Extra download button after the benefits list: about +20% conversion
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a second download button right after the benefits list took 10.4% of all clicks on the home page and lifted conversion by an estimated 20%.
Patrick McKenzie made this change for Bingo Card Creator and measured it with a CrazyEgg click map, as written up on the Kalzumeus (patio11) blog.
This was a before/after reading from a heatmap, not a split test.
- The new button got 86 clicks, 10.4% of all clicks on the page, from about 4,200 visitors over four days.
- Estimated home page conversion lift: about 20%. This is the author's estimate after allowing for clicks taken from other download links.
- Because the page was also the AdWords landing page, the author expected a lower cost per trial too, but no figure was shared.
The change
A second download button added right after the benefits list
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The home page, which was also the AdWords landing page, had one download button near the top. Below it sat a benefits list, then a very large sample bingo card image that pushed the next action far down.
Variant
A second download button was placed straight after the benefits list, before the large sample image.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Visitors who read the benefits list had nowhere to click without scrolling past a huge image or back up the page.
- A button right after the persuasive copy catches people at the moment they are most ready to act.
- The added button cost nothing and removed effort, rather than asking visitors to change their minds.
Caveats: Measured from a click heatmap over four days, not a split test, and the 20% lift is the author's estimate. From 2009, when Bingo Card Creator was downloadable desktop software, not SaaS.
Who ran it
Patrick McKenzie ran this test and published the results (Kalzumeus (patio11) blog). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Patrick McKenzie →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we add a sign-up button directly after our benefits section, then more visitors will start a trial because they can act right after reading the case for the product.
- Primary metric
- Trial sign-ups per landing page visitor
- Guardrails
- Trial-to-paid rate
- Clicks on other sign-up links
- Bounce rate
- Who should test it
- SaaS and lead-gen sites with long landing pages where the only call to action sits at the top or far below the main copy. It will matter less on short pages where a button is always in view.
Questions
Should a landing page have more than one call-to-action button?
Often yes, if they all lead to the same goal.
Repeating the button after key sections means readers don't have to scroll to find it.
Where should a repeated CTA go?
Right after the copy that makes the case, such as a benefits list or testimonials.
That is when readers are most ready to act.
Is a heatmap enough to prove a lift?
No. A click map shows where people click, but a split test is needed to know how many extra sign-ups the change really adds.