Do videos on home pages work?

We used the DoWhatWorks BetScore methodology to find out.  

Major subscription brands experiment with product videos on key parts of their websites all the time. We see videos tested on their home pages, landing pages and throughout their websites. But is that a good idea?

We did a meta-analysis across 56 relevant experiments from top B2B and consumer subscription brands to find out. The tests were sourced using the DoWhatWorks engine.  

We looked at many experiments like this one from RingCentral to see how home page videos did when tested against other elements.

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RingCentral tested an image versus a video on their home page. The variant with video lost. You can see the test details here.

We found that using videos on marketing websites resulted in a BetScore of 23 out of 99.

This score signals an opportunity to improve performance by removing videos or adjusting how and where they are offered.

Since we have so many experiments on videos, we broke down the analysis to further assess the results of experiments on home page videos.

Interestingly, when narrowing down votes to home pages alone, using videos did even worse with a BetScore of just 11 out of 99. The low BetScore means a video is likely to lose in this context. On home pages, we saw videos lose to photos, illustrations, logos and more. We even saw them lose to nothing at all. Unless you are selling video content, using video on your home page could be hurting your results.

To illustrate, we've unlocked a few of the experiments we used in this meta-analysis.

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1-800 Contacts experimented with using video to explain how to order their product. One variant paired video with a list.  The other variant used a 3 step diagram with no video. The approach with video lost. See the split test details in our dashboard here.

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Homebase tested a traditional video player against a collage of images. The approach with video lost. You can see the split test details here.

This does not mean you should never use videos on your website. In fact, there are pages and sectors where the BetScores for video can be considerably higher. How and where you offer videos will impact results.

For example, we see experiments lose when they include the duration of the video on the thumbnail. Some other variables to consider include: Autoplaying the video with no volume; Presentation of the video player; Using a circular play button vs a standard CTA; Location of the video on the page; and many more.

CONCLUSION

Avoid using videos on a home page if you are a SaaS or subscription brand (unless you are selling video content). In other cases, you want to use data to identify where and how to use videos to drive conversion.

This is just one example of a BetScore. Our clients use scores like this one to pinpoint problems in their experience and quickly prioritize their backlog to generate results. We score their websites using BetScores to recommend changes that are resulting in millions of dollars of new revenue for them.

We are thrilled to work with 6 of the top streaming brands, major Fortune 500 SaaS brands, banks, retailers, learning apps, DTC brands, health brands and more. If you want to join them set up a call with senior leaders on our team.

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