07 January 2011 | Author: M. Thomson SEO & Affiliate Consultant
Recently, the BBC aired a program titled 10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight. One of their findings was that the greater diversity of food a person is presented with, the more they are likely to eat thus gaining extra weight - up to 30 per cent, they claimed.
In addition, reducing the colour diversity in food groups helped with over-eating.
Passed from our ancestors salvaging for diverse food groups thousands of years ago, it's now human instinct is to naturally want a greater diversity of food, with colour providing the connection.
The BBC cleverly demonstrated this phenomenon by offering people two bowls of sweets. One bowl contained a single colour of a sweet, the other multicoloured - and the multicoloured sweets emptied faster.
It's no secret colour plays a huge role in usability. In fact, Google's search results are a prime example: the background palette of AdWords ads has changed to almost every colour of the rainbow. From memory, it's been blue, yellow, pink and, recently, purple.
But Google isn't changing the colour palette for no reason. Rather, user experience has been their goal. In theory, Google would have carried out user testing to assess which colour resulted in the most clicks, thus a happier user. One could also argue that revenues from ad spend may have played in to their decisions.
Carrying on the belief that multiple colours create diversity, which humans naturally crave, one could assume that, for example, a retailer could colour code their website's departments in a way to make people naturally want to click, browse and buy more products.
If the above statement sounds outrageous, your digital marketing palette might need refreshed - with most verticals reaching critical mass and traffic reducing in ROI, introducing or making greater use of multivariate testing and usability in general is a must.
While some feel the need to capture new customers, making existing website visitors convert easier and more often could be a more cost-effective channel.
Commit yourself to one multivariate test - as simple as changing the colours of a "submit" or "buy it now" button - and see how the bottom line varies. You never know, the other primal instinct to want more may also come out in you.
What usability, colour diversity and losing weight have in common
Recently, the BBC aired a program titled 10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight. One of their findings was that the greater diversity of food a person is presented with, the more they are likely to eat thus gaining extra weight - up to 30 per cent, they claimed. In addition, reducing the colour diversity in food groups helped with over-eating.
Passed from our ancestors salvaging for diverse food groups thousands of years ago, it's now human instinct is to naturally want a greater diversity of food, with colour providing the connection.
The BBC cleverly demonstrated this phenomenon by offering people two bowls of sweets. One bowl contained a single colour of a sweet, the other multicoloured - and the multicoloured sweets emptied faster.
It's no secret colour plays a huge role in usability. In fact, Google's search results are a prime example: the background palette of AdWords ads has changed to almost every colour of the rainbow. From memory, it's been blue, yellow, pink and, recently, purple.
But Google isn't changing the colour palette for no reason. Rather, user experience has been their goal. In theory, Google would have carried out user testing to assess which colour resulted in the most clicks, thus a happier user. One could also argue that revenues from ad spend may have played in to their decisions.
Carrying on the belief that multiple colours create diversity, which humans naturally crave, one could assume that, for example, a retailer could colour code their website's departments in a way to make people naturally want to click, browse and buy more products.
If the above statement sounds outrageous, your digital marketing palette might need refreshed - with most verticals reaching critical mass and traffic reducing in ROI, introducing or making greater use of multivariate testing and usability in general is a must.
While some feel the need to capture new customers, making existing website visitors convert easier and more often could be a more cost-effective channel.
Commit yourself to one multivariate test - as simple as changing the colours of a "submit" or "buy it now" button - and see how the bottom line varies. You never know, the other primal instinct to want more may also come out in you.
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