Clearer credit card banner: 35% fewer clicks, more applications
Test run byMarketingExperimentsResearch publisher
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMaking a credit card banner clearer about what came after the click cut clicks by 35% but raised applications per day; the post's title reports an 88% increase in conversion.
MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran the test for a large financial institution's branded credit card.
Fewer curiosity clicks from people chasing a $50 gift card meant more of the remaining clicks became applications.
- Banner clicks: down 35%. This is a drop, but clicks were not the goal.
- Credit card applications per day: higher with the clearer banner, which was the main goal.
- The post's title reports an 88% increase in conversion; the detailed figures were only shown in an image.
- The test was run sequentially, one version after the other, not as a simultaneous split.
Control
A banner for a branded credit card with a $50 gift card offer, where the 'Free $50 Gift Card' headline dominated and it was unclear the click led to an application.
Variant
A cleaner, higher-contrast bright yellow design that made it clearer the click led to a credit card application, with the qualifying purchase terms easier to see. The wording stayed mostly the same.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The old banner sold the gift card, so many clicks came from people who did not want a credit card.
- Showing the application and the qualifying terms up front filtered out those people before they clicked.
- The visitors who did click knew what to expect, so more of them finished the form.
Caveats: Run as a sequential test, so timing may have affected the result. Application figures were shown only in an image; the 35% is a drop in clicks, not the primary metric. Data is from 2011.
Who ran it
MarketingExperiments ran this test for a large financial institution (branded credit card) 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 make our ad clearly state what happens after the click, then completed applications will rise because fewer people will click out of curiosity.
- Primary metric
- Completed applications (or leads) per day or per impression
- Guardrails
- Ad click-through rate
- Cost per lead
- Landing page bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Lead-gen businesses running ads with an incentive, especially on pay-per-click. It matters less if your ad is already clear about the offer, or if the goal really is traffic.
Questions
Can fewer ad clicks mean more conversions?
Yes. In this test clicks dropped 35% but applications rose, because the clearer banner put off people who only wanted the gift card.
Should an ad mention the terms of an incentive?
Showing the key terms can filter out people who won't qualify.
That can lower clicks while raising completed applications.
What is a curiosity click?
It is a click from someone who is curious but not ready to act.
On pay-per-click ads these cost money without bringing leads.