Rewritten inventory intro with popular-category links: +150% leads
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsRewriting the intro paragraph on Arlington Plastics Machinery's inventory page raised quote and information requests by 150%, at 99.9% confidence.
The company, a used plastics machinery dealer, ran this test itself, and it was published as a VWO case study.
Three changes shipped together in the new paragraph, so the lift can't be credited to any one of them.
- Quote and information requests: +150%, at 99.9% statistical confidence.
- About $15,000 in extra sales inquiries came in during the test.
- The company projected $500,000 in added yearly sales, but that is a model based on assuming the rate held for 12 months, not a measured result.
- Sample size and test duration were not shared.
The change
The intro paragraph is rewritten with popular machine-type links and an open call prompt.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The intro listed equipment by purpose, such as Extrusion and Size reduction, and asked visitors to call if they couldn't find the machine they needed.
Variant
The intro named machine types customers search for, such as single-screw extruders and granulators, with links to the five most popular subcategories. It ended with an open prompt: 'Have any questions? Please call us'.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Site search showed people look for machine types, not purposes. Using their words made the page feel relevant.
- The page listed about 120 subcategories. Links to the five most popular gave visitors a shortcut.
- Many callers asked about price or fit, not just finding a machine. An open 'any questions' prompt invited those calls too.
- all three changes point at the same goal, helping buyers find what they need fast, so they likely reinforced each other.
Caveats: Three changes to the intro were tested together, so the result can't be pinned to one. The $500K yearly figure is a projection, not a measured result.
Who ran it
Arlington Plastics Machinery ran this test and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Arlington Plastics Machinery →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we rewrite our category page intro using the terms customers search for, link to the most popular subcategories and invite any question by phone, then more visitors will request a quote because they find relevant products faster.
- Primary metric
- Quote and information requests (forms and calls)
- Guardrails
- Lead quality or quote-to-sale rate
- Clicks into subcategory pages
- Phone call volume handled by sales
- Who should test it
- Lead-gen businesses with large catalogues or inventories, such as industrial equipment, parts and B2B suppliers, where visitors struggle to navigate. Check your own site-search data first; if your labels already match how buyers search, expect less.
Questions
Can changing one paragraph really increase leads?
It can when that paragraph helps visitors find what they came for.
Here the rewritten intro used customers' own terms and linked to the most popular categories, and leads rose 150%.
How do I find the words my customers use?
Check your internal site-search terms and the questions people ask on sales calls.
Arlington found buyers searched by machine type, not by purpose.
Should my call-to-action ask visitors to call with any question?
An open prompt can bring in more calls than one limited to a single reason.
Make sure your team can handle the extra volume and qualify the calls.
MarketingExperiments
Online Dialogue