the 7 principles of conversion centered design
TRANSCRIPT
Oli Gardner - Co-Founder, Unbounce
The 7 Principles of Conversion Centered Design
Dan McGaw - KISSmetrics - @danielmcgaw !Dan is the Director of Marketing at KISSmetrics, where he get’s the opportunity to help the best marketers in the world measure their marketing and business efforts. Prior to KISSmetrics, Dan was VP of growth at Code School, where he helped the company grow to over 500k users and $400k+ in monthly revenue.
Oli Garnder - Unbounce - @oligardner !As Creative Director (and inventor of the name Unbounce), Oli lives on a 30" whiteboard, pushing brand direction, wire framing conversion experiences, and developing marketing theories for conversion rate optimization. He’s the author of Unbounce's "big content" and has a perverse obsession with telling bad landing pages they suck.
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what is
Conversion Centered Design?
is better than
Red Button
Green Button
Conversion Centered Design is NOT…
is better than
CTA
CTA
Conversion Centered Design is NOT…
is better than
CTA
CTA
Conversion Centered Design is NOT…
7 PROVEN DESIGN PATTERNS YOU CAN USE TO INCREASE CONVERSIONS
CCD is
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
THE 7 PRINCIPLES
OF CCD
how is it different to
User Centered Design?
User Centered Design is…Designing flow, interaction, wayfinding and navigation to create usable systems and products.
Creating an experience where a visitor knows:
1. Where they are
2. Where they can go next
3. How to go back to a previous state
This is not ideal for maximum conversions.
CONVERSION is all about
ATTENTION
YOUR {AD} captures ATTENTION
YOUR {HEADLINE} holds ATTENTION
YOUR {DESIGN} focuses ATTENTION
What grabs your attention here?
How about now?
“Hey honey, can you text me a photo of the toothpaste we use?”
“If you want high conversions, stay away from peacocks and toothpaste!”!— Oli Gardner, Unbounce Co-Founder
CCD Principle #1ATTENTION RATIO…the ratio of interactive elements (links) on the page, to the number of campaign conversion goals (which is always one).
Homepage`
Landing page57:1 1:1
Homepage vs. Landing Page
ATTENTION RATIO Example A/B test hypothesis
By removing available options, people will be more inclined to click on the thing you want them to.
1:16:13.71% 5.28% +42.3%
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AS ATTENTION RATIO GOES DOWN,
CONVERSION RATES GO UP
Why use landing pages?
Landing pages are the heart of CCD.
1. Attention
2. Coupling
3. Context
4. Congruence5. Clarity
6. Credibility
7. Continuance
One page, one purpose. Period.
Paid marketing Adwords
What should you use landing pages for?
Paid marketing Social ads
What should you use landing pages for?
Paid marketing Retargeting
What should you use landing pages for?
Paid marketing Display ads
What should you use landing pages for?
Content marketing Ebooks
What should you use landing pages for?
Content marketing Webinars
What should you use landing pages for?
Content marketing Blog subscription
What should you use landing pages for?
Content marketing Guest posts
What should you use landing pages for?
Events Google Hangouts
What should you use landing pages for?
Events Meetups
What should you use landing pages for?
Events Conferences
What should you use landing pages for?
Launches Company
What should you use landing pages for?
Launches Product
What should you use landing pages for?
Launches App
What should you use landing pages for?
Services Consultant
What should you use landing pages for?
Services Portfolio
What should you use landing pages for?
Services Quote request
What should you use landing pages for?
Services Appointments
What should you use landing pages for?
Ecommerce Product pages
What should you use landing pages for?
Ecommerce Long sales letters
What should you use landing pages for?
Ecommerce Pay walls
What should you use landing pages for?
Email marketing To all of the above
What should you use landing pages for?
QR code destinations
What should you use landing pages for?
Contests
What should you use landing pages for?
Surveys
What should you use landing pages for?
“Every marketing campaign needs a dedicated landing page” !!— Oli Gardner, Unbounce Co-Founder
CCD Principle #2CONVERSION COUPLING…the bond that exists between the pre-click experience and the corresponding post-click landing experience.
The Topher Grace effect - synergy
Conversion Couplingis comprised of one or more of:
1. Message Match 2. Design Match
Matching the copy of your ad to the headline of your landing page.
Easy right?
Of course it is. Unless you’re lazy or brain dead.
Message Match
Project Management Software Without Deadlines getitdone.com/whenever Remove the fear of deadlines from your projects, and start delivering as late as you want to. Deadlines are dead.
Consider an example PPC ad…
Footer
Call to Action
Your offer details and a bullet list of benefits. !1. Lorem 2. Ipsum 3. Otherum
Your offer details and a bullet list of benefits. !1. Lorem 2. Ipsum 3. Otherum
Your offer details and a bullet list of benefits. !1. Lorem 2. Ipsum 3. Otherum
Call to Action Call to Action
Call to Action
Get More Projects Done With Less Management
Doesn’t match. !Perhaps this is a homepage headline.
Your homepage is brand central station
Let’s try that again
Project Management Software Without Deadlines getitdone.com/whenever Remove the fear of deadlines from your projects, and start delivering as late as you want to. Deadlines are dead.
Social proof
Call to Action
Project Management Software Without Deadlines
Your offer details and a bullet list of benefits. !1. Lorem 2. Ipsum 3. Otherum
Form header
An exact match with the headline on the ad. !Bravo.
Quality Score goes up!
Matching the design of your display ad to ‘aspects’ of the design on your landing page.
This is even easier.
Design Match
A Facebook Ad
*may cause temporary blindness
The destination landing page*
Let’s try that again
A Facebook Ad
The destination landing page
That’s great design match
Conversion Coupling TakeawaysBy matching your landing page headlines and images with your ads, you’ll get: !
1. A lower cost-per-click 2. A higher ad position 3. A better ROI 4. Higher conversion rates!
CCD Principle #3CONTEXTUAL DESIGN…an experience that demonstrates awareness of a visitor’s environment and showcases the offering as it applies to it’s use in said environment.
Contextual Design In ActionWhat’s the experience on this page?
Contextual Design ResearchQuestion: What do you think of our
templates?
A: How much are they?
C: Can I use them in Wordpress?
B: Where can I download them?
D: NONE OF THE ABOVE
What’s wrong? The context is missing
The solution: Context of use
Show me how I would use this
The solution: Context of use
Pick from over 80 templates In the Unbounce template library
Edit and publish your landing page Inside the Unbounce page builder
The result?
+45% Lift in New Trial Starts
EPIC TEST WIN!!!
120 extra per month = 1,440 / year Average lifetime value of a customer = $706
Total impact on lifetime revenue, over the course of a year: $1,016,640
“High-converting landing pages create a conversation based on context” !!— Oli Gardner, Unbounce Co-Founder
…matching the style and context of the conversation* established prior to a click upon arrival on the landing page.
Conversation Context
*Which most often comes into play when linking to a landing page from a
blog post, online course or email.
An example click source The Smart Marketers Landing Page Conversion Course
*I get it wrong too
1
1 Super generic headline
The landing page*
Disrespecting the clickLosing interest as soon as you get the click. Abandoning your visitors.
LAME.
Let’s try that again
The click source The Smart Marketers Landing Page Conversion Course
Co-branding1
1
2
Contextual welcome
2
Author reinforcement
3
3
Conversion Lift +77%
*Full of contextual references
The landing page*
Great conversation momentum
Contextual Design Takeaways If you start a conversation with your visitors, make sure you finish it.
Use imagery and video to demonstrate how your offering will actually be used, in a context that is relatable by your prospects.
Let’s talk CCD analytics for a second…
Are we getting the right conversions?
Lots of A/B tests flat line. What then?
sometimes TOP-OF-FUNNEL CONVERSION DATA ISN’T ENOUGH
Homepage long vs. short A/B testThe results of the A/B test were inconclusive, so we were faced with making a choice between the two.
Looking at KISSmetrics funnel report, we were able to determine that customers from the long version achieved “activated” status 24% more often than those form the short version.
Measure the whole funnelnot just the top
Measure their retentionnot just first conversion
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CCD Principle #4CONGRUENT DESIGN…aligning every element on your page so it works in concert to produce a single cohesive message.
Content Alignment Does your page tell a story?
Do this… Write down all of the copy for your page in
a single column. Read it out loud as you walk around the
room. As soon as something sounds wrong,
rewrite or remove. The goal is to remove any incongruent
messaging.
Incongruence Conversion killing copy Avoid mentioning negative suggestive words
Spam
Incongruence Conversion killing copy Avoid mentioning negative suggestive words
Gimmicks
CCD Principle #5CLARITY…creating delightful and easily digestible experiences that encourage conversion, and keep your brand top of mind for future opportunities.
White Space Designing for delight
Content Hierarchy Message before brand
Project Management Software Without Deadlines getitdone.com/whenever Remove the fear of deadlines from your projects, and start delivering as late as you want to. Deadlines are dead.
Project Management Software Without Deadlines
Project Management Software Without Deadlines
No Yes
Too much me Not enough you
Back to the analytics… Are my tests actually winning?
Can you always trust your test results?
“Improving” the clarity of a CTA Homepage call-to-action test >> CTA describes the desire-driven end goal
“Improving” the clarity of a CTA Homepage call-to-action test >> CTA describes what will happen on the next screen
New CTA increased click-throughs to the pricing page by +80%.
Looking further down the funnel with KISSmetrics, we uncovered surprising results.
Our ideal customer acquisition KPI ($99 plan) decreased by -22%.
Hooray! Not so fast.
CCD Principle #6CREDIBILITY …leveraging trust signals, transparency and verifiable social commentary to increase conversions.
Demonstrating credibility• Testimonials (case studies, quotes, tweets) • Reviews (customers, professionals) • Ratings (stars, scores) • Accreditations (industry associations) • Security badges (SSL) • Social interactions (likes, shares, followers)
Testimonials: Text vs. Video
vs.
Video: +25% increase in new trial starts
A/B test case study
“Will visitors respond better to a short description of benefits vs. social proof where third party’s are describing those same benefits?”
CLARITY VS. CREDIBILITYA/B test case study
Clarity vs. Credibility
IT ALL COMES BACK TO CONTEXT !The source of traffic was an email list with people familiar with the Unbounce brand. Therefore, one can assume they require less credibility and more clarity. It might be a different result for cold prospects.
Credibility reduced conversions by -6%
CLARITY VS. CREDIBILITYA/B test results
Pro Credibility Tip Ask people to trust you.
Research* has shown that by simply asking people to trust you, trust
indicators rise.
“You can trust us to do the job for you.”
Auto service firm customer ratings: Fair price +7% Caring +11%
Fair treatment +20% Quality + 30%
Competency + 33%
*Journal of advertising 35, no.4 (Winter 2006):101-112
CCD Principle #7
CONVERSION CONTINUANCE …leveraging the opportunity to ask fresh leads for a second conversion.
Please sir, I want some more
Webinar registration page
The confirmation page
The result2,500 Webinar registrants 1,100 New blog subscribers (40%)
The lessonDon’t be afraid to ask for a little extra.
Conversion Centered Design Lessons What have we learned?
1. Every marketing campaign needs a dedicated landing page 2. As Attention Ratio goes down, conversion rates go up 3. Coupling your landing page headline and images to your ads
creates a better experience and results in higher conversions 4. Context is king, and maintaining conversation momentum
leads to big wins 5. Incongruent writing can kill your conversion rates 6. Focus on message before brand 7. Always ask for a second conversion on your confirmation
pages 8. Dig deeper into your KISSmetrics analytics to verify test
results and performance
Questions
Oli Gardner Co-Founder, Unbounce
@oligardner
Dan McGaw DM, KISSmetrics
@danielmcgaw
THANK YOU!