Which button wording gets more clicks: compare rates or check rates?

Our article pages carried an insurance offer whose button copy did not match what readers expected. We tested 2 new wordings, Compare Rates and Check Rates. Over 18 days, Check Rates lifted clicks 22.1%.

Won Responsive 18 days Called at 90%

SURFACE

Article page

DEVICE

Responsive

VERTICAL

Ecommerce (B2C)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

2

The hypothesis

By updating the call to action wording to match what readers expect, we will make the next step clearer, resulting in more clicks on the insurance offer.

Readers on these pages are learning about a task, not shopping for insurance. The button copy needed to describe a step that felt worth taking from an article.

What we changed

The insurance button reworded as Compare Rates or Check Rates

We changed the button copy on the insurance offer in our article pages. Var A read Compare Rates. Var B read Check Rates.

VAR A: COMPARE RATES

Button copy changed to Compare Rates

VAR B: CHECK RATES

Button copy changed to Check Rates

The result

Check Rates lifted insurance clicks 22.1%

CONVERSION RATE

+22.1%

VAR A CLICK RATE

+13.1%

Over 18 days, Check Rates (Var B) lifted the click rate 22.1% over the original, and Compare Rates (Var A) lifted it 13.1%. Both lifts reached our confidence bar, and Check Rates led, so we implemented it. Exit and bounce rates fell as well. We tracked clicks only, not revenue.

What we took from it

Check Rates read as a quicker, lower-effort step

Check Rates sounds like a quick look, while Compare Rates suggests more work. Readers on an article page are still learning, so the lighter ask got more of them to click.