10 Ways to Alter Your User Experience Strategy from GoodUI.org

By Jason Hawkins on August 3, 2016

GoodUI.org has launched an incredible research project on user experience and has developed 75 “good ideas” that produce amazing results when it comes to improving your online strategy. All the data has come from real websites and brands/businesses that have shared their data for project analysis on user experience. Ultimately a good interface will lead to better user experience and higher conversions, mostly because your site is easier to use for people who land on your page.

Here is a list of 10 ways that you can alter your user experience strategy based on the GoodUI.org study and how you can put their ideas into action:

  1. Simplify UI Functions

Rather than having several similar functions spread across a page layout, try consolidating the functions into one, rather than fragmenting UI. It is so interesting how making edits to a website over time can actually lead to several of the same elements, phrased in different ways, can be clustered over the page. While a website can start off clean, it can quickly get cluttered and busy without taking into account how users are interacting with the functions you want them to. As GoodUI states, “the more UI fragmentation there is, the higher the learning curve which your customers will have to deal with.” Merge your similar functions together and clean up the page.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.43.13 AM

 

  1. Distinct Call To Action and Tab Styles

Navigating an interface can be a challenge when the style and themes are not visually appealing or clear. Clickable actions like links, buttons, tabs, or other calls to action should be distinct and text should be clear. This is one way to be sure you are getting users to take exactly the action that you want them to.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.43.52 AM

As you can see in the screenshot above on UC San Diego’s website, scrolling over “admissions” bolds that option with a darker color, and brings a new side menu in the same darker blue. This makes the action very clear for users that are looking for admissions related actions.

  1. Target a SPECIFIC Audience

If you are selling a product or service, or perhaps targeting a specific audience in some way, then it is better to let people know ahead of time rather than after the fact. Creating some qualifying criteria for your customers can actually be better in the long run (less returns, trouble-shooting emails, and overall mix-ups from people mistakenly clicking through to something they didn’t need). As Good UI suggests, while this is risky because you could be eliminating potential clients—transparency is something that will build reputation and be better for user experience long term.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.44.14 AM

  1. Recommend Specific Products or Services

Recommending a certain product or service over an equal display has been shown to increase conversion. When people are given too many choices they can often have a difficult time making a decision. When this situation occurs, people are often likely to turn to recommendations and are more likely to follow-through with a purchase. If your company offers a variety of products or services this may be something you want to consider. It is an easy tweak and can really improve user experience on product pages.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.44.45 AM

  1. Curiosity > Reservation

One of the stronger “ideas” GoodUI presented was stirring curiosity as a conversion tactic. Presenting some information and a sample, which hooks the user, can actually lead to higher conversion rates. This test actually showed a +21% median effective rate for conversion, which is fantastic.

Daniel Bridges of www.findsomeone.co.nz submitted data from his dating website that showed an increase in signups when people were given endless vs. limited search results.

As you can see in the screenshot below, when users were “curious” about other options after being teased with some free data, they were more likely to sign-up.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.45.39 AM

  1. Repetition

One of the most impressive findings has been a repetitive layout with CTA (call-to-action) buttons. The only thing that was changed in these tests from a control page was an additional CTA button at the bottom of the page as well as the top of the page. In the data set that GoodUI developed, this was shown to have an 84% median effect for conversion on product pages. So, rather than just having the CTA button that you want users to click at the top of the page, add and additional CTA at the bottom and you are much more likely to see results.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.45.57 AM

You can also check out an article we wrote here that talks about the habits of your users, how you can determine what those are, and how it relates to keyword performance.

  1. Grab A User’s Attention

Shown to be +53% effective, grabbing the attention of the user—whether it is to increase size, contrast, or color—is shown to increase conversions. Emphasize primary calls of action, it is really as simple as that!

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.46.39 AM

As you can see in the example above from match.com, they immediately have sexual preference, age range, and zip code the second you land on their home page. Their goal is to get people signed up as quickly as possible, so they have chosen a pop-up call to action, where the user can immediately get to the information they want (and the sign-up the site wants), as quickly as possible.

  1. Try for Gradual Engagement

In some cases you want to get people signed up as quickly as possible, but in other cases you might want to engage people gradually. This was actually shown to have a +26% effective rate on Good UI’s research. As they state, “Instead of asking visitors to sign up immediately, why not ask them to first perform a task through which something of value is demonstrated.” Adding this level of personalized and customized experience can allow people to feel more committed to your company before they re actually asked to sign up.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.47.10 AM

  1. Baby Steps and Smaller Commitments

Another highly effective user experience tweak is actually asking for a smaller upfront commitment, and then building to larger commitments down the road. Smaller connected actions over time, rather than one large commitment up front is shown to be more successful in establishing commitment. One example of this would be asking for a monthly fee rather than an annual fee, as that is more do-able for most people, and it is much easier to commit to from a financial perspective.

Another example, based on the screenshot below from the Good UI ideas page, shows that on a dating site, it might be better to ask people to “see who is looking” rather than “finding the love of your lifetime.” Even though online dating can certainly lead to the love of a lifetime, this might be too much of a commitment to ask up front.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.50.22 AM

  1. Use Natural Language

Informal and more conversational style of language was shown to have a +8.2% effective rate in experimental tests. For whatever reason, people (and possibly search engines/SEO), might prefer this style of language to dry and to the point language typically found on online forms and content. This is also something we often remind our email marketing clients of when it comes to writing content for that medium. We have also found this to make a big difference in traffic numbers, so this wasn’t so much surprising as it was reassuring.

Screen Shot 2016-07-23 at 9.48.20 AM

What are your thoughts on Good UI’s 75 great ideas for user experience optimization, and the 10 that we have covered in this article? Let us know in the comments section below!



About The Author

Jason Hawkins
Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com

Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.