Three short testimonials on a practice-test sales page: +34% purchases
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding three short customer testimonials to its aptitude tests sales page lifted purchases by 34% for WikiJob.
WikiJob ran the test itself, and it was published as a VWO case study.
An earlier test with the same testimonials placed further down the page had shown no clear effect.
- Purchases: +34%.
- The test tracked two goals, click-through to PayPal checkout and completed purchases.
- No sample size, duration or confidence level is shared.
The change
Three short customer testimonials added to the sales page
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The aptitude tests sales page with no testimonials in the tested position.
Variant
Three lines of customer testimonials were added. WikiJob described them as plain and restrained rather than gushing.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Placement mattered. The same testimonials lower on the page had no clear effect, which suggests more visitors saw them this time.
- Plain, believable testimonials can build trust where over-the-top praise reads as marketing.
- Buyers of practice tests want proof the product helps. Short notes from past customers give that quickly.
Caveats: WikiJob sells digital practice tests, which is closer to an online product than SaaS. The case study gives no sample size, duration or significance, and the exact placement of the testimonials is not described.
Who ran it
WikiJob ran this test and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on WikiJob →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we add a few short, believable customer testimonials where most visitors will see them, then purchases will rise because buyers get proof the product works.
- Primary metric
- Completed purchases
- Guardrails
- Click-through to checkout
- Refund rate
- Time to purchase
- Who should test it
- Digital products, courses and SaaS tools sold from a single sales page. If testimonials already sit near the top of your page, try changing their content instead.
Questions
Do testimonials increase sales?
They can, but placement and tone matter. Here the same testimonials had no clear effect lower on the page, then lifted purchases 34% in a new spot.
What makes a good testimonial?
Short, specific and believable. WikiJob found restrained testimonials worked better than the overly enthusiastic kind.