Tomahawk Blog

How does microcopy contribute to your conversion rate?

byJelle Hooijman

Microcopy is any short text that helps a visitor with a task. Microcopy in buttons prompts action, microcopy near buttons removes doubt, an error message is accompanying microcopy. All these small pieces of content are seen everywhere and facilitate the user experience. Because it benefits the user experience, it also benefits the amount of converting visitors. Are you already taking full advantage of microcopy?

Microcopy is the underdog in the optimization process

The best microcopy is invisible, which makes the underdog position not even that crazy. Microcopy should be so obvious that visitors do not have to think about the words it contains, but know what to do after reading it. So those little words have great effectiveness that you should not forget in the optimization process.

How effective is micropy?

In a webshop, there can be many thresholds that a user must cross before conversion occurs. Barriers such as creating an account, filling in contact details or navigating within a webshop. There are various reasons why users drop out. With well-written microcopy you can remove doubt and seduce. This can give uncertain customers just the boost they need to take action.

A / B testing

You can easily find out the effectiveness of microcopy with A/B testing. This shows best to what extent the modification or addition of microcopy results in a higher conversion rate. A common example is an A/B test of the company Veaam. Thanks to a CTA adjustment from "Request a quote" to "Request pricing," conversions shot up 161.66%. Purely because users understood this term better.

Transavia provided more security (and thus an uplift of 2.11% in conversion) with the addition of Tripadvisor reviews microcopy on flights. An A/B test with the Fast Track security microcopy, showed that the option that capitalized on the benefit of the service resulted in a + 32.3% conversion rate.

5 tips for good microcopy

If you also want to improve your shop's conversion rate, start with microcopy using the tips below:

- Keep it short
  It's already in the name, microcopy. Remember the terms short, powerful, to-the-point and unobtrusive. As we've pointed out before, the best microcopy is invisible!
- Know your target audience
  If you know how visitors talk and what concerns them, writing becomes a lot easier. Keep in mind that you are writing for them, not for yourself.
- Be clear
  With your microcopy, don't leave room for new questions, but go for clear-cut content. So watch out for technical jargon and ambiguities that can create ambiguitiesandn doubts.
- Being original is allowed, in the right places
  Words like "save" and " next" in CTAs are not original, but they are words that people expect. Originality is fine, but save this for a thank you page or error message, for example.
- Tone of voice
  Do you go for a CTA in imperative? Should error messages be in the you or you form? Should you apply branding? For all content writing, tone of voice matters.

5 examples of good microcopy

You have obviously reached a point where you would like to know what good microcopy should meet. Here are some tips, guidelines and examples that can help you create your own microcopy.

The copy is short, original in all the right places and written in the typical CoolBlue style. CoolBlue offers help by not making you hesitate about the length of the password . Furthermore, you can also register via Facebook. This is something visitors are wary of. CoolBlue responds strongly to thisandn removes an important doubt.

Example 2: Mailchimp

CoolBlue doesn't bother much with passwords, but if you do, make sure you take the user by the hand. Mailchimp does this at the signup page. Below the input field, it says exactly what the password must meet. The moment you add this, the condition turns light gray. A nice mix of usability and microcopy.

Example 3: Booking

Booking's microcopy has a clear 'FOMO' or 'Fear Of Missing Out' angle. There is only 1 person viewing this room and only 1 room left. Booking wants you to click on the buttonandn book the last available room. All microcopy is adjusted accordingly.

Example 4: Grammarly

A small but fine example. On the homepage, you can see the button below right away. By adding the microcopy 'It's free' they reassure the user and convince the user to add Grammarly. The star rating gives that extra push.

Example 5: Yelp

Speaking of star ratings. Yelp amusingly lets you know exactly what each star stands for, so you never have to doubt which star fits your experience again.