You know when you search for something on Google sometimes you see review stars next to a search result?
Like here:
Does it work to attract more clicks?
Inspired by our study Which Types of Social Proof Work Best?, we set out to quantify review stars as a way to increase click-through rates (CTR) in search engine results pages.
What kind of improvement in CTR can we get from including review stars in search engine results, if any? What does that mean for application in your business? We attempt to answer these questions with hard data in this CXL Institute study.
Our research was performed in collaboration with Nitin Manhar Dhamelia from Belron® International, a automotive glass replacement and repair group.
Do consumers find more value in a blender that makes creamy smoothies and shakes, or a blender with 750 watts of power? What type of product descriptions depict a seemingly high-value product, hedonic ones or utilitarian ones? In this CXL Institute study, we test three different products to explore this question.
We were asked recently about the effects of using internal promotions (e.g., a discounted product sold within the site) vs. third-party (from an outside business) banner advertising on web site clarity and visitor perceptions.
Our first study used the five-second test to examine whether ads on website homepages distract visitors from understanding a site’s purpose. This follow-up study looks for differences in user perceptions between ad types: internal promotions versus third-party ads.
You’ve likely read about the effectiveness of urgency before. It’s a commonly used tactic, especially in the eCommerce realm. This case study shows a specific example of how we got a 27.1% revenue lift by adding urgency to the product page.
In this CXL Institute study, we explore how general perceptions of a website are affected by the use of a “human authority image” (a picture of a company’s founder, or maybe just a photo of a person presumably representing the company) on an agency website homepage.
This study, conducted through CXL Institute, is the first of a two-part series exploring security perceptions on checkout pages. We compare the effectiveness of six popular trust badges on an actual checkout page.
Just how bad is a multi-column form layout? This short study conducted through CXL Institute compares form completion time on a single column form vs. a multicolumn form.
Will the same questions with a different layout (one column versus multiple columns) result in different completion times?
Previously, CXL Institute published research we did on the order of pricing plans. This study on the effects of highlighting particular pricing plans is a continuation of that study. It has the same experimental design, except here we explicitly test a new variable – highlighting a plan with a different background color.
Similar to the first study, we manipulated the pricing page for a survey tool, SurveyGizmo, to see if there are different patterns of user perception and preference (choice of plan) for various layout designs (price plan order) when one particular plan is highlighted.
![Do Review Stars on Google Help Click-Through Rate? [Original Study]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/stars-320x160.jpg)
![Price Perceptions of Products with Utility Vs. Hedonism Copy [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sweater-copy-320x160.jpg)
![Internal Promotions vs Third-Party Banner Advertisements [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2-Internal-Ads-Final-568x419-1-1-320x160.png)
![Form Field Usability Revisited: Select Menus vs. Radio Buttons [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/radio_select_featureimage-320x160.jpg)
![Implementing Urgency on eCommerce Product Pages For a 27.1% Lift [Case Study]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-21-at-10.11.39-AM-320x160.png)
![How Do Famous Founder Photos Affect Website Credibility? [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Screen-Shot-2016-07-15-at-12.26.55-PM-1-320x160.jpg)
![Checkout Optimization: How Do Trust Seals Affect Security Perception? [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/brooklinen-norton-jpg_seenmap-320x160.jpg)
![Form Field Usability: Should You Use Single or Multi-Column Forms? [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/mcVSlinear-320x160.jpg)
![Which Site Seals Create The Most Trust? [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/trust_seals-320x160.jpg)
![The Effects of Highlighting a "Recommended" Pricing Plan [Original Research]](https://cxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/7-table-cheapest-first-320x160.jpg)