Does it pay to reduce page clutter on an article page?
Our buying guide made mobile readers scroll past a headline, a social proof block, a how we test section and an intro before the first product. The aggressive cut lifted conversion 18.8% over 29 days.
Won Mobile 29 days Called at 90%
The hypothesis
By cutting the content above the product picks, we will get readers to the recommendations faster, resulting in more clicks to the retailer and more sales.
In a side by side review against a competing guide, readers on our page had to scroll past a long headline, a social proof block, a how we test section and an intro before they saw a single product.
We tested a mild cut and an aggressive cut to see how much of that could move lower without hurting trust.
What we changed
We moved the copy above the product picks lower on the page.
Var A shortened the headline, removed the social proof block and moved the how we test section below the picks. Var B did the same and also moved the intro paragraph lower, so the first product showed almost right away. Var C replaced the process and author block with jump links to each product. Var C was paused early because of a tracking issue.
- Shorter headline
- Social proof block removed
- How we test section moved below the picks
- Same changes as Var A
- Intro paragraph moved below the picks
- Process and author block replaced by jump links
- Paused early for a tracking issue
The result
The aggressive cut lifted conversion 18.8% over 29 days.
Var B, the aggressive cut that also moved the intro below the picks, lifted conversion 18.8% over the control. Var A, the mild cut, was also up in clicks to the retailer and in revenue, but by less. We kept the test going to a full 28 days so slower orders could post before we called it.
Var C, the jump link menu, was paused in the first weeks because its clicks were not being tracked correctly, so it is not part of the result.
What we took from it
Readers came for the picks, so the picks should come first.
On this guide, the copy above the products was doing little for the reader. The more we moved below the picks, the better it did, so getting people to the recommendations sooner mattered more than the intro. We lined up the aggressive version as the next test, across 5 more guides.