Persona paths on a healthcare homepage: +52% clickthrough
Test run byMarketingExperimentsResearch publisher
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsSwapping a single-goal homepage for one with separate paths for each visitor type raised clickthrough to the 'find a treatment center' page by 52%.
MECLABS ran this A/B test for a large healthcare company, and it was published on MarketingExperiments.
- Clickthrough to the 'find a treatment center' page rose 52% against the control.
- The source calls the result significant, but does not share sample size, test length or confidence level.
- Clickthrough is a step in the funnel. The source does not report what happened to treatment center contacts or admissions.
The change
One generic route versus a separate path for each visitor type
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage had one job: push every visitor toward the 'find a treatment center' page. It spoke to all visitors the same way.
Variant
The homepage split visitors by persona, giving each group its own content and its own route. Every route still ended at the 'find a treatment center' page.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Different people arrive at a healthcare site with different needs, such as patients and family members. One message can't fit all of them.
- A path that names a visitor's situation helps them see that the next page is meant for them.
- The team kept the end goal the same. They only changed how each group got there, so the extra choice did not pull people off course.
Caveats: The source shares only the headline lift, with no sample size, duration or confidence level. The test dates from 2016, and the exact persona labels are only visible in screenshots.
Who ran it
MarketingExperiments ran this test for a large healthcare company 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 give each main visitor type its own clearly labeled path on the homepage, then more visitors will click through to our key lead page because they can see the content is meant for them.
- Primary metric
- Clickthrough rate from the homepage to the main lead page
- Guardrails
- Lead form completions or calls
- Bounce rate on the homepage
- Clicks on paths that lead away from the goal page
- Who should test it
- Lead-gen sites with clearly different audiences, such as patients and carers, or buyers and partners. If most of your visitors are one kind of person, persona paths add choice without adding relevance.
Questions
Should a homepage have one goal or several paths?
It depends on who visits. In this test, several persona paths that all led to the same goal page beat a single generic route by 52% in clickthrough.
How do I choose personas for homepage paths?
Start with the biggest groups in your analytics, sales calls or intake data.
Keep it to a few groups you can name in words visitors would use about themselves.
Does more clickthrough mean more leads?
Not always. Track the final conversion too, because extra clicks only count if those visitors go on to contact you.