For the Love of Science – 15 Behavioral Marketing Posts You Shouldn’t Miss

Click image for full-size view. Nerds rejoice! Today we learn about the science and psychology of marketing. (Image source)

Posts are always better when they are backed with facts, numbers and science. So without having to bust out a thick text book or read a lengthy research paper, I found 18 posts where behavioral psychology plays it’s part in marketing and conversion.

Behavioral Psychology, ECommerce & Marketing

1. Using Behavioral Economics, Psychology, and Neuroeconomics to Maximize Sales

This Shopify Post covers three topics in great detail referencing psychological studies along the way. 1) Price Anchoring & Premium Options 2) How to Sell to “Tightwads”, and lastly, 3) Selling Time Over Money. A solid post for those in the ecommerce space.

2. Psychology Marketing for Bloggers and SEOs

This guest post on SEOMoz is by Carter Bowles. Carter defines himself a Science lover. To quote him directly, “I’d like to think that technology and culture can change the world for the better.” He talks about cognitive biases and heuristics and relates these hardcore psychology terms to SEO.

3. 5 Psychological Master Keys That Will Open The Doors to More Sales

“Smart entrepreneurs who want to use the web to increase their conversion rates must master the fields of human behavior and psychology.” It all comes down to science according to Derek Halpern. This post gives you a list of 5 psychological insights to increase conversions and sales.

4. How do Colors Affect Purchases?

A colorful infographic that talks about color psychology. It provides stats on proving how important color really is. Did you know color can increase brand recognition by 80%? And brand recognition directly links to consumer confidence? Enough said.

5. 7 Social Psychology Studies to Help You Convert Prospects into Paying Customers

Play devils advocate to enhance persuasive marketing efforts. Admit your faults to win over customers. These are some of the tactics you can use that are backed up by psychology studies. Don’t mess with science!

6. Persuade with Pictures

Neuromarketing – where Brain science and marketing meet = the slogan of this blog. What got me was this: the statement, “Turtles are deaf,” was said to be true more often when accompanied by a photo of a turtle. But the photo in no way demonstrated the turtle’s hearing capability. Crazy stuff.

Eye-Tracking & Mouse Movements

7. 5 Conversion Studies Your Competitors Don’t Want You to Know About

Gregory Ciotti is a fairly frequent writer on our blog. This post is on his own blog and covers eye-tracking studies to help increase conversion.

8. 5 Usability Lessons from Website Eye Tracking Studies

This Crazy Egg post came out yesterday and when I saw it in our RSS reader, I had to add it to the list. Solid insights with great bite-sized takeaways.

9. Ten Inbox Secrets: What Eye Tracking Reveals About Designing More Effective Emails

This 25-page PDF is packed with information. The sections I particularly found useful were the Analyst’s perspective sections, going into detail about eye movements in relation to a specific topic.

10. Microsoft Tracks Search Behaviour Using Cursor Movements

Measuring click-through behavior and mouse movements is nothing new, but this study looks at other mouse behavior such as highlighting text and ‘good abandonment.’ An interesting study.

11. Eye-Tracking Usability Tests for Dummies

Eye-tracking can come in handing when creating a landing page or website. This article gives you a screen shot and shows how you tend to view a webpage.

12. Staying One Step Ahead with Mouse-Based Targeting

“Analyzing mouse movement can produce more effective targeting, and as a result, improve conversions, especially in the areas of lead generation, cart rescue, and visitor remarketing.”

Conversion & Psychology

13. 12 Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Tips Based on Human Psychology and Behavioral Economics

I love how this post starts off with a disclaimer that goes something like this: “there are no such things as rules in conversion rate optimization. What works in one situation may not be the same for another.” With the disclaimer out of the way, the post goes on to point out some human traits that could help conversions.

14. Using Psychology in A/B Landing Page Testing

This post is right up my alley. Landing Pages & A/B Testing in one post. It will enlighten you on some psychological studies that can better help you craft your landing pages.

15. The Psychology of Storytelling: 10 Proven Ways to Create Better Stories (and Why Stories Sell)

Science is all about facts, right? Wrong, apparently, it is all about storytelling. I couldn’t help but think of Steve Jobs when I read this post. His product launches worked so well because of their their message and in the manner in which they were told. Learn some great tips on how to effectively tell stories. And of course, it’s backed up with science.


If your brain isn’t full of facts yet, please share some more in the comments.

— Oli Gardner


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About Oli Gardner
Unbounce co-founder Oli Gardner has seen more landing pages than anyone on the planet. He’s obsessed with identifying and reversing bad marketing practices, and his disdain for marketers who send campaign traffic to their homepage is legendary, resulting in landing page rants that can peel paint off an unpainted wall. A prolific international keynote speaker, Oli is on a mission to rid the world of marketing mediocrity by using data-informed copywriting, design, interaction, and psychology to create a more delightful experience for marketers and customers alike. He was recently named the "The 2018 Marketer to Watch," in the under 46 category, by his mother.
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