Page goal as the first text link in content: about +20% conversions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsPatrick McKenzie made each page's goal, a download or purchase, the first text link in the main content of Bingo Card Creator's site and reported about a 20% higher conversion rate.
It was a before/after change applied across pages, not a split test.
The result was published on the Kalzumeus blog in 2006.
- Conversion rate to download or purchase: about +20%, as stated by the author.
- The author did not track whether people converted through the in-text link or the existing button on the right, so the source of the lift is unclear.
- No visitor numbers or test durations were shared.
The change
The first link in the body copy now points to the page's goal
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The first text link in each page's main content area was not necessarily the page's goal.
Variant
Across the site, the first text link in the main content pointed to the page's goal: the free trial download or the purchase.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Many visitors skim and click whatever catches their eye, so the first link they meet might as well be the goal.
- An in-text link reaches people who read the copy and never look at the sidebar button.
- Applying it on every page catches visitors who browse around before deciding.
Caveats: Before/after change on a very small 2006 site, not a split test, and clicks were not tracked by link. Bingo Card Creator was downloadable desktop software at the time, 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 make the first link in each page's body copy point to our sign-up or trial, then more visitors will convert because skimmers often click the first link they see.
- Primary metric
- Sign-ups or trial starts per visitor
- Guardrails
- Clicks on the in-text link vs the main button
- Pages per session
- Time on page for content pages
- Who should test it
- SaaS and lead-gen sites with content pages (features, guides, resources) where body links currently point elsewhere. Less useful on short landing pages that already have one clear button.
Questions
Where should the call to action go in body copy?
Early. In this 2006 before/after change, making the page goal the first text link lifted conversions about 20%, though it was not a split test.
Do in-text links matter if there is already a button?
They can. Some visitors read the copy and click a link there rather than looking for a button, so pointing that link at your goal gives them a second path.