The Psychology of Persuasion and Conversion Rate Optimisation
In this series of blogs on conversion rate optimisation, I have already covered something known as 'source credibility' and how this has huge influence on CRO. In this blog I'd like to focus on another 'psychological' influencer of conversions; in this case, how signals on a website can help persuade a visitor to perform a conversion with you and not with one of your competitors. In total there are six psychological persuaders that can be worked into a website that will encourage conversions, and I'll try and cover each of these in some detail. I'm sure people will be cynical about linking the word 'psychology' and internet marketing, but with many industries facing fierce competition in the SERPs, I think appreciating more some of these pseudo-scientific factors could really help businesses improve their chances of achieving search marketing success.
Six Key Principles of Persuasion:
Reciprocation: Reciprocation is probably one of the most common persuasion tools used by internet marketers to get visitors to click their links or buy their products. There are two reasons for this; firstly, giving a gift establishes loyalty and trust between the gift giver and the recipient, secondly, as
humans we often feel the desire to repay a gift, or what we interpret as a gift. Reciprocity is really considered to be a social norm, and as such, this has been exploited by search marketers to gain a healthier conversion rate. For example, a website owner might give visitors a free white paper, or a free downloadable tool
that would normally cost them something. This can also be part of a trade – so you might offer someone a free sample of something on your website in exchange for an email address or a subscription to a newsletter. This will induce a feeling of loyalty and trust in the user, making them more likely to complete a
conversion instantly, or in the future. 
Consistency and
commitment: Another aspect of human nature that can be used to influence our online behaviour is a need for consistency, specifically if we make a commitment or a decision, it's important that future actions are consistent with that initial decision. An offline sales technique is often to ask buyers a basic yet
biased question, if they would like to save money/time/resources, for example. Obviously the answer would be yes, then a follow-up question is asked about a problem specific to them and how the service being sold can help. Because of the affirmative answer to the first question, the buyer will be more likely to give a
positive response to the second, more significant question. A similar situation can be invoked online by using intelligently written text on the website to generate lots of 'little yesses' from the visitor. When the 'big yes' comes (if they want to complete a conversion or not), they are much more likely to
give a positive response. Social proof: As human, our decisions are often influenced by the actions of others – this is known as 'social evidence' and it is often used as a tactic by internet marketers to promote compliance in a prospective site visitor. Social proof is often manifested when
client lists or awards are published on a website because it says to the user 'other people trust this website, so should I'. A great example of social proof in action is on Amazon and the 'Customers who bought this item also bought…' because it suggests a buyer should make further purchases (or
conversions) based on the actions of others. Social proof breeds trust, familiarity and source credibility by displaying or advertising the fact that other people have interacted successfully with a website. It's a powerful marketing tool that is widely used by websites from a range of industries. Liking:
Would you rather make a purchase from a friend, or someone you know as opposed to a website or business you are unfamiliar with? The answer is obviously the former and this is something internet marketers attempt to replicate by adopting personas in the text they write for websites. This creates a friendly, welcoming, warm
and personal touch to a website that will be unfamiliar with first time visitors. If the text on the webpage is able to generate some kind of emotional reaction in the visitor, it is suggested that they will be much more likely to complete a conversion. Authority: Humans react to authority. There have been
stories of members of the public handing over money to people simply because they are wearing what looks like an official uniform. I'm not saying that internet marketers aim to transform websites into something they are not, but giving them the veneer of an authoritative industry resource undoubtedly builds trust with
site visitors making them more likely to complete a conversion. There are many ways to do this, and often the techniques draw on aspects from the previous psychological persuaders mentioned in this blog. Citing references from other industry experts or publicising the expertise and experience of staff can contribute to the
site visitor being instilled with the feeling that they are dealing with an authoritative source making them much likelier to convert. Scarcity: Scarcity is a label attached to the instinct humans have when we assign something a higher value because the opportunity appears to be less available. Car
dealerships and mobile phone sellers employ this tactic regularly. I can give a personal example from when a salesman in a phone shop tried to press me into signing a contract by saying that the offer they were running ended at midnight and they only had one phone left in store. I knew both of these things not to be true, but
it shows how scarcity is employed to encourage prospects to convert. Some website owners might use 'perceived scarcity' to increase the rate of conversions by limiting the number of products or services they can giveaway during a 'special offer' period, for example. The scarcity principle can also be invoked
by the on-page text, making hints at limited stock numbers and subtly implying that visitors should complete a conversion while they are on the site, or risk missing out on something. Conversion Rate Optimisation Hopefully after reading this blog you might have had some ideas you can use to increase the rate
of conversions on your website. Here at Click Consult we have team of dedicated CRO experts trained to improve how often visitors interact beneficially with your website. If you have any further questions then please feel free to comment and I'll make sure to get back to you.
