

Test Everything

The most important part - Always test before you implement a change on your website. No conversion tip works for everyone.

About VWO

VWO is an intuitive platform for websites to increase online sales and conversions by enabling marketers to constantly test and tweak the marketing funnel and run personalized one-to-one campaigns in minutes

Image Credits

https://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/2191404675/in/photostream/ http://www.freegreatpicture.com/business-class-people/stock-photo-30767 https://www.flickr.com/photos/riekhavoc/4975764806/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/brandoncwarren/3640168191 https://www.flickr.com/photos/lawendula/7525282054 https://www.flickr.com/photos/presley_perswain/527252520