Improve conversion rates through social proof

Proof answers one question for the visitor: do people like me use this and get something from it? The visitor answers it by matching. They look for a job, a business size or a problem that matches their own, and they give proof weight only where they find one. A row of logos from companies they have never heard of tells them nothing. A quote from a dentist on a salon's booking page reads as filler. The owner knows who each name is, which is why the page feels convincing. The stranger sees a page full of names they cannot place.

• Who the proof names: does a quote come from a role and kind of business the visitor recognizes?
• Placement: is proof near the signup button or the price, or in a section below the fold?
• Specifics: does each quote say what changed for the customer, not only that they liked it?
• Rating display: does a star score show how many reviews it is based on, and where they were written?
• Consistency: do the claims in the proof match what the headline promises?

Start with the names on the page. Write down the job, business size and problem of each person quoted or logo shown. Then write down the visitor who came from your search or ad, in the same terms. If the two lists do not overlap, the proof is decoration for that visitor, however good it reads to you. A wrong version is a quote from a large enterprise on a page for freelancers. A right version is a quote from a freelancer who says the reminders stopped the late payments, on the page the freelancer landed on. Change the names first, then the words.

Proof reaches only the visitors who are still deciding. A visitor who scrolls past the price and the signup form to a row of logos at the bottom has already seen what they were choosing between, so the logos read as a finishing touch. On a phone, check whether the first proof appears above the price and the signup button. If the proof comes after both, it reaches only visitors who were already going to sign up. Move one quote above the price, next to the button, and leave the rest where they are. Run the page again and check whether the simulated visitors mention the quote before they reach the price.

A quote that says the product is great proves nothing a visitor can use. Visitors who are unsure ask what changed, for whom and how fast. A quote that says the team stopped chasing unpaid invoices by hand gives them a before and after to compare with their own week. Check each quote for three things: the problem it names, the change it describes, and a name and role a visitor can believe. Do not write quotes yourself and publish them as customer words. A visitor who clicks through to check can find nothing, and that costs more trust than having no proof at all.

Each quote or logo you add makes a claim, and the claim has to stay true while the page is live. Customers leave, change their product or ask for their name to come off. Rerun the same visitors after each change to see whether they read the new proof, question it or go past it. With paid credits, visitors can sign in with a test account you provide, so proof shown only after signup is covered too.