'Get a Demo' to 'Free Demo' on the homepage CTA: +99.42% clicks
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsChanging the homepage button from 'Get a Demo' to 'Free Demo' lifted clicks on it by 99.42%.
Greenlane Search Marketing ran this test for Corcentric, a B2B software company, and it was published as a VWO case study.
The test was small and measured clicks, not finished demo requests.
- CTA click-through rate: +99.42%. Almost twice as many visitors clicked the button.
- Completed demo requests: not shared. More clicks may not mean more booked demos or pipeline.
- Sample: close to 800 visitors over 2 weeks, so the true lift could be much smaller than the headline figure.
The change
Only the button copy changed, from 'Get a Demo' to 'Free Demo'.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage stated Corcentric's value proposition clearly and had a bright yellow button reading 'Get a Demo'.
Variant
The same page and the same yellow button, with the copy changed to 'Free Demo'.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The word 'free' removes a worry many B2B buyers have: that a demo is the start of a paid commitment or a hard sell.
- 'Get a Demo' describes an action. 'Free Demo' describes a benefit, which may make the click feel lower risk.
- The button was already highly visible in yellow, so a copy change could act on a CTA people were already seeing.
Caveats: Around 800 visitors over two weeks is a small sample for a near-doubling, so treat the size of the lift with care. The metric was button clicks, not completed demo requests.
Who ran it
Greenlane Search Marketing 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 Greenlane Search Marketing →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we change our main demo button from 'Get a Demo' to 'Free Demo', then more visitors will click it because the copy makes clear the demo costs nothing.
- Primary metric
- Completed demo requests per homepage visitor
- Guardrails
- Demo-to-qualified-lead rate
- Demo no-show rate
- CTA click-through rate
- Who should test it
- B2B and SaaS companies that sell through sales-led demos, where buyers may wonder whether a demo has a cost or a catch. It probably matters less if you already offer a free trial or self-serve plan, since visitors already expect free access.
Questions
Does adding 'free' to a CTA increase clicks?
It often can, because it removes doubt about cost.
In this test it nearly doubled clicks, but the sample was small, so test it on your own traffic.
Should I measure CTA clicks or demo bookings?
Measure bookings, or better, qualified demos. Clicks are a useful early signal, but a copy change can raise clicks without raising real pipeline.
Will 'Free Demo' attract lower-quality leads?
It might. Watch your demo-to-opportunity rate and no-show rate alongside the click lift.