Does higher affiliate button contrast lift article page conversion?
Our buying guide's top pick had an orange label next to an orange button, so the button blended in. We tested 3 versions on mobile. Higher contrast plus star ratings lifted conversion 72.2% over 21 days.
Won Mobile 21 days Called at 90%
The hypothesis
By giving the top pick a gray label and a larger, clearer button, we will make the affiliate button stand out, resulting in more visitors clicking through and buying.
The top pick on our buying guides used an orange label and an orange button. Orange is usually a strong button color, but next to a heading in the same color it lost its contrast and stopped looking clickable.
A side by side review against a competing guide also showed our readers had to work harder to reach the product picks. We tested 3 ways to make the picks easier to act on.
What we changed
We made the top pick's button stand out from its label.
On the control, the top pick label and its button were both orange. Var A changed the label to gray with black text and made the button larger, with wording that said where it goes. Var B kept those changes and added star ratings to each product. Var C collapsed each product's overview, pros and cons into an accordion so the next pick showed sooner.
- Top pick label changed from orange to gray
- Larger button with clearer wording
- Same label and button changes as Var A
- Star ratings added to each product
- Overview, pros and cons in an accordion
- Next product shows sooner on the page
The result
Contrast plus star ratings lifted conversion 72.2% in 21 days.
Var B, which paired the higher contrast button with star ratings, lifted conversion 72.2% over the control. All 3 variations lifted click-through rate in the first weeks, and Var C was also strong, so both Var B and Var C moved on to follow-up tests on other guides.
Average order value swung a lot between variations, because buyers purchase many different items once they reach the retailer. We judged the test on conversion rate for that reason.
What we took from it
A clear button plus star ratings gave readers a reason to click.
On this guide, the orange label and the orange button competed for the same attention. Giving the label a quiet gray let the button stand out, and the star ratings told readers the pick was trusted. We carried the Var B design into the next round of tests on 5 more guides.