The Science of First Impressions.
Split second judgments and what you can do about it.
A paper published by Behaviour & Information Technology states that it takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they like your site or not, which determines they’ll stay or leave.
A paper published by Behaviour & Information Technology states that it takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they like your site or not, which determines they’ll stay or leave.
Google Research shows that users prefer website designs that look simple and familiar (meaning, the design looks similar to other websites in your industry).
The Missouri University of Science and Technology [PDF] determined that it generally takes about 2.6 seconds for one’s eyes to land on the area of a website that influences their first impression most. They discovered that the better the first impression, the longer participants stayed on the website.
Intent is at the heart of conversions
People visit websites with intent, and having an understanding of what this intent is can bring valuable information to your marketing efforts. Potential clients are searching for solutions to problems, and if you create alignment between the value of your offering and the intent of the visitor, the more likely you are to convert a visitor into a client.
Basic Strategy - A/B Testing for Conversions
Conversion optimization through A/B testing can be described as modifying elements of a website in a measurable (scientific) manner with the intention of making a call-to-action more effective. Modifications might include redesigning a button, background colour changes, swapping images, rewrites in copy, changes in messaging, or can simply mean taking away an obstacle doing more harm than good. Testing is informed by insights, analytics and user feedback - and makes the most of the traffic your site already receives.
On a website, the variables that affect first impressions are: structure, colours, spacing, symmetry, amount of text, fonts, and more. By creating a personalization strategy that runs in a real-time environment, A/B testing can produce surprising results. The A/B strategy is best applied when focusing on the type of visits your website receives, as opposed to focusing on the visitor. As Sean Ellis from MarketingProfs LLC states: “It's not about the person, it's about their purpose.”
On a website, the variables that affect first impressions are: structure, colours, spacing, symmetry, amount of text, fonts, and more. By creating a personalization strategy that runs in a real-time environment, A/B testing can produce surprising results. The A/B strategy is best applied when focusing on the type of visits your website receives, as opposed to focusing on the visitor. As Sean Ellis from MarketingProfs LLC states: “It's not about the person, it's about their purpose.”
How A/B testing works
A/B testing is the process of comparing two or more versions of the same page to see which version performs better (A vs. B). We classify this exercise as Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). Two or more (multi-variant) pages are compared by showing the varying pages to randomly selected visitors during a fixed period of time. The version that results in a better conversion rate is the one that is incorporated into the live website.
The approach starts by identifying a goal for the website (i.e. increase in calls) and then determining which pages enable the successful completion of this goal. Through systematic observation and testing - a visitor’s first impression can be optimized in a way that reaches your goal.
There are many tools available to test your website:
There are many tools available to test your website:
The value of Conversion Rate Optimization
CRO is good business. The time and money invested on SEO and PPC advertising should be providing good returns. CRO allows you to make the most of your website traffic by guiding users toward your goals. With time, the benefits of CRO are worth many multiples more than its cost.
Designing your Experiment
Familiarize yourself with the scientific method.
To create a control, you'll need to collect data on visitor behaviour and traffic patterns, and Google Analytics is an excellent tool to monitor A/B testing results. You will need simple developer skills to apply code on the website being tested. However, you can take analysis a step further and set up Google Tag Manager.
GTM provides enormous benefits as you can test variables without editing any website code.
It is recommended to make incremental tests so that you can observe smaller adjustments with more accuracy. Use a Q & A format. "If I do this - then I hypothesize that I acquire that."
Hypothesis: If I make the 'free consultation' button on my website more visible - it might attract more clicks"
Possible test variants:
Your data might show patterns that correlate with a down/up trend in goal completions. Once the successful variable(s) has been identified consider applying this change to the website.
Testing should be ongoing and applied iteratively throughout your campaign. Test results should be scrutinized time and time again for accuracy. The value of your CRO is in the knowledge gained - which can be reapplied into your future builds.Analytical Tools
You need a way to measure your control - this will be your "A".To create a control, you'll need to collect data on visitor behaviour and traffic patterns, and Google Analytics is an excellent tool to monitor A/B testing results. You will need simple developer skills to apply code on the website being tested. However, you can take analysis a step further and set up Google Tag Manager.
GTM provides enormous benefits as you can test variables without editing any website code.
Identify Key Elements / Key Pages
Your analysis shows that only a fraction of your visits are converting. Identify and list out the pages, and their design elements that need to do a better job of converting. Focus on higher traffic pages as they represent an important step in your conversion funnel.Study and Analyze your Pages
Using analytics reports, review the sections of your website. How are people behaving? What are they clicking next? Are they bouncing off a particular page? Consider what problems your visitors might be facing in acheiving your goal..Creating a Hypothesis
You know which pages you want to test and you know the goals you are after. Now you must formulate ideas or questions on how to improve the rate of conversions. Your tests will provide insight - and you will be using empirical data to make decisions at each step.It is recommended to make incremental tests so that you can observe smaller adjustments with more accuracy. Use a Q & A format. "If I do this - then I hypothesize that I acquire that."
Test your Hypothesis
Goal: I want more visitors to request a 'free consultation'Hypothesis: If I make the 'free consultation' button on my website more visible - it might attract more clicks"
Possible test variants:
- Move the button above the fold at eye level
- Change the font of the button
- Change the colour of the button
- Change the wording on the button
In this example, we want to learn what variant change produces more clicks. It's quite possible that a combination of variant changes might be required to achieve results. However, testing too many variant changes at once will produce inconclusive results, as you will be unable to trace what specific adjustment changed user behaviour.
Interpretation of results
Experiment success will be contingent on collecting enough useable data to uncover a pattern. Results will be affected by your sample size and clarity of the experiment. Pairing AB testing with a PPC campaign is an excellent way to optimize for PPC traffic. SEO patterns may differ, but having a steady flow of users is a must for your A/B test to work.Your data might show patterns that correlate with a down/up trend in goal completions. Once the successful variable(s) has been identified consider applying this change to the website.
Retest
Conclusion
The most successful form of conversion optimization is attained when you increase your website’s conversion rate without having to increase the number of visitors to your site. By increasing total conversions, you are more likely to reach your goals, increase the overall success of your online marketing efforts and minimize your cost per acquisition.
Written in 2008 by Dave Taillefer of ICONA Calgary web design and development
Written in 2008 by Dave Taillefer of ICONA Calgary web design and development
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