As a behavioral expert in conversion rate optimization (CRO), I often find myself in conversations where clients ask, “Do you have a list of Best Practices?” or “Could you provide me with some clear cut psychological tactics to boost my conversion?” I understand this question; however, my answer always boils down to: “No, I don’t”. In this blog, I’ll explain my answer and why the quest for a magical list of tactics to boost conversions is an illusion.
The Allure of a “Magic” List
We all know it’s entirely natural to seek shortcuts or easy solutions when it comes to improving user experiences and conversion rates. Stakeholders want rapid results, the competition is fierce, or businesses lack in-house expertise. A list of psychological tactics then seems like a quick fix—a set of proven strategies that guarantee success. However, this desire for a magic list often overlooks the complexity of human behavior, the nuances of individual businesses, and the dynamic nature of the digital landscape.
Why I don’t share a list of psychological tactics:
Risk of Overlooking Data:
A list of best practices can undermine the importance of data-driven decision-making. Effective CRO involves analyzing user data, conducting user research, and other insights to inform strategies tailored to specific situations. We use our 6V model to understand user behavior and identify pain points in the user journey.
E.g.,: A subscription-based online news platform is eager to increase their subscriptions and decides to implement a popular best practice they read about in a blogpost called “Double your conversion rate!! 10 best practices everyone should implement on their paywall” : using a social proof sentence that says “Most popular subscription”. Initially, this tactic seems effective; the sign-up rate for that particular subscription increases by 20%.
However, when they look at their customer data (Voice), they notice that all of their customers call themselves “Member”, instead of “Subscription holder”. Based on this insight they implemented a new title above their subscriptions. Instead of “Choose your subscription”, they put the copy “Become a member”. This implementation boosts all subscriptions with 20%.
By purely following the best practice without considering their own data, the platform could have missed out on this improvement that not only boosts sales but also matches the Motivation of their customers better: being part of a community.
Context matters: Some companies tend to fixate on their competitors (Versus), especially when they are bigger or more respected companies, and take their websites as guiding principles. However, every business and website are unique. What works for one may not work for another. Factors such as target audience, industry, product/service, and branding all play a significant role in determining which tactics are most effective. A static list doesn’t account for these variables.
E.g.,: Scarcity (“Limited Stock!”) boosts urgency and sales for budget items, appealing to price-conscious customers. But for luxury brand customers with affluent clients, scarcity tactics can feel pushy and backfires as they conflict with the boutique’s image of exclusivity and personalized service.
Rather than offering a static list of clear cut tactics, I advocate for a holistic approach.
Take a holistic approach: At Online Dialogue, we use five overarching optimization strategies (BOOM!) based on fundamental psychological research. BOOM! encompasses a range of psychological principles and theories that allow you to gain a deeper understanding of user behavior by considering various cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors that influence decision-making. It goes beyond surface-level tactics to address the underlying psychological drivers of user actions.
Figure 1. OD’s five optimization strategies with which a problem could be solved based on fundamental psychological research and the results of 4000+ experiments
Take a user centric approach: This holistic approach encourages a user-centric approach, as it emphasizes understanding user psychology, motivations, and needs. It places users at the center of your optimization efforts, ensuring that the solutions you implement genuinely resonate with your audience.
Continuous Improvement: An overarching framework fosters a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging ongoing experimentation and learning. It helps store and organize tests, making it easier to track the effectiveness of strategies over time. In our Airtable database, we can see exactly for each website which BOOM!-strategies are used the most or yield the best results, overall, on a specific page, within a specific element, or in any other context that we track.
Figure 2. Our hypothesis driven CRO program structures our tests and provides us with deeper insights that are connected to each other
Stay creative! A list of tactics may inadvertently limit creativity and experimentation. CRO is not just about applying a predefined set of strategies but about continuously testing, learning, and adapting based on real user data and behavior.
Stay relevant: In a constantly evolving landscape, user preferences, technology, and design trends change over time. What was effective yesterday may not be relevant today. A fixed list of tactics can quickly become outdated.
E.g.,: As people started to recognize and ignore advertisements on websites, companies started to implement native advertising (where the advertisement looks like the content of the website). However, people are now starting to learn to recognize and ignore native advertisements making them less effective than a few years ago.
Ethical Considerations: Psychological tactics can be powerful tools, but their ethical use is paramount. Sharing tactics without context or guidance can lead to their misuse for manipulative purposes, which can harm user trust and reputation.
E.g.,: Labeling a product “Best sold product”, can boost sales of this product, but it should only be deployed if it is actually the most sold product.
The conclusion of the matter is:
effective CRO is data-driven and prioritizes understanding users’ needs, motivations, and pain points to create genuine value. However, I also want to state that best practices are still very valuable. They can serve as fundamental guides and provide a foundational understanding of proven techniques and methods. They can act as a starting point for brainstorming and ideation, inspire creative thinking, or serve as a reference for initial experimentation. Just make sure that you adapt the best practices to fit your specific context and do not rely solely on a magic list or on the websites of others
Interested in learning more about our way of working, like the BOOM! framework, and how to apply it to your own context? We provide a Conversion Specialist training, counseling sessions, and a BOOM! course where we take the time to dive deeper into our five optimization strategies and the underlying fundamental psychology.
