Our first test measured the effectiveness of six headlines in a multivariate campaign for an online dental site.
Here were the actual headlines used:
- (Control)
- Dental Plans for $8.33 a month. Acceptance Guaranteed.
- Over 55,000 Dental Care Providers. Acceptance Guaranteed.
- Dental Care Coverage. Best Price Guaranteed.
- Low Cost Dental Care for the Uninsured.
- Best Price Dental Care – Without Insurance.
Although other page elements were also optimized, the following table shows the isolated impact of the six headlines. Note that this is an ongoing test, and these are preliminary numbers:
| Landing Page Headline: Impact on Conversion Rate | |
|---|---|
| Headline | Impact on Overall Conversion |
| Headline 1 | -5.68% |
| Headline 2 | 72.76% |
| Headline 3 | 26.41% |
| Headline 4 | -68.43% |
| Headline 5 | -20.44% |
| Headline 6 | -5.11% |
What You Need To UNDERSTAND: Headline 2 increased the conversion rate of the page by 72.76%. The other headlines were markedly less successful.
This was the most effective headline:
"Dental Plans for $8.33 a month. Acceptance Guaranteed."
For this site, the low price of the service proved to be an extremely effective selling point. By placing that information in the headline, conversion jumped more than 70%.
The "guarantee" perhaps also contributed to the increase in conversion, but headlines 3 and 4, which also mentioned a guarantee, did not perform as well.
It is worth noting that the two top-performing lines, 2 and 3, both included specific figures. Clearly the price figure carried more weight than the figure relating to the number of providers available. But in both cases, the specificity of quoting a figure lifted response rates above the other lines.
KEY POINT: Selling points such as low price, large selection, money-back guarantees, and so on can be quite effective when highlighted in the headline of a page. This is the first text a visitor will see, so it has much potential for a large impact.
