How to Improve Conversion Rate With High-Quality Photography

When it comes to web traffic, most businesses use a combination of sponsored advertisements, influencer outreach, and Search Engine Optimisation to increase web traffic to their landing pages, then convert them into sales. According to a research by Marketing Dynamic Yield, through the course of 2021, the average website conversion rate of the Americas was 2.72% while the Asia Pacific market reported an average conversion rate of 1.31%. These stark differences in numbers spark the conversation topic of how businesses can capitalise on different assets to improve their web traffic and conversion rates. 

We take a look at how high-quality photos and videos can drive more web traffic to websites, thereby increasing overall sales.

What customers see is what they get

It was the 1st-century Roman gourmand Apicius who said “we first eat with our eyes”. In this instance, Apicius was implying that for food to be appetising, it has to first be visually appealing. This same pattern of behaviour also extends to consumer decisions. According to Justuno, 93% of consumers consider visual content to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision. How a website is laid out, whether it is cluttered with unnecessary information, or clean and directs the viewer’s attention to critical points, all affects the viewer’s motivations and call to action. Aside from cosmetic purposes, ensuring that visual information is presented clearly and an intuitive user interface also informs consumers with limited attention on how to best navigate the website. 

Relative to this notion, high-definition images also play a massive part in e-commerce marketplaces. Etsy, a popular ecommerce website, found that the quality of images was the single most important factor in an online sale for 90% of its online shoppers. The nature of product photography reflects the image of a brand and brings products to life, providing context so that consumers can visualise the product being used in real time. This means that high-definition photos which sell an experience, in addition to a product, can generate momentum in consumers purchasing decisions. Ultimately, these facets help recreate offline shopping experiences within the online space.

Videos are worth more than a thousand words

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a video feels like it's worth at least twice than that, in the context of marketing and sales. A survey conducted in December 2020 revealed that 78% of marketers say video has directly helped to increase sales while 84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy something by watching a video. The influential power of high-quality videos lies in their ability to engage the audience through moving images, narration and music. 

Compared to a still-life photo, the audio-visual experience of videos is more immersive and attention-grabbing. The key is to ensure that the video is the focal point of your product page, in order to retain the attention of consumers. When stacked together with a list of thumbnails of product photos, it is easily overlooked by customers browsing on multiple fronts. Placing them on the landing page is the best way to optimise your videos. Another way to leverage videos is through the use of tutorial and explainer videos. These enable customers to better understand how a product works and potentially benefits their lives. As we alluded to earlier, helping the customer picture the product in their day-to-day lives and visualise the value it provides is an effective way to increase conversion rate.

Leveraging high-quality visuals to improve sales

The decision for businesses to adopt either photos or videos as part of their platform will depend on the type of product and industry they reside in. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) that are easy to use will do well with high-quality images, whereas products that require a little more contextual information such as cutting-edge technology might need a deeper walkthrough with a video. 

At the end of the day, creating quality imagery for your website is an ongoing and evolving process - businesses will need to think creatively to satisfy the changing demands of customers as ecommerce landscapes shift according to their shopping habits.