How Images Drive Conversions15 ways images improve conversion rates

TOPO© 2013 TOPO

www.topohq.com

Introduction

• Images can dramatically increase conversion rates when used correctly

• In spite of their importance, images are often an afterthought for marketers

• This presentation contains 15 guidelines to help marketers use images to improve conversion rates

15 ways images drive conversions

1. Tie images to your product

2. Tailor images to your audience

3. Use high quality images

4. Feature the customer

5. Make images evocative

6. Humanize web pages with faces

7. Show detailed images

8. Use images to guide the customer

9. Consider the context of consumption

10. Place images carefully on your web page

11. Don’t use confusing images

12. Use larger images

13. Use image priming

14. Buttons are images too

15. Don’t forget about color psychology

Tie images to the product or service

• Marketers should tie images to the product or service that you’re offering

• To use a simple example, ecommerce companies should display product images using a catalog design metaphor

• A slightly more complex example might be a for-profit educational institution - the company should show a successful, happy person because that’s really what the school is selling

Tie images to the product or service

Use images that target your audience

• Tailoring images to your target audience is another best practice

• Gender and age are among the demographic traits that determine how someone will react to a particular image

• A recent eye tracking study focused on online dating profiles found that men examine a woman’s profile picture first and foremost, while women spend the most time on text-based profile details and other women

Use images that target your audience

Use high quality images

• Historically, landing pages have been the home of low quality images - low quality stock photos are the most common example of this

• In recent years however, a handful of internet companies have really pushed the envelope on using high quality images as part of their marketing efforts

• The reason is simple – high quality images create the perception in the mind of the customer that the product being offered is high quality - that in turn leads to higher conversion rates

Use high quality images

Feature the customer

• Images are also more effective when they show the target customer

• One of the more effective image-based conversion tactics is to show the customer using the product or service because it allows a prospective buyer to visualize using the product

• It’s an extremely powerful psychological cue and it creates a form of social validation where the prospective buyer is more inclined to buy because they believe that other people are already using the product

Feature the customer

Make images emotionally evocative

• The emotion that someone feels at the point of conversion is often the driving force as to whether that person will convert or not

• Marketers should use images that bolster the emotion that the product or service the company is offering is designed to evoke

• For example, technology security companies often use imagery that’s associated with fear or threats to drive higher conversions

Make images emotionally evocative

Humanize web pages with faces

• For a few years now, good designers have understood that displaying faces next to key calls to action improves conversion rates

• Adding a headshot of a customer service representative to the “contact support” button or 1-800 number on a web page can increase conversion rates by up to 20%

• Marketers should use pictures of people and headshots in particular to humanize their calls to action and conversions

Humanize web pages with faces

Show detailed images

• When a conversion depends on a customer understanding the details of a product or service, images can play a critical role

• In some contexts, using a zoom feature or digital loupe can be an effective technique for displaying detailed images

• Even information products such as books and white papers are well served by detailed images - in this case, providing a detailed table of contents and excerpt can improve conversion rates substantially

Show detailed images

Use images to guide the customer

• Marketers can use a carefully placed image to improve conversions by literally guiding the prospect’s eyes to the point of conversion whether that be a product placement, button, or form

• This is often accomplished by using a photo of a person (the “hero shot”) and having that person look at certain part of the web page

• In a well known eye tracking study, marketers determined that having ababy look at the product greatly increased the number of people who looked at that part of the page

Use images to guide the customer

Consider the context of consumption

• Most marketers think of images in the context of a web page such as a landing page that they control

• Increasingly, images are being used on third party sites to drive traffic to the brand’s site

• Facebook Ads are a prime example of this - data shows that photos of human faces, cats, and beer result in improved conversion rates on places like Facebook where consumption is much more fun and social

Consider the context of consumption

Image placement is critical

• Marketers should also pay attention to image placement on web pages

• For example, if a product has a temporal component, people prefer to view the “before” image on the left and the “after” image on the right - it’s just how people are accustomed to consuming this type of information

• Moreover, marketers shouldn’t put too much space between these images, as pictures that are closer together create the perception that the product is more effective

Image placement is critical

Avoid confusing images

• Hard-to-understand images tend to confuse customers and actually create the perception that a product or service may be difficult to use

• It should come as no surprise that a number of studies have shown that we prefer information that is easy to consume

• For example, subjects who read an exercise routine in hard-to-read font estimated that the workout would take almost twice as long as those subjects who read the instructions in the Arial font

Avoid confusing images

Larger images work

• In many cases, larger images increase conversion rates

• This appears to be particularly when it comes to “hero shots”, a landing pages central image, and call-to-action buttons

• A large image provides many benefits that contribute to higher conversion rates - they tend to be higher quality, easier to understand, and evoke a stronger response

Larger images work

Use image priming

• Priming involves using subtle cues, often in the form of images, to influence a person’s future behavior

• Although it’s the subject of some controversy in academic circles, there have been numerous studies that show image priming can impact conversion rates

• A study by Stanford professor Brian Knutson showed that mildly erotic photos of men and women caused heterosexual men to take greater financial risks than subjects who were shown images of office supplies or spiders

Use image priming

Buttons are images too

• Many marketing teams think equate images with photos - it’s important to remember that there are other types of images as well

• Buttons that represent a call to action are an example of a critically important type of image

• When properly designed, they have the potential to generate triple digit improvements in conversion rates - using the right color, large buttons, and a strong call to action are proven techniques for improving click through rates

Buttons are images too

Don’t forget about color psychology

• The primary color of an image can have a material impact on conversion rates - certain colors evoke particular reactions from people

• For example, green and red are two popular colors for buttons on landing pages - both evoke strong reactions from site visitors and provide marketers with two great options to test for effectiveness

• In fact, Hubspot recently tested two nearly identical landing pages where the only difference between the pages was the color of the submit button - the red button outperformed the green button by 21%

Don’t forget about color psychology

15 ways images drive conversions

1. Tie images to your product

2. Tailor images to your audience

3. Use high quality images

4. Feature the customer

5. Make images evocative

6. Humanize web pages with faces

7. Show detailed images

8. Use images to guide the customer

9. Consider the context of consumption

10. Place images carefully on your web page

11. Don’t use confusing images

12. Use larger images

13. Use image priming

14. Buttons are images too

15. Don’t forget about color psychology

How Images Drive Conversions15 ways images improve conversion rates

TOPO© 2013 TOPO

www.topohq.com