# Security seal on the free trial offer page: +13.2% trial take-up

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Free trial (SaaS)
- Elements: Trust logos
- Date shared: 2008-05
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/simple-tests-significant-gains
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/britannica-hacker-safe-logo-offer-page/

Adding 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.

## Result

**+13.2% trial take-up**

- Free trial take-up: +13.2%.
- The source does not report the effect on paid subscriptions or revenue.

## 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)

- 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.

## How to run this test

- 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
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Form error rate
- Guardrail: 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.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/britannica-hacker-safe-logo-offer-page/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.