THE PSYCHOLOGY OF

CONVERSION
OPTIMIZATION
Nick Kolenda

Grab free marketing articles at

www.nickkolenda.com

COPYRIGHT 2016 KOLENDA ENTERTAINMENT LLC

The Role of Psychology in CRO ...............................................5
How to Prioritize This List ......................................................6
Click a Button ..............................................................................9
Choose a Contrasting Button Color ...............................................................10
Increase the Amount of Whitespace ............................................................ 13
Add a Border, Bevel, or Shadow ..................................................................... 14
Convey Movement With an Arrow ................................................................ 17
Alter Your Button on Hover ..............................................................................18
Orient Gazes Toward Your CTA ....................................................................... 19
Repeat Your Primary CTA .................................................................................20
Use 1st Person Wording .................................................................................... 22
Change Your Button During a Visit ...............................................................24
Force Visitors to Accept / Reject Your CTA ................................................26
Create an Account ......................................................................29
Use a Two-Step Opt-In ........................................................................................ 30
Let Visitors Create Tangible Progress .......................................................... 32
Dont Require Credit Cards for Free Trials ................................................35
Emphasize Their Progress Within Your Funnel ...................................... 37
Add to Cart ....................................................................................39
Add Visual Contrast to Your Target Plan ....................................................40
Position Your Target Plan in the Center ......................................................42
Identify Your Target Plan as Most Popular ............................................44
Create a Default Option or Add-On ...............................................................45
Ask Customers to Subtract Features ............................................................ 48
Prime a Which-to-Choose Mindset ...............................................................50
Depict Products to Encourage Mental Interaction .................................55
Specify a Limited Time or Quantity .............................................................. 58
Emphasize More Attributes for Hedonic Products ................................ 60
Complete the Purchase .............................................................62
Provide Reassurance Through Trust Symbols .........................................63
Deemphasize Your Coupon Field ...................................................................66
Remove Links and Navigation from Checkout .........................................68
Retarget People Who Abandoned the Checkout .....................................70
 Share on Social Media ...............................................................72
Provide an Incentive to Share ......................................................................... 73
Post Screenshots of Previously Shared Messages .................................. 75
Add Social Currency to Your Message .........................................................77

Conclusion ................................................................80
Welcome to a huge resource on conversion optimization.

Over the years, marketers have written countless articles about online
persuasion. So why do we need another one?

Well, something is missing from the literature the why:

Why are contrasting buttons effective?

Why should you use 1st person CTA wording?
Why (and when) are trust symbols effective?

This article uses academic research to answer those questions. You'll

learn the psychological explanation to 30 powerful techniques in
conversion rate optimization (CRO).

For each tactic, I include four sections:

Principle: The psychological principle involved

Example: A visual illustration of the tactic
Explanation: The reason why the tactic is effective
Extra Resources: A/B tests and other related information

Whether you're a seasoned pro or a complete newb, you should iind

some valuable takeaways.

THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN CRO

The best A/B tests are grounded in concrete hypotheses:

You collect data about your visitors (e.g., through a survey or

heatmap)
You propose a split test based on that data

But theres a problem with that premise.

If youre the only person running your business, oftentimes you wont
have the resources to capture that information. You wont have (a) the

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time to collect and analyze that data or (b) the capital to hire somebody
else. So what do you do?

Well, thats where psychology can help. Psychological tactics are

already grounded in concrete hypotheses. Will they work every time?
Well, no. But theyre not some random split test that you pulled from
thin air. More often than not, they should provide a positive boost.

HOW TO PRIORITIZE THIS LIST

This article is huge how do you know which tactics are most
important? The answer lies in the structure of the article.

Youll notice that Ive broken out the tactics by different CTAs.

Call-to-Action (CTA) A specific action that you want

visitors to take

Each section represents a different CTA a separate step in your

funnel. Do you run an ecommerce store? Then your funnel might look
like this:

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Once you break out the steps in your funnel, you can calculate the
conversion rate for each step:

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Once you calculate those values, you can pinpoint the conversion areas
that need the most improvement. Figure out which step if improved
would provide the greatest value. And start with those tactics. By
adopting that growth hacking mindset, you can scale your growth more
effectively.

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 PART 1:
CLICK A BUTTON
Some marketers obsess over their buttons. Even though some
of that obsession is unwarranted, there is some merit to it.

Button testing offers a few key beneiits:

Top of Funnel: Most conversions in your funnel will

originate from a single click. If you increase the
conversion rate at the beginning of your funnel, youll
increase conversions at each stage of your funnel.
Larger Sample: If you target visitors earlier in your
funnel, youll be working with more people. So you can
run more A/B tests in a shorter time frame.
Easier to Test: Most of these A/B tests involve the
characteristics of a single button. So theyre easier to
implement than A/B tests that require structural
changes.

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 TACTIC 1:
CHOOSE A CONTRASTING BUTTON COLOR

Principle:
Signal Detection Theory (Verghese, 2001)
Visual Salience and Attention (Parkhurst, Law, & Niebur, 2002)
Processing Fluency (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009)

Example:

Explanation:

Back in the day, our ancestors acquired an important trait: the ability to
detect contrast in the surrounding environment (Endler, 1992). They
needed that trait to detect predators or life-threatening stimuli. People
without that trait died off.

Thanks to natural selection, you still possess that ability. Your attention
is naturally drawn toward stimuli that are visually salient (Parkhurst,
Law, & Niebur, 2002).

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So use that insight. Increase the visual saliency of your CTA button.
Choose button colors that contrast with the rest of your page so that
you guide attention toward it.

But thats pretty obvious, right? Obviously contrasting colors will

attract more attention. Welltheres more at play too.

Consider the following A/B test:

In both variations, the button is located in the same spot a very

prominent place on the page. Even though the green button has less
contrast, its still hard to miss. People still probably noticed it.

So, then, whats going on? If people noticed both buttons, why did red
perform better? The answer involves processing 1luency.

Processing Fluency The ease and speed with which

we process information (see Alter & Oppenheimer,
2009 for a review).

Whenever a concept enters our mind quickly and easily, it produces a

pleasant sensation in our brain. We then falsely attribute that
pleasantness with our evaluation of the stimulus. We evaluate that
stimulus more favorably simply because we were able to process it
more easily.

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How does that relate to button colors?

Contrasting button colors increase processing 1luency. Due to the

contrast, the act of clicking your button will enter visitors minds
more easily. That ease will then generate a pleasant sensation in their
brain. As a result, the act of clicking your button will seem more
appealing, so theyll be more likely to do it. Pretty interesting.

Plus, in addition to attention and processing iluency, theres a third

reason why contrasting buttons perform better. But well revisit that
answer later.

Extra Resources:
Harness the Emotional Power of Color to Increase Conversion Talia
Wolf
Color vs. Contrast: Which One Brings More Conversions? Piotr
Koczorowski
Call-to-Action Buttons: Color vs. Contrast ThinkSEM

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 TACTIC 2:
INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF WHITESPACE

Principle:
Signal Detection Theory (Verghese, 2001)
Visual Salience and Attention (Parkhurst, Law, & Niebur, 2002)
Processing Fluency (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009)

Example:

Explanation:

See Tactic 1.

Extra Resources:
Call to Action Buttons: Guidelines, Best Practices and Examples
Cameron Chapman
6 Variables to Test on Your Call-to-Action Buttons Sherice Jacob
Click Here: 11 Ways to Improve Your Calls to Action Neil Patel

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 TACTIC 3:
ADD A BORDER, BEVEL, OR SHADOW

Principle:
Representativeness Heuristic (Kahneman & Tversky, 1972)

Example:

Explanation:

We judge the probability of an event based on representativeness

(Kahneman & Tversky, 1972).

How similar is the stimulus to its parent population?

Does it contain features that are representative of that population?

If its similar, then were more likely to categorize that stimulus with
the parent population.

You can apply that takeaway to your CTA button.

Some websites create fancy buttons perhaps a gigantic button that

you cant possibly miss.

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Dont do that.

Your CTA button needs to contain features that are representative of

other buttons. Without those common characteristics, your button
wont look like a button. So people wont click it.

How can you make your button look clickable? For one, keep it a
normal size. Dont use a monstrous buttons that overwhelms your page.

Also, consider giving your button some depth through a border, bevel,

or shadow.

Those cues represent depth. So your button will look more clickable.

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Extra Resources:
6 Characteristics of High Converting CTA Buttons Jeremy Smith
20 Critical Dos and Donts for Clickable Calls-to-Action Jessica
Meher
Testing Quick Wins Call to Action Buttons Steve Myers

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 TACTIC 4:
CONVEY MOVEMENT WITH AN ARROW

Principle:
Representativeness Heuristic (Kahneman & Tversky, 1972)

Example:

Explanation:
See Tactic 3.

Extra Resources:
Call to Action Buttons: Examples and Best Practices Jacob Gube
CTA Button Designs that Will Convince Your Mom to Convert Net-
Results
50 Split Testing Ideas (You Can Run Today) Neil Patel

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 TACTIC 5:
ALTER YOUR BUTTON ON HOVER

Principle:
Representativeness Heuristic (Kahneman & Tversky, 1972)

Example:

(see original article for animation)

Explanation:
See Tactic 3.

Extra Resources:
Best Practices for Call to Action Buttons UX Movement
The Anatomy of a Compelling Call to Action Button Aaron Bradley
12 Tests to Increase Your Landing Page Conversion Rate, Starting
Today Johnathan Dane

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 TACTIC 6:
ORIENT GAZES TOWARD YOUR CTA

Principle:
Signal Detection Theory (Verghese, 2001)
Gaze Following (Emory, 2000)
Processing Fluency (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009)

Example:

Explanation:

We possess an evolutionary trait to follow peoples gazes (Emory,

2000). If you want to direct attention toward your CTA, orient images of
people so that theyre looking at your CTA.

If you want a deeper explanation, you can refer to my stock photo

article or advertising article.

Extra Resources:
How a Dutch Major Achieved 7.8% Increase in Conversion by
Removing a Lifeline Sharan Suresh
How to Direct a Viewers Eye Through Your Design Steven Bradley

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 10 A/B Tests to Skyrocket Your Leads Sara Hartanov

TACTIC 7:
REPEAT YOUR PRIMARY CTA

Principle:
Mere Exposure Effect (Zajonc, 1968)

Example:

Explanation:

On your website, consider repeating your primary CTA. There are a few
reasons why.

First, with more placements, youre more likely to capture attention.

Visitors might miss your CTA in the upper right corner, but they might
see your CTA at the bottom of your page.

Second, your timing might be more conducive. Perhaps they werent

ready at the top of your page, but theyre ready by the middle or bottom
of your page.

Third, Robert Zajonc proposed the mere exposure effect. People develop
a stronger afiinity toward a stimulus if theyre repeatedly exposed to it
(Zajonc, 1968).

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Part of that effect might involve processing 1luency. With repeated
exposures, people can digest your CTA more easily, which enhances
their afiinity toward it.

However, Zaionc proposes a different reason: classical conditioning:

The repeated-exposure paradigm can be regarded as

a form of classical conditioning if we assume that the
absence of aversive events constitutes the
unconditioned stimulus. Empirical research shows
that a benign experience of repetition can and of itself
enhance positive affect (Zajonc, 2001, pp. 224)

What does that mean?

Well, if youre exposed to a stimulus and if you dont experience a

negative response to it then you experience a positive emotion. And
you attribute that positive emotion to the stimulus. Because of that new
association, a subsequent exposure to that stimulus will trigger a
positive emotion.

Either way, the takeaway is clear: repeating your CTA should help
increase conversions.

Extra Resources:
Good UI #5: Try Repeating Your Primary Action Instead of Showing It
Just Once Jakub Linowski
101 Landing Page Optimization Tips Unbounce
5 Ways to Put Your Email Call to Action to Work Chris Hexton

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 TACTIC 8:
USE 1ST PERSON WORDING

Principle:
Conceptual Fluency (Lee & Labroo, 2004)
Mental Simulation (Elder & Krishna, 2012)

Example:

Explanation:

Some marketers have increased conversions by using 1st person

wording for their CTA text:

For
example, Michael Aagard tested the above example, and he increased
conversions by 90 percent.

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And that effect seems consistent. In a similar experiment, he increased
conversions by 25 percent. Joanna Wiebe increased conversions by 24
percent. Visual Website Optimizer increased conversions by 8 percent.

So whats causing the consistent lift? Im guessing two factors:

Mental Simulation: Research shows that people develop a more

favorable attitude toward a stimulus if they mentally interact with it
(Elder & Krishna, 2012).
Conceptual Fluency: Research shows that youre more likely to
complete a task if you can envision yourself performing that action
(Song and Schwarz, 2008).

By using 1st person wording, you apply both insights.

First, your visitors mentally evaluate the CTA in terms of their personal
use. With 3rd person wording, they consider your CTA from a 3rd person
perspective which isnt as strong.

Second, because they envision themselves performing that CTA, they

experience a higher level of conceptual iluency. They can see themselves
performing that action. So they become more likely to do it.

Extra Resources:
How Failed A/B Tests Can Increase Conversion Rates Michael
Aagard
6 Proven Ways to Boost the Conversion Rates of Your Call-to-Action
Buttons Joanna Wiebe
Another Win for Speciiic Copywriting Button Text Boosts Conversion
by 8.39% Visual Website Optimizer

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 TACTIC 9:
CHANGE YOUR BUTTON DURING A VISIT

Principle:
Incidental Change Detection (Shapiro & Nielson, 2013)

Example:

(see original article for animation)

Explanation:

Shapiro and Nielson (2013) found a cool insight. When a stimulus

subtly changes in your environment even if you dont consciously
notice the change you develop a stronger afiinity toward that
stimulus.

The researchers attributed their iinding to processing 1luency. When a

stimulus changes in your environment, you subconsciously detect that
change. And, as a result, you devote more processing resources to
evaluate it (thus enhancing your attitude toward it).

But how can you apply that insight?

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For one, you could adjust the appearance of your CTA button,
depending on a condition. For example, you could use JavaScript to
change your button color every 30 seconds.

Or, like Bounce Exchange, you could change your button color as
visitors scroll down the page.

Sure, those visual changes might attract more attention. But, even if
they dont, visitors should develop a more favorable impression of your
CTA thanks to the beneiits of incidental change detection.

Extra Resources:
The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us Christopher
Chabris
Memory for centrally attended changing objects in an incidental real-
world change detection paradigm Levins et al., 2002
Incidental change detection and working memory load in a dual-task
paradigm Angelone, Beck & Levin, 2005

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 TACTIC 10:
FORCE VISITORS TO ACCEPT / REJECT YOUR
CTA

Principle:
Choice Rejection (Levin et al., 2002)
Impression Management (Larry & Kowalski, 1990)

Example:

Explanation:

Youre walking down the street. Further ahead, you notice somebody
handing out free snacks for a promo. Hmm, interesting.

But youre not overly enticed. You plan to ignore the vendor.

Unfortunately, he puts a kink in your plan. As you walk by, the vendor
shouts directly at you, Hey there, do you want a free granola bar?

Ugh. Now you need to actively reject his offer.

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So you contemplate your refusal. But, in doing so, you experience a
change of heart. For one, you werent that opposed to his offer in the
iirst place just on the fence. Plus, a refusal would (a) be impolite, and
(b) contradict social norms. What kind of weirdo doesnt want free
stuff?

So you cave. You happily accept the granola bar and move on.

How does that anecdote relate to conversion optimization? Most

bloggers including me, at the moment are letting visitors walk by
undeterred. Visitors can exit out and ignore our CTAs:

Dont let that happen. Be the annoying vendor. Force visitors to choose
an option: accept or reject (with an explicit consequence for rejecting).

Joanna Wiebe implemented the following change and increased her

conversion rate by 400-500%.

If visitors need to give you an answer yes or no many will

experience the same change of heart. Theyll be more likely to accept
your offer because it feels more natural than rejecting it.

Why does that happen? If you force people to reject an option, they
focus on the beneiits that theyre giving up triggering loss aversion

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(Levin et al., 2002). They accept the offer because they dont want to
lose those bene`its.

This effect is particular strong for hedonic choices (Dhar &

Wertenbrach, 1999). So you could also incorporate hedonic framing
into your copy.

Extra Resources:
Choices, Consequences and the Reason Every Pop-Up Box Needs 2
Buttons: Opt In, and Opt Out Joanna Wiebe
Make the Ask Chris Brogan
Ask for the Order and Close the Sale Todd Cohen

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 PART 2:
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Once visitors click your button whether theyre
subscribing to your blog, creating an account, or starting a
free trial its inevitable. Some wont complete that process.

These tactics will help prevent visitors from exiting your

funnel prematurely.

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 TACTIC 11:
USE A TWO-STEP OPT-IN

Principle:
Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957)
Commitment and Consistency (Cialdini, 2006)

Example:

Explanation:

Want to get more conversions? Then you should make it harder for
people to convert.

Ill explain.

When you ask people to create an account, you generally have two
options:

One Step Opt-In: You present input iields directly on the page.
Two Step Opt-In: You display a link or button. When visitors click that
button, then your input iields are shown.

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It seems counterintuitive, but two-step opt-ins are more powerful. The
reason? They trigger cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957).

When visitors click the initial button in your two-step process, theyre
usually trying to accomplish a goal (e.g., create an account, receive
some content, etc.).

Oftentimes, visitors will click that initial step without realizing that
another step lies ahead. But, in clicking your button, they reinforce an
attitude that they are interested in achieving that goal. And that initial
attitude is the key.

Once visitors reach the second step, they experience a dilemma. They
clicked your button because they were interested in your CTA. If they
dont complete your CTA, then their behavior will be inconsistent with
their attitude. And that inconsistency activates the dorsal anterior
cingulate cortex and anterior insula (Veen, Krug, Schooler, & Carter,
2009).

Those visitors feel a painful emotion i.e., cognitive dissonance and

they become motivated to resolve it. How do they resolve it? They act in
a manner consistent with their initial attitude. They complete the opt
in.

Extra Resources:
The Two-Step Opt-In Process Clay Collins
Should You Use a Two-Step Opt-In? Charlie Page
Grow Your Email Marketing List With Two Step Opt In Forms
Daniel McClure

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 TACTIC 12:
LET VISITORS CREATE TANGIBLE PROGRESS

Principle:
Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957)
Commitment and Consistency (Cialdini, 2006)
Goal Gradient Effect (Kirvetz, Urminsky, & Zheng, 2006)
Loss Aversion (Tversky & Kahneman, 1991)

Example:

Explanation:

Many entrepreneurs view account creation as a dichotomy:

o Step 1: Users create an account / free trial

o Step 2: Users test out the features

But that dichotomy is wrong. There is no dichotomy. Instead of

positioning account creation at the starting gate, move it slightly
further in your funnel.

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Ideally, visitors should create tangible progress with your product
before they iill in their personal details. If they make tangible progress,
theyll experience a stronger desire to complete the sign up process
when they encounter it.

Suppose that you created an app that organizes top content around the
web into a personal dashboard. With the original dichotomy, your
funnel might look like this:

Instead of starting with account creation a large and invasive step

start by asking users to choose the topics that interest them.

Often referred to as gradual engagement, that setup gives you three key
beneiits:

Smaller Step: Choosing topics is less invasive than iilling out personal
details. People will be more likely to do it.
Triggers Momentum: Their progress will reinforce an interest in
your app. If they dont create an account, theyll feel cognitive
dissonance.

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 Triggers Loss Aversion. If users dont create an account, theyll lose
the progress theyve made which feels painful (Tversky &
Kahneman, 1991).

Extra Resources:
Good UI #22: Try Gradual Engagement Instead of a Hasty Signup
Jakub Linowski
A Lesson in Gradual Engagement Nathan Barry
Great User Experience With Gradual Engagement Sign Ups Lee
Munroe

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 TACTIC 13:
DONT REQUIRE CREDIT CARDS FOR FREE
TRIALS

Principle:
Commitment and Consistency (Cialdini, 2006)

Example:

Explanation:

Should users enter their credit card to start your free trial? There are
two schools of thought:

If its required, you might discourage some people from signing up

If its not required, people might be less likely to upgrade

So which is best? Totango analyzed data for 100 SaaS companies. They
found that companies performed better when they didnt require a
credit card for their free trial.

When credit cards were required, more people upgraded which is

good. However, that requirement limited the number of people who

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started a free trial. When credit cards werent required, the increase in
new sign ups produced a greater overall improvement in the iinal
conversion rate.

The takeaway? Always make the initial steps in your funnel as easy as
possible. If you can trigger momentum any amount of momentum
people will be more likely to follow that path (Cialdini, 2006).

Extra Resources:
2012 SaaS Conversion Benchmark Totango
SaaS Free Trial: Require a Credit Card to Begin? Lincoln Murphy
Credit Card Trials vs. No Credit Card Trials: Which Way to Go? John
Solomon

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 TACTIC 14:
EMPHASIZE THEIR PROGRESS WITHIN YOUR
FUNNEL

Principle:
Goal Gradient Effect (Kirvetz, Urminsky, & Zheng, 2006)

Example:

Explanation:

As humans, we succumb to the goal gradient effect. We feel a stronger

urge to reach a goal after weve made progress toward that goal.

One popular experiment took place in a coffee shop (Kirvetz, Urminsky,

& Zheng, 2006). For a loyalty program, returning customers needed to
acquire 10 stamps to earn a free coffee.

Turns out, customers were more likely to return if instead of a 10-

stamp card they received a 12-stamp card with 2 stamps already
acquired.

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Even though both cards required exactly 10 stamps, the illusion of
progress motivated customers to return.

So use that insight in your conversion funnel. At each step, emphasize

the progress that people make:

Account Creation: Your proiile is 23% completed

eCommerce: You completed 2 out of 5 steps in the checkout process.
Surveys: Youve answered 3 of 10 questions

Assuming that your funnel has a manageable number of steps, those

statements will guide customers toward the end of your funnel.

Extra Resources:
Progress Bar Vs. No Progress Bar: Which Version Boosted Conversions
28.29%? LeadPages
How to Boost Conversions By Increasing Motivation Blair Keen
Loyalty Programs: Of Rats and Men Roger Dooley

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 PART 3:
ADD TO CART
Do you run an eCommerce store? Then youll need visitors to
add your product(s) to their shopping cart.

Or perhaps you offer subscription plans or pricing tiers. In

that case, youll want to iniluence people to choose a plan
with a high ROI.

These tactics can help with both goals. And if you want more
conversion tactics related to the pricing of your product, you
can refer to my pricing article.

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 TACTIC 15:
ADD VISUAL CONTRAST TO YOUR TARGET
PLAN

Principle:
Visual Fixations and Choice (Krajbich, Armel, & Rangel, 2010)

Example:

Explanation:

Tactic 1 explained the beneiits of contrasting CTA buttons. Not only do

they capture attention, but they also increase processing 1luency. People
can digest your CTA more easily, enhancing their attitude toward it.

Those beneiits apply here too. Consider adding visual contrast to your
target subscription or product.

In describing Tactic 1, I also hinted at a third beneiit of visual contrast.

Well, here it is: visual contrast increases visual 1ixations. When a
stimulus is visually salient, people spend more time looking at it.

Big deal, right? So what. Wellit is a big deal.

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Visual iixations by themselves can iniluence choice behavior.
Research shows that people are more likely to choose an option if they
spend more time viewing that option (Armel, Beaumel, & Rangel,
2008).

Similarly, when people choose among a set of options, theyre more

likely to choose the last option that they viewed (Krajbich, Armel, &
Rangel, 2010).

Thats why visual contrast helps visitors choose a particular product.

When you increase the saliency of your target product, visitors spend
more time looking at (and thus contemplating) that option. Theyll be
more likely to choose it when they make a decision.

Extra Resources:
36 Creative Landing Page Design Examples A Showcase and
Conversion Critique Oli Gardener
Landing Pages: The Science Behind Designing for Conversion
Wishpond
Design + Copy: The Sum Is Greater Than the Parts Kathryn Aragon

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 TACTIC 16:
POSITION YOUR TARGET PLAN IN THE CENTER

Principle:
Visual Fixations and Choice (Krajbich, Armel, & Rangel, 2010)
Center-Stage Effect (Atalay, Bodur, & Rasolofoarison, 2012)

Example:

Explana'on:

In the previous tactic, I explained the role of visual contrast, eye

iixations, and choice behavior. But you should also consider the location
of your target product.

Researchers have found a center-stage effect. Objects attract more

attention when theyre centrally located, iniluencing more people to
choose that option:

Findings from two eye-tracking studies suggest that

brands in the horizontal center receive more visual
attention. They are more likely to be chosen. (Atalay,
Bodur, & Rasolofoarison, 2012, pg. 2)

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You can guide attention toward your target plan and iniluence more
people to choose it by positioning it in the middle of your other
plans.

Extra Resources:
7 Design Strategies for a Successful Pricing Table UX Movement
Why More Customers Will Choose Your Middle Offer Jeremy Said
10 Examples of Great Pricing Pages Uplift

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 TACTIC 17:
IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET PLAN AS MOST
POPULAR

Principle:
Conformity (Asch, 1956)

Example:

Explanation:

So your target plan is now centrally located with a visual distinction.

Why not add a social cue as well?

As humans, we experience an innate desire to follow the crowd (Asch,

1956). By identifying the most popular option, you reveal the socially
accepted path. Your visitors will feel a natural tendency to choose that
product.

Extra Resources:
20 Best Designed Pricing Comparison Tables Nicholas Tart
Testing Ideas for Lead Generation and B2B Sites Optimizely

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 5 Psychological Hacks That Will Make Your Pricing Page Irresistible
Neil Patel

TACTIC 18:
CREATE A DEFAULT OPTION OR ADD-ON

Principle:
Default Effect (Johnson & Goldstein, 2003)

Example:

Explanation:

Johnson and Goldstein (2003) found a startling insight with default

options.

According to their data, countries could double their organ donors by

using an opt out (rather than opt in) method. When donating is the
default option, twice as many people stick with it.

Why are defaults so powerful? Three main reasons

Reduces Cognitive Load: Decisions become easier. Why spend time

choosing an option? One has already been chosen.
Triggers Conformity: Defaults are viewed as the most popular
option (see the previous tactic)

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 Triggers Loss Aversion: We imagine ourselves with the default
option, and we then feel entitled to those beneiits. If we lose them, we
feel pain.

You can use default options in various ways. For one, you could make
your target plan the default (see the visual example above).

But that setup is pretty awkward. Very few people structure their
pricing pages that way.

Perhaps more effectively, you could use default options to upsell

customers during checkout.

When visitors see that default, they imagine themselves with

protection insurance. So if they opt out, then theyre losing those
beneiits. Thats painful.

You could also use defaults when people sign up for a free trial.

That decision can be a toss up for some customers. But if you add a
default, you reduce the need to think about it. Instead of exerting
mental resources to contemplate that decision, some customers will
simply keep the default.

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Extra Resources:
Testing Theory: The Importance of Default Selections Jeff Zych
A Marketers Guide to Behavioral Economics McKinsey & Company
Paradox of Choice: Do Too Many Options Kill Conversion Rate? Skift

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 TACTIC 19:
ASK CUSTOMERS TO SUBTRACT FEATURES

Principle:
Default Effect (Johnson & Goldstein, 2003)
Anchoring (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974)

Example:

(see original article for animation)

Explanation:

This tactic wont work for every business. But its a great way to
maximize revenue if your product is customizable.

Park, Yun, and MacInnis (2000) asked participants to purchase a

hypothetical car:

Some participants started with a fully loaded model, and they

removed features that they didnt want.
Some participants started with a base model, and they added features
that they wanted.

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Like the previous tactic, the defaults were powerful. When participants
started with all features, they experienced loss aversion. They didnt
want to lose those features, so they were more likely to keep them.
Those participants eventually paid a higher price for the car.

If your product is customizable, consider adding all of the features by

default (and asking customers to remove the features that they dont
want).

Not only will you trigger loss aversion, but youll also take advantage of
anchoring (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). If people start with a full-
featured product, their iinal product will remain closer to that starting
point.

Extra Resources:
Default Effect (Psychology) Wikipedia
Holy Grail of eCommerce Conversion Optimization Pancham Prasar

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 TACTIC 20:
PRIME A WHICH-TO-CHOOSE MINDSET

Principle:
Priming (e.g., Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996)
Comparative Mindsets (Xu & Wyer, 2008)

Example:

Explanation:

Quick question. Which animal do you prefer?

Got your answer? Great.

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Xu and Wyer (2008) asked participants that same question. Turns out,
it made people more likely to buy a computer.

Weird, right? Why did that happen? Well, it involves the three main
stages of a purchase decision:

Stage 1: Whether to buy

Stage 2: Which to buy
Stage 3: How to buy

Whenever people make a comparison regardless of the topic they

acquire a which-to-choose mindset. If those people then view a set of
products, theyre more likely to skip the iirst stage of the buying
process. They wont decide whether to buy. Theyll decide which to buy.

So how can you apply that insight? Before presenting your products,
ask visitors to make a choice or comparison.

Suppose that you sell clothing. Most online stores bring visitors directly
to the product catalog:

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Consider restructuring that interface. Before displaying your products,
ask visitors to choose the products that they want to see. You could

keep it simple by asking them to choose their gender:

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Or you could keep offering them additional choices, such as the clothing
category:

or their size:

But eventually after visitors make their selections you can

present your adjusted catalog. If visitors want to readjust the iiltering
options, they can use a menu on the left.

That approach is pretty different. But it might increase conversions for

a few reasons:

Reduces Choice Overload: Instead of overwhelming visitors with

your entire catalog, youll only display the products that are relevant.
Reduces Loss Aversion: With more options, people are often less
likely to make a decision (Schwartz, 2004). That occurs because of loss
aversion. When we choose an option, we lose the beneiits in other
options so we postpone our decision. The previous solution
reduces that perceived loss because it hides the other products (i.e.,
beneiits) in the catalog.

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 Triggers Momentum: When visitors make those initial choices, they
develop an attitude that theyre interested in your products. If they
dont complete a purchase, theyll feel cognitive dissonance.

Those were just a few beneiits. But dont forget about the main beneiit:
you also prime a which-to-choose mindset. Instead of deciding whether
to buy your clothes, theyll be more likely to decide which clothes to
buy.

Extra Resources:
The Oxford Handbook of Social Cognition
Content and Process Priming: A Review Janiszewski & Wyer, 2014
The Effects of Past Behavior on Future Goal-Directed Activity Wyer,
Xu, & Shen, 2012

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 TACTIC 21:
DEPICT PRODUCTS TO ENCOURAGE MENTAL
INTERACTION

Principle:
Mental Interaction (Elder & Krishna, 2012)

Example:

Explanation:

In this advertising tactic, I explain a trick to enhance your product

images. And that tactic works for ecommerce as well.

In short, Elder and Krishna (2012) found that mental interaction

sparks more purchases. In other words, when participants envision
themselves interacting with a product, they become more likely to
purchase it.

So how can you spark more mental interaction? The researchers

proposed various techniques through product imagery. And they found
support for the following examples.

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 Orient asymmetrical products toward the right (i.e., toward the
dominant hand of most people)

Place instruments or utensils on the right

Orient product openings toward the viewer

Remove products from their packaging

All of those images increase mental simulation. People imagine

themselves interacting with the product, and so they become more
likely to purchase it.

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You can refer to my advertising application for a deeper insight.

Extra Resources:
Handbook of Imagination and Mental Simulation
Fluency of Consumption Imagery and the Backiire Effects of Imagery
Appeals Petrova & Cialdini, 2005
Does Visual Perception of Object Afford Action? Evidence From a
Neuroimaging Study Grezes & Decety, 2001

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 TACTIC 22:
SPECIFY A LIMITED TIME OR QUANTITY

Principle:
Scarcity (Cialdini, 2006)
Loss Aversion (Tversky & Kahneman, 1991)

Example:

Explanation:

Scarcity is one of Robert Cialdinis six principles of iniluence (Cialdini,

2006).

This tactic is pretty common, so I wont regurgitate that information.

You can refer to his book, Iniluence, for a deeper understanding.

Extra Resources:
Methods of Persuasion Me
How Creating a Sense of Urgency Helped Me Increase Sales By 332%
Marcus Taylor
How to Use Urgency and Scarcity Principles to Increase eCommerce
Sales Visual Website Optimizer

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59 of 80
 TACTIC 23:
EMPHASIZE MORE ATTRIBUTES FOR HEDONIC
PRODUCTS

Principle:
Heuristics (e.g., Tvserky & Kahneman, 1974)

Example:

Explanation:

Whats the ideal length of your product descriptions? Its a tough

question. And it depends on your product and niche.

However, researchers have found a useful insight. With hedonic or

frivolous products, you should incorporate more rather than fewer
attributes.

Sela and Berger (2012) found support for that claim. And they credit
their iinding to an increase in perceived usefulness:

Because attributes often serve as a heuristic cue for

product usefulness, they benefit options that people
perceive as relatively inferior on this dimension[our]

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 five studies demonstrate that attribute numerosity
benefits hedonic more than utilitarian options by
increasing the extent to which the former appear
useful. (pp. 1)

Extra Resources:
Copywriting Tips: 21 Tactics From Psychology and Linguistics Me
How to Optimize Your Product Pages for Conversions LemonStand
11 Simple Conversion Strategies Many Product Pages Fail To
Incorporate Stoney deGeyter

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 PART 4:
COMPLETE THE
PURCHASE
Soa visitor clicked your Add to Cart button? Congrats! But
dont celebrate yet.

Baymard Institute looked at 31 different studies on shopping

cart abandonment. They found that, on average, 68.5% of
people abandon their cart. Thats huge. The tactics in this
section will help you reduce that abandonment.

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 TACTIC 24:
PROVIDE REASSURANCE THROUGH TRUST
SYMBOLS

Principle:
Pain of Paying (Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998)
Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957)

Example:

Explanation:

Whenever we pay money for a product, we feel a sense of pain known

as the pain of paying (see my pricing article for more detail).

Why do we feel that pain? It partly stems from cognitive dissonance.

Whenever we pay money, we feel two opposing attitudes:

On one hand, we want the product.

On the other hand, we dont want to pay money.

Those contradicting attitudes cause pain (Festinger, 1957). And we

usually resolve that pain by justifying one of those attitudes:

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 Option 1: We justify purchasing (e.g., we remind ourselves of the
beneiits that were receiving)
Option 2: We justify not purchasing (e.g., we remind ourselves of the
money that were saving)

Either way, we consolidate those contradicting attitudes.

That process usually occurs during checkout because thats when we

feel the strongest amount of pain. And thats why trust symbols are so
important. They help resolve cognitive dissonance.

By providing reassurance and justiiication during the checkout, you

guide visitors toward Option 1:

The underlying psychology is important. Some marketers place trust

symbols earlier in the funnel, such as the account creation. But thats
usually a mistake.

You dont need trust symbols early in the funnel because we dont feel
pain in that section. We feel it during the checkout when were about
to hand over our money. So thats where you should place trust
symbols.

Extra Resources:
9 Trust Symbols You Can Use to Increase Conversions and Customer
Coniidence Elisa Gabbert

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 16 Quick Ideas to Increase Your Ecommerce Conversion Rate Craig
Kistler
How To Use Trust Symbols to Increase Conversions on a Brand New
Website Kevin Kaiser

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 TACTIC 25:
DEEMPHASIZE YOUR COUPON FIELD

Principle:
Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)
Price Fairness (Xia, Monroe, & Cox, 2004)

Example:

Explanation:

People are rarely happy with absolute outcomes. In most domains,

people compare their outcome to the outcome of other people
(Festinger, 1954).

And that effect occurs with prices. How do we determine the fairness of
a price? We usually consider the amount that other customers have
paid:

all price evaluations, including fairness

assessments, are comparative. Both equity theory and
the theory of distributive justice suggest that
perceptions of fairness are induced when a person
compares an outcome (e.g., input and output ratio)

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 with a comparative others outcome. (Xia, Monroe, &
Cox, 2004, pp. 1)

If customers need to pay a higher price than other customers even if

the absolute price is fair theyll be less likely to buy. They want to
pay a price thats equal, if not lower, than the price that other people
are paying.

And that sparks a dilemma with your coupon or discount iield.

If customers encounter a discount iield and if they dont have one

then theyll know that other people are paying a lower price. And thats
painful.

So what do you do? Well, you dont need to remove that iield entirely.
Just reduce the saliency of it. Instead of displaying a form iield, provide
a text link: Have a discount code?

By deemphasizing your coupon iield, youll reduce the saliency of

potential price differences. Customers will be less likely to enter the
social comparison process, and theyll be more likely to complete the
checkout.

Extra Resources:
The Sad Tale of Abandoned Shopping Carts eMarketer
Stopping Shopping Cart Abandonment UX Booth
How to Design an eCommerce Checkout Flow That Converts Peep
Laja

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 TACTIC 26:
REMOVE LINKS AND NAVIGATION FROM
CHECKOUT

Principle:
Intention and Self-Regulation (Shapiro & Schwartz, 2000)

Example:

Explanation:

Are you familiar with landing page optimization? Then youve probably
encountered a common problem.

If your landing page contains the site navigation (or various links
within the page), oftentimes youll reduce conversions.

When visitors click on a link whether its the site navigation or an

external link they leave your page. Theyll start venturing down a
new rabbit hole, with new stimuli and new distractions. Maybe theyll
return. Most likely, they wont.

Use that insight to enhance your checkout.

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Every link represents another opportunity to lose the purchase. To
solidify your funnel, remove your site navigation and all
unnecessary links.

When you remove stimuli that divert attention away from the purchase,
you increase intention a key component of self-regulatory behavior
(Shapiro & Schwartz, 2000). Visitors narrow their focus toward
completing their purchase, and they become more likely to accomplish
that goal.

Extra Resources:
Why You Should Enclose the Checkout Process Econsultancy
Should You Remove Navigation From Your Landing Pages? Diana
Urban
What is An Enclosed Checkout And How Does It Help You Sell More?
We Make Websites

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 TACTIC 27:
RETARGET PEOPLE WHO ABANDONED THE
CHECKOUT

Principle:
Prospective Memory (Marsh, Hicks, & Cook, 2005)

Example:

Explanation:

If you follow the previous tactics, youll reduce the number of people
who leave your checkout funnel. But its still inevitable. People will
leave.

And for many reasons too. Maybe they changed their mind about
purchasing. Or maybe they plan to come back. They just need to

Think it over
Check with their spouse
Check your competitors

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All legitimate reasons. And oftentimes people leave with genuine
intentions to return.

Unfortunately, though, our memory is crappy. If people leave your

checkout, theyll often need a stimulus to trigger their memory to
purchase (Marsh, Hicks, & Cook, 2005). If your product is unique or
non-essential, they probably wont encounter a relevant cue. That
means youll slip into the deep abyss of their memory, never to return.
Not a fun place.

But thats where retargeting can help. With resources like Google
AdWords or Facebook Ads, you can show ads to people who abandoned
your checkout

Or, better yet, you can email the people who abandoned your checkout.
According to a study by SaleCycle, 44% of cart abandonment emails are
opened (and each email generates an average of $8.21 in revenue).

Either way, by retargeting those people perhaps with an enticing

discount you trigger their memory to complete their purchase.

Extra Resources:
Retargeting Shopping Cart Abandoners: How to Make Abandonment
Part of the Purchase Funnel ReTargeter
Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment With Retargeting AdRoll
How Peak Design Recovers 12% of Abandoned Carts With Email
Remarketing Mike Arsenault

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 PART 5:
SHARE ON SOCIAL
MEDIA
Most people dont consider conversion optimization for social
sharing. But thats a mistake. With the rise in growth hacking
over the past few years, social sharing has become even more
important. So the tactics in this section can help you boost
those conversions.

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 TACTIC 28:
PROVIDE AN INCENTIVE TO SHARE

Principle:
Extrinsic Motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000)

Example:

Explanation:

Within a few short years, Dropbox became a billion dollar company.

What was their secret? Among a few key factors, they incentivized
social sharing. By offering free storage for each new referral, they
increased signups by 60 percent.

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Though you could explore research on incentives and extrinsic
motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000), this tactic is mainly grounded in
common sense. To boost social sharing, offer an incentive.

Depending on your business, here are some examples:

Ecommerce: Share a recent purchase to receive a discount or coupon

Blog: Share an article to receive a relevant bonus (e.g., PDF checklist)
SaaS: Refer a friend to receive more credits

And here are some platforms to help you integrate those types of
incentives on your website:

Ambassador
Refersion
SocialTwist
Friendbuy
Talkable
Referral Candy

Extra Resources:
5 Ways to Encourage Customers to Share Your Content Sanjay
Dholakia
How to Use Incentives to Get More Fans and Followers Wishpond
Unleash the Customer: High ROI Marketing with Incentive-based
Social Sharing Mani Iyer

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 TACTIC 29:
POST SCREENSHOTS OF PREVIOUSLY SHARED
MESSAGES

Principle:
Conformity (Asch, 1956)

Example:

Explanation:

Most marketers use testimonials for their products. When you

demonstrate that other customers were happy with their purchase, you
reduce the risk for other customers.

But have you considered using testimonials for social sharing? It

sounds weird, but hear me out.

Whenever you share a message on social media, you encounter social

risk. How will people perceive your message? Will they like it? Will they
hate it? How will they perceive you? Will they judge you negatively?

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Because sharing has a social risk, visitors feel more comfortable if
other people have shared that message. So take advantage of that.
Post screenshots of other people who shared your message. That way,
you remove the social risk sharing is the social norm. So people will
be more likely to do it (Asch, 1956).

This tactic might be awkward for blog articles. But it works great for
coniirmation and thank you pages.

Extra Resources:
Norm (social) Wikipedia
The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social
Norms Schultz, Nolan, Ciladini, Goldstein, & Griskevicius, 2007
A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate
Environmental Conservation in Hotels Goldstein, Cialdini, &
Griskevicius, 2008

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 TACTIC 30:
ADD SOCIAL CURRENCY TO YOUR MESSAGE

Principle:
Impression Management (Larry & Kowalski, 1990)
Social Currency (Berger, 2013)

Example:

Explanation:

In Contagious, Jonah Berger describes social currency. We tend to

share content that makes us look good.

We share data-driven content so that we look smart

We share funny content so that we dont seem boring
We share heartwarming stories so that we look caring

Suppose that you started a SaaS company. To grow your business, you
plan to incentivize new users to share a message so that you can
capture referrals.

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If you were executing that strategy, what message would you ask
people to share?

Most people wouldnt give it much thought. They would probably use a
standard beneiit-driven message:

Theres nothing wrong that message. Its simple. Its straightforward.

And it would probably entice the target market to click.

So whats the problem? That message is promotional its essentially

an ad for your business. And people dont want to share
advertisements. They want to share content that makes them look
good.

Instead, lets revise that message to incorporate social currency. By

creating a message that makes people look good, your users will
naturally want to share it. You wont need to convince or entice them.

Heres an example:

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That type of message might perform better. The wording, ofiicially

accepted, seems like an accomplishment as if users joined an
exclusive club. So it makes them look good.

Although you would need to coniirm the results through split testing,
that message would probably generate a higher percentage of social
sharing from new users.

The main takeaway: add social currency to your message so that people
will naturally want to share it.

Extra Resources:
9 Ways to Improve Social Media Shares of Your Content Meltwater
How You Can Leverage Social Currency by Finding Your Products
Inner Remarkability Richard Jeng
How to Make Your Content Go Viral Jonah Berger

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 CONCLUSION
If I could only recommend one takeaway, it would be this: always have
concrete hypotheses for your A/B tests.

Never conduct a test merely to see which variation performs better. If

you dont have a reason for conducting an A/B test, then the test
probably isnt valuable. You could implement a more effective test
one thats grounded in a solid hypothesis.

Where do you iind hypotheses? You could

Analyze your website data

Survey your customers

View industry best practices

If youre not sure where to start, then use this guide. The tactics in this
article are grounded in psychology, so you already have the concrete
hypotheses.

And I want to end with a suggestion that I emphasize in my other

articles: remain skeptical.

Sure, the previous tactics were grounded in psychology. But that

doesnt mean theyll always work. Sometimes they wont.

Never assume that your change will improve performance. Always

coniirm any big changes to your website through A/B testing.

But with that analytical approach and the previous conversion

tactics you should be able to scale your website growth more
efiiciently.

And if you want to learn more persuasion tactics, you could refer to my
book, Methods of Persuasion.

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