Killing Website Conversion Killers - REVIEW (Part 3)

This is the fourth in the series of 12 articles documenting key takeaways from my Conversion Rate Optimization training at CXL Institute. This one also marks the last instalment in the 3-part series title, “Killing Website Conversion Killers”.

In the second instalment of the “Killing Website Conversion Killers” series, I introduced the 7 Levels of Conversion Framework for analysing websites.

In that instalment, I pointed how the absence negatively affects conversion at both the Relevance and the Orientation levels of conversion. In this instalment, which will be the last of the series, I will take a look at a few more conversion killers. 

BAD WEBSITE DESIGN

There is a lot of misleading information out there that you do not need a great website for high conversion rates. Don’t fall for it. It is a great mistake. Research after research has shown that great designs convert better than amateur one and crappy ones.

Why?

Because great design engenders trust and credibility.

The tricky thing is that this “trust conversion” happens in a matter of milliseconds. According to a research by Google, “users will judge websites as beautiful or not within 1/50th to 1/20th of a second”.

So, if your design sucks, you are already swimming against the current right out of the gate.

This research also finds that “visually complex” websites are “consistently rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts”. This means that what makes a great website is not its visual complexity. It only needs to be designed to persuade visitors to take the desired action.

To be simple, websites should use prototypicality.

A prototypical website is one with layouts commonly associated with sites of their category e.g. an ecommerce website should be designed to look like an ecommerce website. Not only that, it should also have design elements where visitors expect to find them. 

The more a website deviates from prototypicality, the more it takes the brain to figure out where certain elements are and what actions to take. Thus, a visually complex website impedes cognitive fluency and forces the brain to “overthink”, which is something we instinctively resist.

Do you want to have a great website with a high level of fluency? Keep to the following principles:

• Clarity is non-negotiable, and it makes a good first impression within the first 5 seconds.
• Ensure the website has a strong visual hierarchy so that visitors can distinguish between the most and the least important parts.
• Asks for one action per screen
• Conserve attention at all costs

To buttress the point made so far, a recent study involving 2,684 participants shows that people's assessment of the credibility of a website comes from:

• 46.1% web design (e.g. colour, form)
• 28.5% information architecture (i.e. visual hierarchy)
• 25.1% information focus (i.e. clarity)
• 15.5% key visual
• 14.8% useful information

There is, therefore, no doubt whatsoever that great design builds instant credibility and as such, wins the visitor over at the Trust Conversion level.

Do you have a simple and prototypical website? Is it visually appealing?

LACK OF SOCIAL PROOF

Another website conversion killer is the absence of social proof. 

Social proof is any third party, unbiased proof outside of a claim a company would make. People love to do things because others have done so and have positive experience. It’s called the herd mentality.

Here are some examples of social proof: 

1. Testimonials/Reviews
2. Case Studies
3. Trust icons

The biggest use of social proof is to alleviate friction and get visitors past an objection or through a pain point. So, it converts at the Trust level.

If using reviews as social proof, be careful that it is not all glowing and 5-star reviews. That may actually be counterproductive because people generally expect that not every buyer will like your product. 

Therefore, using negative social proof (e.g. a 3-star review) adds a layer of authenticity and trust. 

However, it is not a good idea to use negative social proof on your landing page. That’s the first page your potential customer lands, and you don’t want to occlude their first impression with an objection. 

Lastly, be careful to avoid these common mistakes when using social proof are:

1. Not getting reviews from ideal customers
2. Not including links to referenced websites, social profiles of reviewers or their headshots etc.
3. Not using reviews to support a specific claim

Social proof should be a critical component of your arsenal for improving conversions. Not having it increases distrust and creates friction, both of which hurts conversions. 

Every business should have a system in place for collecting them. Do you have one?

LACK OF SECURITY AND TRUST SYMBOLS

To convert at this level, it is important for business to anticipate the inner dialogue of website visitors. 

In the previous article, we mentioned the 3 phases of the buying cycle in the Solution Model:

Phase 1: Determine needs

Phase 2: Evaluate alternatives

Phase 3: Evaluate risks

There is always the risk that customers will exit a website at some point in time. 

Minimizing this risk requires that businesses constantly anticipate the inner dialogues of website visitors to predict possible objections, and then, devise ways to address them. 

This is the reason many successful online businesses have implemented a Live Chat function which has been demonstrated to have a huge impact on conversions.

Below is a list of some of the website elements that can improve conversions at the security level. While some can be dispensed with, lack of some will have a huge negative impact on conversions.

1. Tool Tips

If you have a form where date of birth or address are some of the required fields, a significant segment of visitors may want to know why that information is necessary. A tool tip giving them the reason will be extremely reassuring and minimize the number of those exiting the page.

2. Refund Policy

Customers ordering for items like shoes, clothes that may not fit will legitimately have concerns whether or not they are allowed to return them, and at what cost to them. A clear return policy is not negotiable for such websites.

3. Money back guarantee

Risk-aversion is a critical part of human behaviour. In our minds, losses loom larger than gains. So, the pain of losing $500 in a transaction looms larger and more than twice the pleasure we derive from acquiring the item in question. 

A money back guarantee is a sure way to handle objections that stem from this zero risk bias. Prospective customers want some reassurance that they can have their money back in the event that the item purchased falls short of expectations. Not having such a guarantee is a guaranteed conversion killer.

4. Live Chat

Between 40-50% of website visitors expect to see live chat on a website. Live chat is beneficial on many levels.

The real-time Convenience it offers potential customers and the deeper relationship it builds all combine to make it a critical addition to your website.

A recent study shows that live chat can improve conversion rate by as much as 40%. For a website that hitherto earns $1 million per year, the improved conversion rate means an additional revenue of $400,000. Just for adding something as simple as a live chat.

A good conversion rate could be the difference between growth and bankruptcy. Every website should seek to micro-convert at all the 7 Levels of Conversion examined so far.

While there are best practises for different website categories, a well executed heuristic evaluation is instrumental to deconstructing the performance of a website at these each of these conversion levels. That way, every element hurting conversion can be easily identified and fixed.

After this evaluation, the next step is to build experiments, roll out the implementation of an optimization program, analyse results and learn from the tests. Optimization is a long distance race just as it costs money. But the payoff is huge if done correctly.

I will share more takeaways in my next article, most likely on Google Analytics and the critical role it plays in conversion rate optimization experiments.

Feel free to share the article if it is likely to help someone.

And if you’ve got questions on how to execute a comprehensive heuristic evaluation or consumer research for your website, feel free to get in touch.

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