Security seal on the free trial offer page: +13.2% trial take-up
Test run byMarketingExperimentsResearch publisher
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a Hacker Safe security logo to Encyclopaedia Britannica Online's free trial offer page lifted trial take-up by 13.2%.
MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran the test as part of a two-year program with Britannica and published it on MarketingExperiments.
- Free trial take-up: +13.2%.
- The source does not report the effect on paid subscriptions or revenue.
The change
Variant adds a Hacker Safe security logo to the offer page
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The free trial offer page with no security seal.
Variant
The same offer page with a Hacker Safe security logo added.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A free trial still asks for personal and often payment details, and a security seal can ease worry about handing them over.
- In 2008, many people were less used to buying online, so trust marks may have carried more weight.
- The seal was a single, small change, which makes the lift easier to credit to it.
Caveats: The test dates from 2008, when trust seals were less familiar. Sample size and duration were not shared.
Who ran it
MarketingExperiments ran this test and published the results (MarketingExperiments). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on MarketingExperiments →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we add a recognized security seal near the trial form, then more visitors will start a trial because they feel safer entering their details.
- Primary metric
- Free trial start rate
- Guardrails
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Form error rate
- Page load time
- Who should test it
- SaaS and subscription products that ask for payment or personal details at trial start. It is less likely to help if you are already a well-known brand or ask for no card.
Questions
Do security badges still increase conversions?
They can, mostly where people enter payment details or the brand is unfamiliar.
Results from 2008 may not carry over, so test it on your own page.
Where should a security seal go?
Close to the form or button where people share their details.
That is where the worry it addresses comes up.