Have you ever found yourself lost in an online rabbit hole, browsing through images instead of completing the task you originally set out to do?
HC Media Group knows how we’ve all been there. The human brain processes images much faster than text, as we are hardwired to respond to visuals. So it’s no surprise that you can increase website conversions using images.
Whether selling products or services, your website is likely one of your most important marketing tools. And if you’re not using images to help increase conversions on your website, you could miss out on a big opportunity.
In this quick guide, we’ll share the top tips you can follow to increase website conversions using images. Read on if you want to take your brand’s personality up a notch!
1. Increase Website Conversions Using Images Relevant To Your Brand Voice
Images are worth a thousand words. According to Buzz Sumo, including at least one image for every 75-100 words can result in more article shares.
So, it makes sense that utilising images as part of your website’s content strategy can be extremely effective in increasing conversions. But not just any images will do—you must ensure they are relevant to your brand voice and chosen carefully.
Your brand voice is the personality of your business that you convey to your customers. It should be reflected in every aspect of your marketing, from the text on your website to the photos you post on social media.
Consistency is critical in developing and maintaining a strong brand voice. When choosing images for your website, ensure they are consistent with your brand’s overall tone and feel.
Here’s a superb image used by Charity Water that pictures their business essence and the struggles related to clean water availability
2. Choose High-Quality And Clear Images
To increase website conversions using images, Choosing images that match your brand voice is not enough—they must also be high quality and clear. Technology has evolved a lot recently, and screens now have a much better resolution.
Grainy or pixelated images will stick out like a sore thumb on modern websites. If an image looks low in quality, it will give visitors the impression that your whole website is cheap and unprofessional.
High-quality images are essential—not just for website conversions but for your site’s overall look and feel. If you want visitors to stay on your site and explore what you have to offer, using poor-quality or outdated photos doesn’t do you any favours.
It could actually discourage people from doing business with you altogether. You can utilise both, high-quality stock photos and custom imagery to get better conversions on your offers.
3. Play By The Rules Of Colour Psychology
Colour psychology is the study of how colours impact our emotions and behaviour. Different colours can invoke different feelings in people. Therefore, you must be aware of the message you’re sending with the colours you choose for your website.
Look at these stunning images by Herbivore Botanicals that present an eye-catching contrast without overpowering product details. Pretty neat work!
Research shows that the colours used on websites make up 90% of the consumers’ judgement. So when selecting images for your website, consider the feeling you want to convey and choose colours that will support that goal.
Suppose you are selling a new gadget. To provoke excitement, it is suggested to use images heavy on reds and oranges. The colour red is also associated with energy and passion, while blue represents trust, loyalty, and stability.
On the other hand, if you’re selling a product or service that’s all about trust and loyalty, like financial services or healthcare products, you’ll want to use images with hues of blues and greens.
4. Create Contrast And Symmetry With Your Images
In addition to carefully selecting the colours in your images, to Increase website conversions using images it’s also important to create contrast and symmetry. Contrast is the difference in lightness or darkness between two colours (or tones). Symmetry is the balance between two halves of an image.
Creating contrast and symmetry will help make your images more visually appealing and easier for visitors to process. Say you have a photograph of a person standing in front of a white wall. If the person is wearing a dark shirt, there will be a high contrast between the dark shirt and the light wall.
If the person is wearing a light shirt, there will be low contrast between the dark shirt and the light wall. Creating high contrast between the elements in your image will help make those elements stand out more clearly.
Look at this stunning colour palette used by St. Ives and how all of these pictures present a great contrast and quickly draw attention. You can try the same for your product images and experience more clicks!
As for symmetry, imagine an image divided down the middle into two halves (think of it like a mirror image). If both halves of the image are exactly alike, then the image is perfectly symmetrical. Creating symmetry in your pictures will help them appear more balanced and calm.
5. Use Images of Real People Using Your Products
Nothing is more convincing than seeing someone just like you using the product you’re thinking of buying. When potential customers see images of real people using your products in their everyday lives, it creates a sense of familiarity and builds trust for your brand.
Seeing people using your products in realistic situations helps potential customers visualise themselves using them and ultimately makes them more likely to convert.
Also, buyers prefer to know that others have tried a product and succeeded. It’s a tangible way to show potential customers that your product or service is beneficial.
For example, if you sell skincare products, you might use images of real people before and after using your products to show the possible transformation. This UGC (user-generated content) will add more personality to your website and help deliver a positive message.
6. Optimise Your Images For Search Engines
When it comes to ranking high in search engine results pages, every little bit helps—including your website’s images. Follow these tips to ensure your website’s images are helping rather than hurting your SEO efforts:
Add Descriptive Alt Text: Alt text appears in place of the media file if the image doesn’t load properly. But alt text is also used by search engine algorithms to determine what the picture is about and how it relates to the surrounding text.
As such, it’s important to write alt text that accurately and concisely describes the image while using relevant keywords. For example, if you have an image of a blue widget on your website, your alt text might be like a “blue widget on a white background.”
Choose Descriptive File Names: Just like with alt text, the file name of an image can also help search engine algorithms understand what an image is about.
To Increase website conversions using images, when choosing a file name for your images, make sure it accurately describes the contents of the image while also using relevant keywords. But avoid keyword stuffing at all costs. For example, a good file name for our hypothetical blue widget image might be “blue-widget-on-white-background.jpg.”
7. Use A/B Testing To Test Different Images On Your Website
A/B testing (or split testing) compares two versions of a web page to see which one performs better for your social media marketing. Typically, A/B tests are used to test different versions of a web page against each other to see which one results in more conversions.
For example, let’s say you have an e-commerce store that sells women’s clothing. You want to test whether having models wear the clothing increases conversions or whether having pictures of the clothing items alone increases conversions.
To do this, you would create two versions of your product page. Version A would have pictures of the models wearing the clothing, while version B would have photos of the clothing items. You would then split your traffic so that 50% of visitors see version A and 50% of visitors see version B.
The key here is to ensure that only one element is different between the two versions. In this case, it’s the presence or absence of models in the product photos. This way, you can be sure that any difference in conversion rate is due to the change in imagery and not anything else.
Increase Website Conversions Using Images: Rounding Up
The right image has the power to stop someone in their tracks and make them take notice. It can evoke emotion and grab attention. But most importantly, it can influence behaviour. When used correctly, images can be a powerful tool for increasing conversions.
Creating a visual representation of your brand can make a lasting impression that inspires action. So whether you’re looking to boost sales or build customer loyalty, remember that the right image is worth a thousand words.
And when it comes to your brand, it could be worth even more. Don’t limit your creativity. You have a lot of leg space in this aspect!
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