Do softer wording and a trust seal lift lead form conversion?
The lead form talked about 'tax debt' and used a slider up to $100k. We tested a trust seal and, separately, softer wording. Conversion was up 10.2% after 8 days but did not reach our confidence bar.
Not significant Responsive 8 days Not called
The hypothesis
By softening the language around tax debt and adding a trust seal, we will make visitors more confident, resulting in more completed lead forms.
The funnel used blunt terms like 'tax debt' and a debt slider that ran to $100k. For many visitors that wording and scale can feel heavy. In earlier rounds, softer wording had helped on debt selection steps.
We also wanted to see whether a seal near the form would build confidence before visitors started.
What we changed
We tested a trust seal and softer funnel wording in 2 variations.
Var A added an 'as seen on' style seal to the page. Var B left the page alone and softened the funnel: the debt slider topped out at $30k instead of $100k, 'tax debt' became 'back taxes', the intro copy and instructions were rewritten, and step 3 named a settlement program.
- 'As seen on' style seal added to the page
- Debt slider maximum cut from $100k to $30k
- 'Tax debt' changed to 'back taxes'
- Intro copy and instructions rewritten
- Step 3 renamed to a settlement program
The result
Conversion was up 10.2%, short of our confidence bar.
After 8 days the test showed a 10.2% lift in lead form conversion, but revenue per visitor was flat at +0.1%. The lift was not strong enough to call either way, so we paused the test early and carried the seal from Var A into the next round on this funnel.
What we would do next
Give the seal a full run on its own before judging it.
More leads with flat revenue per visitor hints that any extra leads were lower value, so lead quality needs watching on a retest. We would run the seal alone for at least 14 days and track high and low value leads separately, so a lift in volume is not mistaken for a lift in value.