Does earlier CTA placement lift article page conversion?
Our offer articles put the first call to action about 3 scrolls down. We moved it up to within the first 1.5 scrolls. Conversion fell 16.3%, and we paused the test after 9 days.
Lost Responsive 9 days Called at 90% Reviewed
The hypothesis
By moving the first offer button up to within the first 1.5 scrolls, we will match what readers see on similar sites, resulting in more offer clicks and a higher conversion rate.
Most of the similar offer sites we reviewed showed at least 1 call to action within the first scroll. Our articles made readers scroll about 3 times before they reached the first offer.
We tested pulling the offer content higher so the first button showed within the first 1.5 scrolls.
What we changed
We moved the first offer button from 3 scrolls down to 1.5.
On the control, readers scrolled through about 3 screens of article before the first offer and its button. Var A moved the offer content up so the first button appeared within the first 1.5 scrolls. The offers and their order stayed the same.
- First offer moved higher in the article
- Button now within the first 1.5 scrolls
The result
Conversion fell 16.3%, so we paused after 9 days.
Conversion was 16.3% below the control. Every measure we tracked was down after the 1st week. We let it run a few more days to rule out random swings, and the drop held, so we paused it after 9 days rather than keep losing revenue.
What we took from it
Copying a common layout did not suit these readers.
Readers on these articles who reached the offers after the full intro were more ready to act, and moving the button up cut that short. Our next tests kept the offers in place and made them easier to scan, with clickable titles and jump links.