Polished sign-up page lost to plain control: ~14% vs 7-9%
Test run byMarketingExperimentsResearch publisher
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsTwo polished versions of an email sign-up page converted at 7-9%, while the plain original converted at about 14%.
The MECLABS team ran this test for an anonymized company and published it on MarketingExperiments in 2008. The redesigns bundled several changes, so no single element can be blamed for the drop.
- Sign-up conversion: about 14% for the plain control vs 7-9% for the two polished treatments. This is a loss.
- The treatment with a free report finished last.
- These were early results, and the pages went back for more testing.
The change
Polished treatments add logos, testimonials and badges to a plain page
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A bare-bones page with a white background, plain black text, bulleted copy and a simple name and email form. It even had an obvious typo.
Variant
Two polished treatments added a logo masthead, testimonials, client logos, bolded phrases, new submit button text and an anti-spam badge. One also offered a free report.
Why it likely lost
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- New submit button text may have changed how visitors saw the offer. The publisher gives the example of 'Free Access' vs 'Send me Tips'.
- Big client logos can put off small businesses who feel the service is not for them.
- A free report may have added noise to a simple ask instead of making it stronger.
Caveats: These were early results from 2008, with no sample size, duration or confidence shared. Several changes were bundled, so the loss cannot be pinned on one element.
Who ran it
MarketingExperiments ran this test for an anonymized company with an email signup/opt-in page 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 add polish such as logos, testimonials and badges to our sign-up page while keeping the offer wording the same, then sign-ups will rise because trust goes up without changing what visitors think they get.
- Primary metric
- Sign-up conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Lead quality or email engagement after sign-up
- Form start rate
- Bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Lead-gen businesses with a simple opt-in page that want to add trust signals. Change one thing at a time, and be careful with button text and incentives, which can change the offer itself.
Questions
Does a better-looking landing page always convert better?
No. Here a plain page with a typo beat two polished versions by a wide margin.
Can a free incentive hurt sign-ups?
It can. The version offering a free report finished last in this test.
Why can submit button text matter so much?
A few words can change what visitors think they are signing up for, which changes whether they want it.