Increase Conversions Use Psychology For Your Landing Pages

There are many things that subconsciously (yet strongly!) influence our decision making every day. Numerous principles of psychology are at play when it comes to making choices and they affect your user's experience and your conversion rate.

The aim of this post isn’t to give you absolute rules to obey, but more to expand your arsenal of tools and enable you to increase your landing page conversion rate by applying psychology…What are you waiting for?!

The Von Restorff Effect

Sometimes called the “Isolation effect” this simply means that we remember things that stand out or things that are different to other things. ...You'd think that was obvious right?! But it is surprisingly often overlooked! You can take advantage of this to great effect - ensure your CTA’s really pop out at your viewer for better conversion rates.

Conversion Centred Design (CCD) Principles

Luckily, there are some clever design principles proven to provide users with a better experience and in doing so improve landing page conversion. Encapsulation basically means surrounding whatever it is that you want to draw your prospects attention to. The point of interest being visibly contained in some way should subconsciously dissuade the viewer's eye from wandering. We all know that colours promote an emotional response (red = danger, blue = trustworthy etc) and that can be used strategically on landing pages.

The importance of contrast can get neglected though and is actually something that links back to the The Von Restorff Effect. Use contrasting colours sparingly to really highlight certain areas. White space is also essential to good user experience. It reduces the cognitive load I seem to spend much of my time going on about and can have a big impact on conversion rates. Use whitespace to to give your CTA’s room to breathe for example, look at is as being like encapsulation in reverse!

The Serial Position Effect

When we are faced with a list or several pieces of information, “the Primacy effect” means we tend to remember the things nearer the beginning of that list. You can use this to your advantage and create an awesome headline that’ll stick with your user. The “Recency effect” indicates you’ll also recall what came last more easily too, so make sure to finish up the page with something that’ll stick with people - a perfect opportunity to repeat your USP!

With both Primacy and Recency in play, you can see that it’s the bit in between that becomes fuzzy to your user. Combat this by making sure you repeat and reinforce important messages throughout your landing page for raised conversion rates.

Picture Superiority Effect

“Picture Superiority effect” is the name for the fact that people remember pictures better than words. If your landing page features relevant images, the context they give will improve your user's experience and understanding of your product or offering.

Images will also help people to recall it better. (Tip - Things that people recall most easily include; people, faces and interiors. Backgrounds and exteriors are less memorable.)

Informational Social Influence

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon. People want to act and feel the way that others do to mirror what is deemed to be the right behaviour. Whether we like it or not, people like to conform and be part of the “in crowd.”

You can use that to your advantage though and appeal to the need to belong with the inclusion of testimonials on your landing page. (Tip - having photos of real people accompanying your testimonials really helps to humanise your brand.)

Also highlighting subscriber numbers, likes and shares as well as prominently drawing attention to any big name logos and awards awards will all elevate your credibility and authority and encourage your viewers to follow the lead.

When social proof is strong, a happy byproduct is that your prospects will also experience less anxiety about any decision to buy into your product and this should set conversion rates rising - win win!

Consistency

People are far more likely to convert if they trust you and trust can be earned by providing your target audience with a reassuring, consistent user experience. Your landing page should come across as unified and constant - right through from your colour palette to your messaging.

The same principle needs to extend outwards from your landing page and into your marketing efforts. If someone sees your ad which looks one way, clicks it and is taken your landing page which looks different, or if the tone between your ad and the corresponding landing page clashes, trust is lost and conversion is understandably less likely.

Focussing Effect

The “Focusing Effect” describes the phenomenon whereby “people make decisions on the basis of the most pronounced and distinct information they have available in their working memory” It can often be associated with bad decision making but you can use it to positive ends by drawing your users focus to your UVP so that the benefits are spotlit for them to connect with on your landing page.

Loss Aversion

People are hardwired to be risk and loss averse. The idea of losing out on something is just fundamentally more motivational than the potential to gain something. You can play on our built in fear of missing out and boost your conversions by making it clear what your prospect will be missing if they don’t take action. Creating urgency and scarcity in your offering can also positively influence conversions.

Opt-in bribe

Come on, everyone likes getting something for nothing! Try offering a free e-book to show your prospects value or offer a taster of your product free for a limited time. Getting a sneak peek at the quality or actual goods without obligation can alleviate the anxiety people face when wrangling with the decision to part with hard earned cash. Anything that takes the sting out of lightening the wallet whilst also improving a user’s experience and promoting trustworthiness can’t be a bad thing!

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is another psychological phenomena that comes as standard with humans. Essentially, if we are given something, we are compelled to be reciprocal and give something back. This comes into play and can help raise conversions when asking for contact details in exchange for an e-book for example. People feel less cagey about giving up their information if they are receiving something of benefit or value in return.

Storytelling

People love stories and so storytelling is a great tool to aid conversion. Tell a story with concise captivating text and complementary visuals for great UX and to really resonate with your audience, to engage them and evoke emotion. To use storytelling to your advantage though, you do first need to know your target audience (which is often a tricky thing in itself!)

You can’t craft a story that resonates without first knowing what your ideal user feels, likes, values, wants, needs, dislikes and fears. You have to tell the right story to the right audience to reap the rewards of higher conversions rates on your landing page. If you haven’t already, get on creating user personas to build a better, more accurate picture of your ideal customer so you can set about telling them a story!

The highest converting landing pages and products leverage combinations of these techniques to great effect. Depending on your situation, some fusion of these tactics rooted in psychology and neuroscience will also work for you too!

It’s so important to iterate and test to really understand what actually works for your product, no one of these points alone is a magic fix for conversion as each individual thinks and acts differently. Creators of the most effective landing pages understand that connecting with your audience is key to a winning product or page.