# 'Open an Account' instead of 'Learn More': +43% funded accounts

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Other (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Cta copy
- Date shared: 2012
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/increase-conversion-3-word-change
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/financial-institution-savings-upsell-link-copy/

Changing a savings upsell link from 'Learn More' to 'Open an Account' lifted funded savings accounts by 43%. MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran this single-factor test for a large financial institution, inside the bank's secure logged-in area. The link text was the only thing that changed.

## Result

**+43% funded accounts**

- Funded savings accounts: +43% for the 'Open an Account' link. This is the business outcome, not just clicks.
- Reaching the application start: 18.95% of landing page visitors from the 'Open an Account' link, versus 12.84% from the 'Learn More' link, per a comment from the researcher who ran the test.
- The researcher reported that visitors from the new link were more likely to move forward at every later step, at a statistically significant level.
- Raw conversion rates were anonymized, so the base rate is not shared.

## Control

Inside the logged-in area, an up-sell link for a savings account used soft 'Learn More' wording to start the application path.

## Variant

Only the link text changed, to 'Open an Account', so it was clear that clicking starts the process of opening an account.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- The direct wording likely filtered for people who already wanted an account, so the traffic arriving was more motivated.
- 'Learn More' sets up a browsing mindset; 'Open an Account' sets up a doing mindset, which may carry through the form.
- Clear expectations reduce surprise. People who clicked knew an application was coming, so fewer dropped off when it appeared.

## Caveats

Conversion rates were anonymized and sample size and duration were not shared. The test dates to 2012 and ran in one bank's logged-in area.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we change our upsell link from 'Learn More' to wording that names the action, like 'Open an Account', then completed sign-ups will rise because the people who click will be the ones ready to act.
- Primary metric: Completed (funded) accounts or applications per visitor who saw the link
- Guardrail: Link click-through rate
- Guardrail: Application start rate
- Guardrail: Application completion rate
- Who should test it: Banks, insurers, and lead-gen or SaaS teams with an in-product upsell to an existing customer base. It is less likely to help if your offer needs explaining first and most visitors are not yet ready to apply.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/financial-institution-savings-upsell-link-copy/).
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.