# Page goal as the first text link in content: about +20% conversions

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Site-wide (SaaS)
- Elements: Cta placement, Copy
- Date shared: 2006-07
- Test run by: [Patrick McKenzie](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/patrick-mckenzie/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2006/07/29/10-minute-tweaks-to-boost-your-conversion/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-goal-as-first-text-link/

Patrick 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.

## Result

**about +20% conversions**

- 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.

## 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)

- 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.

## How to run this test

- 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
- Guardrail: Clicks on the in-text link vs the main button
- Guardrail: Pages per session
- Guardrail: 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.

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Credit: Patrick McKenzie ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/patio11-bcc-goal-as-first-text-link/).
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.