# 'Shop' instead of 'explore' banner CTA: +192% clickthrough

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Homepage (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Cta copy
- Date shared: 2016-03
- Test run by: [Humana](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/humana/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/how-humana-optimized-banners
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/humana-banner-cta-shop-vs-explore/

Changing the call to action on Humana's simplified Medicare banner from a soft, explore-style ask to a direct invitation to shop plans lifted clickthrough by another 192%. Mike Loveridge at Humana ran the test, and MarketingExperiments published it.

## Result

**+192% clickthrough**

- Banner clickthrough: up 192% versus the explore-style call to action.
- The metric is clicks, not enrolments.
- The exact button wording and sample size were not shared.

## Control

The winning simplified Medicare banner from an earlier test, with a softer call to action asking visitors to explore.

## Variant

The same banner with a harder-sell call to action inviting visitors to shop plans, timed for the short Medicare enrolment window.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Medicare sign-up runs only from mid-October to early December, so visitors were ready to act.
- A direct ask matched that urgency better than a low-commitment one.
- Soft calls to action usually win early in a journey, but timing changed what visitors wanted.

## Caveats

Only clickthrough was measured, and the article does not give the exact button text. The test ran during a short, high-intent enrolment window, which may not carry over to other times of year.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we use a direct 'shop' call to action during our peak buying window, then more visitors will click through because they are already ready to choose.
- Primary metric: Banner clickthrough rate
- Guardrail: Quote or application starts
- Guardrail: Bounce rate on the plans page
- Who should test it: Insurance, education and other lead-gen businesses with a fixed enrolment or deadline period. Outside a high-intent window, a softer call to action may still win.

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Credit: Humana ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/humana-banner-cta-shop-vs-explore/).
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.