Conversion Rate Optimization: Social Proof, User-Generated Content, Headlines

“Experimentation is a big part of how you find the best of the best.” โ€” Kari Skogland

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โ“ What You’ll Learn

  • How to boost conversions?
  • How to improve your landing pages?
  • How to pick which experiments to run?
  • What tools to use to improve conversions? 
  • How to use AI to boost conversions?
  • How to use tiered pricing?
  • How to optimize your headlines?


๐Ÿ’Ž Why It Matters

You can get more sales without getting more traffic.


๐Ÿ” Problem

The average website conversion rate is 2-3%


Youโ€™re losing customers with a below average conversion rate.


๐Ÿ’ก Solution

Optimize your website to boost the percentage of people who convert.


A 1% to 2% conversion rate change is a 100% increase in sales.


๐Ÿ Players

Conversion Rate Optimization Experiments

Conversion Rate Optimization Tools

  • Unbounce โ€ข Build your landing pages with AI.
  • Zonka โ€ข Get live feedback from website visitors.
  • Proof โ€ข Show live social proof stats on your website.
  • Pricery.io โ€ข Optimize your pricing for international sales.
  • VWO โ€ข Optimize your landing page with their robust platform.
  • Funnelytics โ€ข Get a 30,000 ft view of your funnel performance.
  • ParityDeals โ€ข Offer customers a discount based on their location.


๐Ÿ”ฎ Predictions


โ˜๏ธ Opportunities

  • Use personal videos and GIFs on your landing pages to boost engagement.
    • Tate Law uses an interactive video form on their homepage.
    • Ryan Deiss uses a personal explainer video on his Scalable Collective landing page.
    • Marie Ng uses screen recorded GIFs of her Llama Life productivity app in action.
    • Miss Excel uses a special video trailer for promoting each of her courses.
    • Brian Dean uses a subtle animation in an illustrated header for his SEO Training landing page.
    • Katelyn Bourgoin uses pop culture GIFs throughout her Clarity Calls Cheat Sheets landing page.
    • Circle uses a screenshot of their community software on their homepage with a GIF simulating HD live video.
  • Pick a form of social proof and feature it prominently next to your products.
    • Secret Lab gaming chairs created an entire page dedicated to the awards theyโ€™ve won. 
    • Julian Cole features his Trust Pilot rating in the header of his course landing page.
    • Russell Brunson uses video testimonials throughout his ClickFunnels home page.
    • Corey Hainesโ€™ Swipefiles.com contains testimonial cards and tweets promoting his newsletter.
    • Justin Welsh mentions how his LinkedIn OS has helped 6,137 students rack up 1,237,000,000+ impressions.
  • Use descriptive and contextual call-to-action buttons.
  • Use tiered pricing to give buyers more options. Appeal to different budgets by offering multiple packages.
    • Launch House offers 2 tiers for its membership with 1 requiring an application.
    • Legit Check by Ch offers 3 tiers for its services based on the luxury items being authenticated.
    • Dan Koe offers 3 tiers for his Modern Mastery HQ community: Apprentice, Master and Actualized.
    • Arvid Kahl offers 2 tiers for his Find Your Following Twitter course. A $19 quick start or a $49 deep dive. 


๐Ÿ”๏ธ Risks

  • Sample Size โ€ข Your data can be skewed without enough traffic. The more traffic you have, the sooner youโ€™ll have reliable results.
  • Lead Quality โ€ข Reducing fields and removing friction will get more leads. But lower quality leads.


๐Ÿ”‘ Key Lessons

  • Check your page speed and make sure it loads in 3 seconds or less. Slow websites aren’t just annoying, they prevent sales.
  • Make your headline clear and convincing. Up to 80% of visitors never make it past the fold. 
  • Know which levers to pull. Optimize these variables on your landing pages.
    • Images that draw interest.
    • Headlines that hook the reader.
    • Social Proof that builds authority.
    • Page Speed that doesnโ€™t cause them to bounce.
    • Calls-to-Action that feel natural and conversational.
    • And a Value Proposition that solves a clear problem.


๐Ÿ”ฅ Hot Takes

  • Machine learning will be used to personalize each website visit. Landing page copy will change based on your interests.
  • There will be a surge in demand for โ€œConversion Rate Optimization Strategists.โ€ Outpacing roles like โ€œPaid Ads Specialists.โ€


๐Ÿ˜  Haters

โ€œI donโ€™t know where to start optimizing. I donโ€™t want to fix something that isnโ€™t broken.โ€
Growth often requires risk. Your landing page might not be broken but it can always be better. Experimentation is the price we pay for improvements.

โ€œWonโ€™t the law of diminishing returns come into play?โ€
Maybe. But the same applies to pay-per-click advertising. At least conversion rate optimization does not lead to marginal costs for diminishing returns.

โ€œConversion Rate Optimization tools are too expensive.โ€
Google Analytics is free. Start somewhere. Knowing something is better than knowing nothing. 

โ€œDoesnโ€™t Conversion Rate Optimization require an understanding of almost everything? Copy, design, analytics, etc.โ€
Start small. Change your copy. Add FAQs. Include testimonials. You donโ€™t have to boil the ocean or be a designer to improve your landing page.


๐Ÿ”— Links

  1. Whatโ€™s your favorite conversion optimization tip? โ€ข The tweet behind this report. 
  2. Google Optimize โ€ข A free tool to test landing page changes with no coding required.
  3. Demand Curve Landing Page Teadowns โ€ข See the methods used by the highest-converting pages.


๐Ÿ“ Related Reports


๐Ÿ™ Thanks

Thanks to Krish, Vishal Srivastava, Emin Yagubov, Malik, Soma Mandal. We had a great time jamming on this report.


Tyler researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.


๐Ÿ“ˆ What else?

Trends PRO #0094 โ€” Conversion Rate Optimization has more insights.

What youโ€™ll get:

  • 18 Conversion Rate Optimization Experiments (125% More)
  • 23 Conversion Rate Optimization Tools (229% More)
  • 9 Predictions (200% More)
  • 15 Opportunities (275% More)
  • 7 Risks (250% More)
  • 9 Key Lessons (200% More)
  • 13 Links (333% More)

With Trends Pro youโ€™ll learn:

  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to run A/B tests?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to use SMS for lead generation?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to use quizzes to get more leads?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to leverage scarcity?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to improve your page speed?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to leverage user-generated content?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to use FAQs to boost conversions?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to add personalization?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to avoid overwhelming site visitors?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) How to leverage social proof?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) What kind of call-to-actions boost conversions?
  • (๐Ÿ“ˆ Pro) What kind of photos boost conversions?
  • And much more…

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