Home landing: Social Proof Display
Hypothesis
If we test a similar change on our home landing pages as rejected, we should be cautious
Test Results
Key Learning
Problem: Users on the home landing need validation from others before committing — without visible proof of success, they hesitate.
What was tried: rejected this UI change (Nov 11, 2019). Rejection suggests the change underperformed the control
Why it failed: Social proof isn't universally positive — the wrong type, amount, or placement can feel manipulative or irrelevant.
How to Apply This to Your Site
This test showed that home landing: social proof display hurt conversions. The change was tested on a landing page page in the travel industry. Avoid replicating this exact approach — instead, consider testing the opposite direction or a more subtle variation.
Before you test: Consider that social proof tests typically require adequate traffic to reach statistical significance. Run your test for at least 2 full business cycles to account for weekly traffic patterns.
What Was Tested
Many companies have already tried and tested the pattern of displaying numerical social proof in some form or another. In this leaked experiment from on their host signup landing page, we managed to detect two social proof statements that were eventually rejected. Here are some potential explanations as to possibly why they failed to deliver on an improvement.
Methodology
Build On These Learnings
Save your own experiments, spot winning patterns across your test history, and stop repeating what's already been tried.
Related Experiments
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Problem: The registration experience on the product asks too much too soon, causing potential users to drop off.
Checkout: Customer Star Ratings
Context: Users on the checkout need validation from others before committing — without visible proof of success, they hesitate.
Checkout: Testimonials
Context: Users on the checkout need validation from others before committing — without visible proof of success, they hesitate.
Product: Benefit Testimonials
Context: Users on the product need validation from others before committing — without visible proof of success, they hesitate.