Research & Evidence
Evidence for Better Digital Decisions.
CTG reviews credible research across customer behavior, website experience, search, AI, trust and conversion. We separate what the evidence actually measured from what marketers often claim it means—then translate the findings into practical questions businesses can use to make better digital decisions.
What the research says.What it doesn’t.What it means for your business.
Featured Research
Browse the Research
14 Research articles
UX, Usability & Conversion
What Can Someone Really Judge in 50 Milliseconds?
People can form a visual impression of a webpage in as little as 50 milliseconds—before they have time to meaningfully evaluate the offer.
Read the ResearchUX, Usability & Conversion
Can a Website Feel Too Complex Before Someone Reads It?
Visual complexity can shape first impressions before someone has much time to understand the page, making clarity and familiar structure matter early.
Read the ResearchTrust & Credibility
Can Better Design Make a Website Feel More Credible?
The same information can feel more credible when it is presented with stronger visual design—even though the underlying content has not changed.
Read the ResearchCustomer Behavior & Decision-Making
Do Fewer Choices Actually Make It Easier to Decide?
More choices do not automatically make decisions harder; overload depends on the decision, the options, and how clearly people can distinguish them.
Read the ResearchPerformance & Mobile
Where Does Website Speed Matter Most?
Website delays can matter most when someone is closest to finishing, making performance especially important around high-intent steps.
Read the ResearchTrust & Credibility
Do Testimonials Actually Help People Decide?
Testimonials are most useful when they reduce uncertainty—not when they simply add more positive words to the page.
Read the ResearchAI & Emerging Discovery
Do AI Answers Make People Trust Information Too Easily?
AI answers can increase confidence without making people better at judging accuracy, especially when explanations feel complete.
Read the ResearchSearch & Discoverability
Do People Trust Higher-Ranked Search Results More?
Higher-ranked results can receive more attention and influence choice even when a lower-ranked result may be more relevant.
Read the ResearchLead Capture & Booking
How Much Friction Is Too Much in a Form?
Form friction is not just field count; effort, errors, unclear inputs, and sensitive questions can all make completion harder.
Read the ResearchCustomer Behavior & Decision-Making
Why Can Hiring a Service Business Feel Riskier Than Buying a Product?
Service purchases can feel riskier because customers often must commit before they can fully evaluate the outcome, making uncertainty part of the decision.
Read the ResearchSearch & Discoverability
How Much Does the Search Result Itself Affect Whether Someone Clicks?
Searchers evaluate titles, snippets, and other result information before visiting a page, making the result itself part of the discovery experience.
Read the ResearchAI & Emerging Discovery
Do AI Search Summaries Reduce Clicks to Websites?
AI-generated search summaries can reduce outbound clicks, separating visibility and citation from the website traffic businesses traditionally use to measure search performance.
Read the ResearchPerformance & Mobile
Why Can a Website Feel Harder to Use on a Phone?
Mobile tasks can become harder when small screens, touch targets, control choices, and one-handed use increase the effort required to complete them.
Read the ResearchLead Capture & Booking
Can Too Much Availability Make a Service Business Look Less Desirable?
Visible appointment availability can signal demand and convenience at the same time, making both an empty calendar and extreme scarcity capable of changing provider choice.
Read the ResearchHow CTG Reviews Research
Evidence Before Advice.
What was actually studied?
We look at the population, context, methodology and conditions behind the research—not only the headline finding.
What was actually measured?
A study of visual appeal is not automatically evidence about conversion. A relationship between two variables does not automatically establish that one caused the other.
What can the evidence support?
We distinguish established findings, individual study results, correlations, causal evidence, hypotheses and interpretation.
Where might it apply?
We translate research into better questions for websites, search and conversion rather than treating every finding as a universal best practice.
Good evidence should improve the decision—not manufacture certainty where the research doesn’t provide it.
Built on Data
Research Is One Part of the Evidence.
Published research helps us form better hypotheses, but what we recommend next depends on your customers, your website and the outcomes that matter to the business. We use research to ask smarter questions—then look at customer behavior and website performance to find where the opportunity is.
- What customers are trying to do
- Understand the real task behind the visit—and what is making it harder.
- Where the website is losing opportunities
- See where qualified visitors stall, drop out or fail to take the next step.
- What customers need before they act
- Identify the questions, uncertainty and proof that shape the decision.
- Which changes actually improve the experience
- Test meaningful changes instead of assuming a “best practice” will work for your business.
- What improves the business
- Measure whether those changes produce better leads, bookings, sales or revenue.