Online Conversion

"So what is Cognitive Load? In a nutshell, our working memory is the part of our memory that acts as a buffer for information. It processes information coming in from the world (something we see, hear, touch), and information we've pulled out of long-term memory (the stuff we already know)."

@101babich When we isolate the visitors to a website that use site search, we often find a significantly higher conversion rate and average order value. Searchers are great customers.

This does not imply cause and effect.

However, after running tests that improve the visibility of search, we have found that we can increase the number of searchers, and that these new searchers are more likely to buy.

It doesn't work every time, but it is certainly worth a try.

The lesson? Follow Nick's advice here.

We use data to drive creative decisions. But never think that data accomplishes anything without creative, human guidance. Applied correctly, data will allow you to be more expansive in your allocation of color, metaphor, absurdities, alliteration, rhyming, pace, timber and all of the other things great communicators apply to make communication truly effective.

"Minimalism is well suited to landing pages and portfolio sites like in example below, which have fairly simple goals, relatively low amounts of content."

We are always looking for alternative experience to test on mobile. It's clear now that we can't move desktop features to mobile and be successful. Here is a list of great alternatives to the strained hamburger menu.

While we don't recommend sending cold emails to prospect I found these tips somewhat fascinating especially:A picture is worth a thousand wordsRecipients who opened your first are more likely respond subsequent emailsAdd link website in the lineSome of might work for subscribers as well.

I love the phrase "Mystery Meat" for undecipherable icons used in mobile apps. Enjoy the read from Teo Yu Siang.

"This sort of caricature of a consumer segment was created as much for potential targeting as for populating ad agency pitches to clients."

@thegrok (Bryan Eisenberg) highlights the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics in everyday retail with the appropriate amounts of warning and optimism. Will retailers and their employees find themselves in the same boat as our manufacturing sectors? Surprised and confounded by change inevitable?

We can detect pages with low scroll rates using click-tracking software like CrazyEgg. When we see a page with poor scroll performance, we have two options: Move key content higher on the pageAdd cues to increase scrollingHere are some ideas for how to increase scrolling.

WORD OF WARNING

Use of animations and parallax should be used with extreme caution. Test into these treatments as they may detract from your content, and introduce technical problems on certain devices and browsers.

One way of integrating the writing and the design. These two processes cannot be done separtely. And this article recommends AB testing.

.@ConversionXL: The best UX designers are using low-cost behavioral tools to make better decisions about design on business websites. Here, we learn that the trend in "Ghost Buttons" is probably bad for sites that want conversions.

#120. Conversion Sciences

From writing up test hypotheses to running meaningful A/B tests, Brian Massey delivers a valuable resource for anyone looking to increase their conversion rates.

@jnmnrd puts it well: "By putting all of your time and effort into one concept that you're confident in, you save yourself time in which you can then apply towards user testing, gathering useful feedback and iterating."

I couldn't agree more.

"Clothes have powers... over your mind."

If you've seen me present, you notice that I wear a lab coat during my presentations. The reason is that it gives me an unfair advantage. Studies have shown that, when I wear a lab coat, I will make about half the errors in cognitive tests as if I was wearing my street clothes. This video sums it up nicely.

While this article discusses the bottom navigation bar for andriod apps, we often test "sticky" headers and footers on mobile websites. We call these kinds of tests "lead tophats" and "sticky shoes".

Our tests often don't favor the hamburger menu, so we are always looking for alternatives. This sticky shoe approach has the footer navigation change with context. Given the results, such an approach may increase mobile conversion and call rates for your mobile website.

When you place the logos of third parties on your site, you are "borrowing" the trust they have created for yourself. Such logos include client logos, website certified logos, associations you belong to, and even the credit card company logos found on checkout pages.

Here is an interesting study on which common trust symbols are perceived as most trustworthy.