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The Conversion Rainbow

January 3rd, 2008 by Carlos del Rio

In response to a question asked by AnnSmarty at SEOmoz I want to talk a bit about the difference between color for branding and color for conversion.

Color for branding - When choosing color for your website scheme, logo and business collateral you are most concerned with the psychology of color. Does blue make you trustworthy, does dark green mean you are financially minded, and does your company meet those expectations. In your branding you are trying to communicate a rich picture of who you are.

Color for conversion - When choosing colors for your conversion points — links, ad blocks, downloads, etc — you are concerned with the interaction of colors. How do these micro-elements work with or against the general theme and message of your site. In your conversion elements you should be looking to communicate a call to action.

If you are working on macro-element, like color scheme, I suggest reading books like Color: Messages & Meanings this book is good for choosing color pairings. For taking on the micro-elements of your site I suggest reading Elements of Color by Johannes Itten. Most important to note is that micro-elements are secondary; they are much easier to change so they should be tested once you have created the rest of your color scheme.

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Social SEO Jan 4, 2008 at 5:42 am

    I have always been impressed with the Red and Yellow combination. It does not appeal to me, or at least I think it does not, but look at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. They all have this element in their logos and marketing. And I am pretty sure they have spent well into the billions of dollars to research this, and it does work.

    I just can not imagine my website being red and yellow!

    Mike

  • 2 SEO TIPS Jan 8, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    Thanks for the recommended reading!