Images and conversion rates correlate in quite an interesting way. In fact, they actually correspond to each other in multiple different ways — some positive and some negative. What matters most though is first recognizing that the images you use can have significant impact on your website’s conversion rate, and only then working to maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative.
Image Colors
Every experienced marketer knows that colors play a notable role in conversion rates. It doesn’t matter if it’s online marketing or even if it’s postal direct response mail marketing materials. Image colors count, and their effects on customers are very real. Take colors seriously when it comes to using images.
Image Quantity
If a certain image has tested well to improve a web page’s conversion rate, then adding more of a good thing will only bring more success, right? Actually, this is wrong; this is not necessarily the case at all. In fact, more often than not, overdoing a web page with too many images only serves to overwhelm the viewer. Have you guessed what happens next? You’ve got it right if you said that overwhelmed customers translates into plummeting conversion rates. Take image quantity very seriously to achieve the right balance — less is often more.
Images Guide The Visitor To Your Call To Action
Images can really impact your website conversion rate when you use them to help guide your visitor to the appropriate call to action. Just as almost all websites utilize some type of graphical navigation, effectively using graphical components within your written copy to "navigate" visitors to the right place makes perfect sense. And don’t forget that images themselves can serve as "buttons" (and many visitors will actually expect to be able to click through via your images).
Adding Images For Visual Appeal
Now would it surprise you to know that sometimes images are added exactly for this purpose alone… visual appeal, that is? It’s true. They are and it works fantastically. A visitor looking at a web page needs to have an overall sense of liking the page. Eyes work in amazing ways, and no matter what the copy does or says, sometimes the only way to score that desirable level of appeal is to use the perfect image in the right place. Happy visitors that stick around longer equal higher conversion rates.
A Few Other Ways Images Can Impact Conversion Rates…
Of course, there’s always more to the story than meets the eye. The above examples are just a few good ones off top of mind. Other ways images can have a positive effect (or negative effect if done badly) is through their captions, size, mood or emotion they convey, subject matter, and so forth and so on. The most important thing to realize is that images do play an important part in conversion rates — and like anything to do with conversion — tracking and testing is the name of the game.
Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.
