Removing the blog sidebar: +26% clicks on content-upgrade links
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsRemoving the sidebar from a blog post led to 26% more clicks on its content-upgrade links.
Devesh Khanal ran the test with Bryan Harris on a Videofruit post and wrote about it on the GrowthRock blog.
It covered a single post, and no sample size or significance was shared.
- Clicks on content-upgrade links: up 26% without the sidebar.
- This measures clicks on the upgrade links, not completed email sign-ups.
- Single post only. Visitors, duration and confidence were not shared.
The change
The sidebar is removed, leaving only the article and its upgrade links
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A Videofruit blog post with a standard sidebar beside the article.
Variant
The same post with the sidebar removed, leaving the article and its content-upgrade links.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- With fewer things competing for attention, readers are more likely to notice the offer inside the article.
- Sidebar forms convert poorly on their own, so dropping them costs little while helping the stronger offer.
- A single, clear next step can be easier to act on than several choices.
Caveats: Tested on one post only, with no sample size, duration or significance shared. The metric is link clicks, not sign-ups, and the work dates from around 2015.
Who ran it
Devesh Khanal ran this test and published the results (GrowthRock blog). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Devesh Khanal →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we remove the sidebar from our blog posts, then more readers will click our in-post content upgrades because there are fewer distractions competing with the offer.
- Primary metric
- Content-upgrade opt-ins per post view
- Guardrails
- Clicks to other pages from the post
- Pages per session
- Total email sign-ups from all forms
- Who should test it
- SaaS and lead-gen blogs that rely on in-post offers to capture emails. If your sidebar drives product sign-ups or important navigation, measure those losses before removing it.
Questions
Should I remove the sidebar from my blog?
It is worth testing if your main goal on posts is a content upgrade or other single action.
This result comes from one post, so check it on your own traffic.
Why would removing a sidebar increase clicks?
Sidebars add links, ads and forms that compete with the offer in the article.
Fewer distractions can make the main call to action easier to notice.
Are clicks on a content upgrade the same as sign-ups?
No. A click opens the offer, but the reader still has to enter an email.
Measure completed sign-ups to know the real effect.