# Intimate couple image in an advertorial: +183.3% conversions

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Landing page (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Advertorials, listicles & presell pages, Product images & gallery
- Date shared: 2015-09
- Test run by: [Conversion Fanatics](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/conversion-fanatics/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://conversionfanatics.com/how-images-affect-the-results-in-website-split-testing/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/cf-advertorial-lifestyle-couple-image/

Swapping a product-science image for a photo of a couple in an intimate setting lifted advertorial conversions by 183.3%. Conversion Fanatics ran this test for a seller of a product aimed at men aged 35 to 60. A third version with a smiling couple did worse than the original.

## Result

**+183.3% conversions**

- The intimate-couple image lifted conversions by 183.3%.
- The smiling-couple image lost; the source reports it as 100% worse.
- Only the image changed, but no conversion rates or sample size were shared.

## Control

The advertorial had an image near the top right explaining the science behind the product. It showed how the product works, not what using it feels like.

## Variant

The same advertorial used a photo of a couple in an intimate setting instead. A second variation showed a smiling couple with a man in the target age group.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- The winning image showed the outcome buyers wanted, not the mechanism. That speaks to the reason people buy.
- The smiling couple was too general and may not have signaled what the product was for.
- In a text-heavy advertorial, one of only a couple of images carries a lot of weight.

## Caveats

No sample size, duration or significance was shared, and the product type was not stated. The data is from 2015, and a very large lift from a single image on unknown traffic deserves a retest.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we replace the explainer image with one showing the result buyers want, then more readers will convert because they picture the benefit for themselves.
- Primary metric: Conversion rate from the advertorial
- Guardrail: Click-through to the offer page
- Guardrail: Bounce rate
- Guardrail: Refund rate
- Who should test it: Brands running advertorials or long-form landing pages where the benefit is emotional. It fits less where buyers need proof of how a product works, such as technical or medical products, or where ad platform image rules apply.

---

Credit: Conversion Fanatics ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/cf-advertorial-lifestyle-couple-image/).
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.