Is your site banner doing a good enough job effectively conveying critical information to your customer? How can you tell? And is a banner even beneficial to your specific site? Past MarketingSherpa eye-tracking research has shown that up to 80% of repeat site visitors exhibit banner blindness, ignoring certain areas of a page entirely if they believe the content will not directly address their needs. How can you best leverage this prime real estate to boost site performance, rather than hurt clickthrough and conversion? In this 35-minute Web clinic – Mike Loveridge, Head of Digital Test and Learn, Humana, will join the MarketingExperiments team live to discuss a series of banner tests that his team carried out, including one test that increased clickthrough by 433%.

1. Site Banners Tested:
How minor changes led to a 433% increase in clickthrough for Humana

2. We’re sharing on Twitter!
#WebClinic

3. #WebClinic
Today’s speakers
Austin McCraw
Senior Director,
Content Production,
MECLABS Institute
Mike Loveridge
Head of Digital
Test and Learn,
Humana, Inc.

4. #WebClinic
Background: A social media site that offers membership exclusively to physicians.
Goal: To increase the number of qualified leads.
Primary Research Question: Which page will generate the most qualified leads?
Approach: A/B variable cluster split test
Experiment ID: TP1145
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: Sermo
Experiment: Background

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Experiment – Version A
• No site banner
• Objective-based headline
• Form-field with CTA for
software demo

6. #WebClinic
Experiment – Version B
• Site banner
• Information-based headline
• CTA drives customers toward
additional value-based
information

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Which version will win?
Version A – No Banner
Version B – Banner
155%
conversion

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Headline KPI % Rel. Change
Version A - 154.7%
Version B - -
Increase in Qualified Leads155%The optimized version increased leads by 154.7%.
Experiment: Results

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Which version will win?
Version A – No Banner
Version B – Banner
155%
conversion
Why?

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Three reasons banners often underperform
Key Principles
1. Impersonal tone
2. Undirected eye path
3. Banner blindness
F
But what if you have to work
within a banner?

11. #WebClinic
Mike Loveridge

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• Medicare banner
• In the rotating carousel on
Humana.com
• Three banner positions
• Rotation speed = six seconds
• Complex page with over 150
competing links
• Two years of iterative testing
performed
The Humana banner

13. #WebClinic
2014 2015
July
10
Banner navigation
13%
Oct
6
MVT
Title, copy, button
71%
Sep
3
Value prop
4%
Oct
16
Agency banner II
162%
Dec
7
Sam II
3%
Dec
1
Personalization
GEO
31%
Apr
2
Rotation speed
20%
Nov
12
Sam
0%
Mar
17
Specific CTA
7%
Apr
13
Nav color
43%
Nov
25
Login expander
12%
Sep
30
Agency banner
33%
May
22
Simplify
433%
Oct
28
MVT
Large button, font
images
22%
Medicare Banner Iterations: Timeline

14. In today’s clinic, we will discuss three key
principles to maximize performance of your
site banners.
Today’s focus

15. #WebClinic
Strengthen your site banners
Key Principles
F
1. Dedicated: The most effective banners are not focused on many things, but rather
“the one thing.” Generally — the more options, the more disorienting.

16. Experiment: Control
• Not immediately clear
that this is a Medicare
banner
• Excessive copy
• CTA does not stand out

17. Experiment: Treatment
• Attention drawn to the
fact that this is a
Medicare banner
• Concise copy
• CTA emphasized

18. Experiment: Side-by-side
Control
Treatment
433% increase
in clickthrough

19. Be simple and concise
The color scheme is difficult to read,
the headline is wordy, the value copy
is difficult to distinguish and two
CTAs compete for clicks. Even the
photo is confusing.
The color scheme has been made
easier to read, the headline is
simple and clear and key aspects of
the value copy have been bolded.
Only one CTA is presented within
the banner.
From this
To this
59%
Conversion

20. Strengthen your site banners
Key Principles
F
1. Dedicated: The most effective banners are not focused on many things, but rather
“the one thing.” Generally — the more options, the more disorienting.
2. Aligned: Effective banners do not focus on what we want from the customer, but
rather what the customer wants from us. Site banners must be tightly aligned
with the motivation of the user.

21. Experiment: Control
• Exploration-based
headline
• Copy tailored to a
research-driven
prospect
• CTA implies a start to
the customer journey

22. Experiment: Treatment
• Destination-based
headline
• Copy tailored to
enrollment-driven
prospect
• CTA implies a purchase

23. Experiment: Side-by-side
Control
Treatment
192% increase
in clickthrough

24. Align with customer motivation
From this
To this
26%
clickthrough
“Start Free Trial” CTA
“Get Started Now” CTA

25. Highly
Motivated
Low
Motivation
“Learn more”
“Get info”
“Explore”
“Try demo”
“Shop”
“Start”
Align with customer motivation
Website Banners THE ASK

26. Strengthen your site banners
Key Principles
1. Dedicated: The most effective banners are not focused on many things, but rather
“the one thing.” Generally — the more options, the more disorienting.
2. Aligned: Effective banners do not focus on what we want from the customer, but
rather what the customer wants from us. Site banners must be tightly aligned
with the motivation of the user.
3. Interactive: The most effective banners are not treated like an advertisement to
absorb, but rather an invitation to engage.
F

27. Experiment: Control
• Directional headline
• Clear copy that sets
expectations going
forward
• Specific CTA

28. Experiment: Treatment
• Headline is not
directional
• Copy is salesy and
largely irrelevant to
customer’s needs
• Non-specific CTA
• Fine print in a banner?

29. Experiment: Side-by -side
Treatment
Control
162% increase
in clickthrough

30. Invite customer to engage
Salesy, overly creative
headline; CTA pointing
customers toward more
options
From this To this
330%
conversion
Informative headline;
CTA allows customers to
engage in a way they are
most likely to do (“Get a
Quote”)

31. Invite customer to engage
The Control is salesy and broad,
pointing visitors to a second step to
download catalogs, manuals and
white papers.
The Treatment builds value and
provides prospects with the
opportunity to download key
documents directly from the
banner.
From this
To this
245%
downloads
To this

32.  Is a site banner the best choice for my page?
 Is my banner simple and concise?
 Is my banner aligned to the motivation of my customer?
 Can my prospect determine the banner’s purpose at a glance?
 Is the CTA clear and directional?
 Does my banner provide opportunity for engagement?
 Does my banner send prospects in a direction that matches expectation?
Checklist: Strengthen you site banner