Headlines trump photos as most influential element on Web sites
Did you know (1) website marketing photos annoy customers, and (2) photos actually divert attention from themselves. Communicators should spend more time writing strong headlines to attract visitors.
On the Web, traditional marketing images are increasingly being seen as useless annoyances by customers. They undermine the credibility of the brand.
The two web pages were trying to get you to sign up for test drives for supercars. They were identical (pictures of the cars, video, etc.) except for these two headlines:
LIFE IS SHORT. JUST DRIVE
DRIVE FIVE SUPERCARS. THE US SUPERCAR TOUR
One headline convinced 34 percent more visitors to fill out and submit the lead generation form. “We think headlines can be the most influential element on the page, and this test certainly shows that,” the WhichTestWon website stated. “WhichTestWon.com research shows headline tests are one of the easiest ways to raise your site’s conversion rates,” Ann Holland founder of WhichTestWon states. “Subhead tests and response device headlines (such as wording on a button or at the top of a form) are also extremely powerful.”
Words are absolutely critical to the success of a website and yet many marketers, communicators and senior managers spend far more time on images.
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